The Problem with Yogurt?

This article shows you the TRUTH about yogurt so you know the facts...both good and bad

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers:  The Truth About Six Pack Abs & The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

As you've probably noticed in the last couple of years, probiotics are all the rage as one of THE most important factors that helps control your immune system (an estimated 70% of your immune system resides in your gut), as well as your digestive system health.

Most people "think" they get enough health-boosting probiotics from yogurt (the average person eats yogurt almost daily).  Unfortunately, there are some problems with yogurt that you need to be aware of...

1.  First problem with yogurt:

Some brands of yogurt actually contain live cultures and some do not.  Almost all yogurts found in the US start with pasteurized milk... that's not such a problem because once the live cultures are added and the milk fermented, you once again have a live and active food that's easier to digest than regular milk and has a reduced lactose content due to the consumption of lactose by the microbes.

Sadly, some brands pasteurize the yogurt AFTER it's been fermented (cultured) which kills the beneficial probiotics.  On the other hand, most good brands of yogurt do NOT pasteurize after fermenting, so the probiotics are still alive for your benefit.

The amount of probiotics in yogurt varies widely based on the brand and type, but I've seen estimates anywhere from 1 Billion to 5 Billion CFUs per cup.  This is decent, but low compared to some other probiotic sources we'll discuss in a bit.

The KEY is that you need to look for "live and active cultures" on the label, or another labeling that indicates the probiotics are still active.


2.  Second problem with yogurt:

Most yogurts in the US are sadly adulterated with way too many sweeteners, whether sugar, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners.

Remember that sucralose kills probiotics, so any yogurt that's been sweetened with sucralose (aka, splenda) will most likely have a greatly reduced probiotic content or possibly even be fully dead.

And most other yogurts are produced to appease the overly aggressive sweet taste buds of American consumers, so they simply contain too much sugar to be considered healthy.

I always recommend choosing unsweetened plain yogurt or plain greek yogurt and adding your own stevia or other natural sweetener if you need extra sweetness beyond the addition of whole fruit.  Personally, I love to simply add a small scoop of Biotrust Low-Carb Vanilla protein to my plain yogurt (along with some berries and nuts) and it makes the PERFECT sweetness in my opinion!

I also personally choose FULL-fat yogurt and not all of this silly skim 0% yogurt that's out there these days.  Remember that the extra fat in full-fat yogurt satisfies your appetite and cravings so that you eat less calories later in the day.  If you eat these 0% fat yogurts, you'll end up hungrier in an hour or two.  Also, if you can find yogurt from grass-fed cows, the fat portion of the yogurt is VERY healthy and contains powerful vitamin K2 (shown to reduce heart disease risk) as well as CLA (found to reduce cancer risk and help to reduce body fat), and also omega-3 fats, which you also know are vital to your health.


3.  Third problem with yogurt:

The last problem with yogurt that I wanted to bring to your attention today is that yogurt is not necessarily the best source of probiotics, both in terms of quantity and also variety of strains.

Variety is KEY when it comes to the overall power of probiotics for your immunity and digestion.

Most yogurts only contain 3-4 strains of probiotics.  On the other hand, Kefir is a fermented dairy drink that contains anywhere from 10-20 strains of probiotics depending on the brand and type.  In addition, Lassi is an Indian style fermented dairy drink that also contains a much wider variety of strains than yogurt does.

In terms of quantity of probiotics, yogurts generally contain between 1 Billion to 5 Billion CFU's per cup, whereas most Kefir or Lassi contains anywhere from 7 Billion to 50 Billion active CFU's per cup depending on the brand and type.  Most yogurts are only cultured for 2-3 hours, whereas kefir is generally cultured for 12-16 hours, increasing it's probiotic content and making it easier for digestion.

Also, most Kefir is 99% lactose free and is by far the easiest to digest type of dairy on the market due to the "predigestion" that the active cultures perform on the kefir before you drink it.

Kefir is a GREAT addition to any smoothies that you make instead of using water or almond milk because you get the immune system and digestive system benefits of the probiotics in Kefir, which you can't get in almond milk.

Again, I personally choose FULL-FAT (for the reasons I described above with full-fat yogurt as well) when I look for a good kefir and I try to find grass-fed as well.  If I don't use kefir in smoothies, one way I like it is just simply to add a small touch of real maple syrup, vanilla, and chia seeds to a cup of kefir -- amazingly delicious snack for anytime!

Interestingly, I recently found out from their website that Lifeway brand kefir is made from grass-fed milk in ALL of their products (even though they don't include that on the labels), so the fat content in Lifeway kefir will also contain those ever so important nutrients of vitamin K2 for heart health, CLA for cancer protection and body fat reduction, and omega 3 fats for overall health.  The full-fat greek kefir by Lifeway is my favorite and I use it almost every day!

