L. acidophilus Supplements Versus Yogurt: The Surprising Truth Consumers Need to Know

Here are two important background points that we have discussed previously in this blog:

• L. acidophilus strains are the gold standard probiotic in research for showing the most benefits in gastrointestinal health. They are the most studied strains, and boast consistently positive results in many populations of people.

• Most probiotic supplement manufacturers are unregulated and fail to process and deliver these strains in a viable form, thus negating their efficacy.

Some people have therefore asked me- why bother shopping for the right supplement, when you can just eat yogurt to get L. acidophilus? Both the general public and medical professionals are surprised to learn that yogurt is not a good way to get L. acidophilus, and here is why:

First, we will focus only on those yogurt products labeled to contain live cultures. What this means is that the product must contain one or both of the culture strains commonly used to make yogurt, which in the U.S. is Lactobacillus bulgaricus and/or Streptococcus thermophiles. These strains serve to culture milk into palatable yogurt products and survive through refrigeration. However, most commercially available yogurt starter bacteria do not survive well in the GI tract. Thus, many of these “probiotic cultures” are often of little to no benefit to the human GI tract when consumed in yogurt, even though they can be classified as “live cultures.” (To survive passage into the intestines, vulnerable probiotic cultures need to be protected by a specific encapsulation process which allows them to pass safely through the acidic secretions of the stomach.)

Health professionals often recommend eating “live culture” yogurts to help ward off yeast infections during and after antibiotic treatments. Not only do they NOT help to prevent many infections, but they also ADD to the problem by supplying extra added sugars into the diet which further promotes the growth of yeast in the vaginal tract.

On the website of the leading yogurt producer in the country, its website acknowledges that “some” of its yogurt cups may contain extra cultures such as L. acidophilus, L. casei, and bifidobacterium. The problem is that adding these cultures to the mix does not guarantee that they will survive in the product.

The reason is due to the fact that yogurt starter cultures (especially L. bulgaricus) can be highly inhibitory to the survivability of some L. acidophilus strains. This is why yogurt and other fermented milk products marketed for GI health must rely upon developing other strains which can survive storage and entry into the human GI tract. However, studies on these new strains are often limited as to their efficacy and long term safety.

So in summary: yogurts and fermented dairy products are not a reliable source of probiotic bacteria which can survive storage and entry into the human GI tract to offer health benefits, and at this time cannot be recommended as a functional food or treatment for any health condition.