Another Reason to Eat Yogurt

In her Moosletter, “The Good, the Bad and the Bugly: Probiotics and Prebiotics to the rescue!”, on Stonyfield.com, Vicki Koenig, MS, RD, CDN, says that the majority of our immunological response takes place in our intestinal tract. Over 60% of the total immunoglobulins in our body are produced in our Gut-Associated Lympohoid Tissue (GALT). This tissue is where we get our “innate or inborn immunity”.

The probiotics found in yogurt support immunity by increasing the number of immunoglobulins and secreting bacteriocins (natural antibiotics that kill off pathogenic bacteria). A 2005 study from the Environmental Health online journal showed that working adults who ate Lactobacillus reuteri (a probiotic found in Stonyfield Farm yogurt) had 55% less gastrointestinal and respiratory infections and had 2.5 times fewer sick days than those who did not consume the yogurt.