With all of this said about yogurt and kefir, please note that I do NOT drink regular commercial milk that's been pasteurized and homogenized.  It's a dead food that has harmful microscopic fat particles due to the homogenization.  On the other hand, yogurts and kefirs generally start with pasteurized milk, (but NOT homogenized), and are made alive and easier to digest again through the fermentation process.

For this reason, I choose to NEVER use commercial milk, but I use yogurt several times a week, and I use Kefir DAILY because of it's health benefits and great taste.

Lastly, if you're one of those folks that thinks that all dairy is bad for you because you've fallen for certain anti-animal food propaganda that floats around out there on the internet, here's one last fact to consider that might make some vegans want to switch to vegetarians...

It's well known that in the Caucasus Mountains and other areas of eastern Europe, that natives to that area drink kefir daily throughout their lives and routinely live to over 100 years old.  And in India, fermented dairy in the form of Lassi is routinely consumed with daily meals, and they display much better health than the average American.

Clearly, if "dairy was bad for you" as many so-called "experts" seem to like to claim, these natives in the Caucasus Mountains that drink fermented dairy every day of their lives wouldn't be living to 100 years old!  Just shows you to beware of who you trust for your health information.

Also, remember that VARIETY of probiotics is KEY... that's why in addition to kefir, lassi, yogurt, and fermented veggies (krauts, kimchi, etc) as good sources for a variety of strains of probiotics, I also personally take this powerful probiotic supplement daily, which I think is particularly powerful due to the micro-encapsulation technology which keeps the probiotics alive through your harsh stomach so that they can properly colonize your intestines.

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How to Get PERFECT Digestion (and lose fat faster)

Avoid the foods that HARM your digestive system and discover those that HEAL your digestion problems.

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-sellers: The Truth About Six Pack Abs  &  The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging


The feedback from most of my readers shows that digestion issues are one of the topics that most people want to learn more about.  Apparently, even on the Dr Oz show, any episode about "poop problems" or digestion end up being some of the most popular episodes.

So pay attention to this article if you have any bowel irregularity or digestion issues at all, whether it's constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, or just irregular bowel movements.

Over the last couple years, I've perfected a daily digestion-healing plan that's worked wonders for me, as well as some of my friends and clients.  Quite literally, I've had some friends that either had chronic "runny stools" or constipation, and this type of plan has totally fixed their issues.
A side effect of the digestion-healing meal plans below is that most people start to lose body fat faster by eating this way too!

Keep in mind that I'm not "prescribing" anything here as I'm not a doctor, and this is solely my observation on what's worked for me and several friends of mine that have tried my plan, which is based on science.

First step in healing digestion issues:

First, you need to identify if you have any food allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities and try to minimize or completely avoid those foods. For many people, wheat, soy, and conventional dairy are 3 issues that come up most frequently.

With that said, keep in mind that certain types of dairy, such as grass-fed Kefir can actually be a very strong healer of digestion issues due to the extremely powerful probiotics in kefir which help to fix harmful bacterial imbalances in your gut.  And kefir is also 99% lactose-free since the friendly bacteria pre-digest almost all of the lactose.  So kefir ends up being one of the most digestible forms of dairy.

Also, keep in mind that it's generally either the lactose in dairy or the proteins in dairy that some people can be sensitive to.  But many people don't realize that they can still reap the health benefits of dairy fat, including the CLA, vitamin K2, and omega-3's of grass-fed butter and cream without anything more than traces of lactose or dairy protein.

If you don't currently know if you have a sensitivity to gluten, one test that you can consider running on yourself is to completely avoid any wheat-based foods (that means no bread, muffins, pasta, cereals, crackers, etc) for 2-3 weeks and see if you notice a considerable improvement in your digestion and your bowel movements.
Many people are quite pleased to find that their digestion problems start to go away within the first 2 weeks of eliminating wheat from their diet, as the constant inflammation that can be caused by gluten (and other antinutrients found in wheat) in the digestive tract subsides once they stop eating so much bread and cereal.

This should be obvious, but to be clear, you also need to avoid junk foods that are loaded with sugar, trans fats, corn syrup, and chemical additives too, as these all can cause digestion problems and other health issues.

Ok, now that you've eliminated foods that might be causing inflammation and other digestion problems, you need to start HEALING your digestive system...

Second step - foods that HEAL the digestive system:

I've been amazed at the power of fermented foods (loaded with probiotics) and how dramatic the improvement to digestion and bowel movements can be, since many digestion and bowel issues are caused by either a harmful bacterial imbalance in the gut and/or too many foods that cause inflammation.

