Bacteria in balance - Extra Nutrition - yogurt - Brief Article

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, April-May, 2002

If you routinely eat yogurt alone as a snack, you may not be getting the most from its major health benefit, which is to aid digestion by balancing the microflora within the body's intestines. Turns out that probiotics, the living bacteria in yogurt and similar products, are so sensitive that they can die during the digestive process before reaching the intestines where they're most beneficial. Food Technology magazine says probiotics are best consumed during or immediately after a meal when pH levels in the stomach are lower, thus increasing the potential for more micro-organisms to survive into the intestines.

Source: Institute of Food Technologists