I've had at LEAST 6-8 friends of mine that started trying a similar food plan that I lay out below and their chronic constipation, runny stools, or indigestion completely cleared up within one week of starting this type of plan.

Keep in mind that the VARIETY of probiotic sources is what I consider to be most important, as each type of food or source has different strains of good bacteria that have different health benefits to your digestion or immune system.

Even though I've always eaten healthy at least for the last 15 or so years, I didn't focus more on probiotic intake, except intermittently, until the last year. Over the last 8-12 months, I've focused a LOT more on getting DAILY sources of probiotics instead of just occasional, and the results have been phenomenal to my digestive system!

In previous years, I would only occasionally eat fermented veggies like kimchi or other krauts, and I would occasionally drink kefir a couple times per month.  But that's changed, and my digestive system is LOVING my new plan.

My personal daily plan for PERFECT digestion:

Morning (first thing)

• 1 serving of this superfoods-cocktail mixed with unsweet iced tea (7 Billion probiotics + 76 superfood ingredients all in a delicious drink)
• Organic coffee with grass-fed real cream* (good source of the healthy fat CLA, and vitamin K2 for heart health)

*Organic Valley brand has a great pasture-raised cream that I've found at many grocery stores.

Late morning

• 3 eggs (over-easy is my favorite, plus slightly healthier than scrambled since scrambling can oxidize some of the cholesterol)
• Chicken, turkey, or bison sausage
• Half an avocado
• Fermented veggies* (a nice pile of them)
• tea (green, white, or oolong) with tiny bit of raw honey
• 1 serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics (protects the probiotics through the stomach to the intestines -- the most powerful probiotic supplement I've found)

*The fermented veggies are also a particularly powerful source of probiotics with different strains from what you get in yogurt or kefir for different health benefits for your digestive system and immune system.  I rotate a different type of fermented veggies each week and have found some really tasty varieties at Whole Foods or at a local health food store... my favorites that I rotate are kimchi (Korean style), fermented carrots (carrot kraut), fermented beets (beet kraut), and one that I found called Jungle kraut, which seems to be purple cabbage, carrots, etc.

I've noticed that some people that don't like the taste of typical fermented cabbage dishes end up really liking the fermented carrots or beets instead.  TMI alert:  Several friends have told me that their years of poop problems completely cleared up after only 1 week or so of including fermented veggies each day with their meals as well as Kefir.

Afternoon snack

• 1 cup plain or greek full-fat Kefir (grass-fed) with added 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1-2 tsp of real maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla (if you don't like the tangy taste of plain kefir, try it the way I make it here and I'm pretty sure you'll LOVE it!)

*Kefir is a super-healing food for the digestive system.  Remember that natives of the Caucasus mountains in eastern europe routinely live to over 100 years old and one of their favorite daily drinks is full-fat Kefir!  Kefir has quite a bit more probiotics than yogurt (2x-10x more), plus is generally 10 or more strains of probiotics vs only 3-4 strains in most yogurts.  Most types of kefir have anywhere from 7-50 Billion probiotics per cup depending on brand.
Note that according to their website, Lifeway brand kefir is made from 100% grass-fed dairy in all of their products even though they don't include "grass-fed" or "pasture-raised" on the label.

Dinner

• Some sort of meat - grass-fed steaks, chicken, or wild fish typically
• Some form of steamed veggies or vegetable side dish
• Fresh greens salad with real homemade olive oil dressing

I've found that one of best ways to get and stay very lean is to keep dinner based around a healthy type of meat, cooked veggies side dish, and a raw veggies salad.  It keeps the evening meal relatively low-carb with minimum impacts on insulin, but loaded with nutrition and hormone-balancing healthy fats.  It also keeps the meal gluten-free and fairly easy on the digestive system.

Late night snack

• Handful of nuts (pistachios, almonds, or pecans are my favorite, and loaded with nutrition) and a small square or two of extra dark chocolate
• 1 cup of caffeine-free tea such as chamomile, rooibos, mint, or tulsi tea (each have their own unique antioxidants)
• 2nd daily serving of ProX10 microencapsulated probiotics

Once or twice a week, I'll also grab a Kombucha tea (a fermented probiotic tea) if I'm out and about, which is another good source of probiotics, although not as powerful as the others I listed in the above plan.
There you have it!  Again, this is NOT a prescription for any health condition... this is solely my personal digestion-healing plan that I've used with great success and that many of my friends and clients have used to fully HEAL many of their digestion and bowel problems.
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