Yogurt

Yogurt is a food made from the bacterial fermentation of milk. People have been discovering its health benefits for years. For example, when my husband and I served as missionaries in southern Mexico for a year, I ate yogurt, because its good bacteria helped combat the bad bacteria that's so prevalent there and causes upset stomachs. I never got sick the whole time, but I took other precautions, too.

Fruit with yogurt

When I taught school, I usually took lowfat yogurt, fruit, and a few animal crackers for lunch, because I knew I didn't need to eat a lunch high in calories or fat. Yogurt has properties that aid in weight loss, too. It's also good for strengthening bone density.

Yogurt has a long history.  Ancient Indian writings talk of yogurt with honey being called "the food of the gods." Other traditions say that Abraham's longevity came from eating yogurt regularly (Edward Famworth, Handbook of Fermented Functional Food, 2008, p. 114). It's also been reported that "the land flowing with milk and honey" in the Bible actually meant a yogurt drink (Melanie DuPois, Nature's Perfect Food, 2002, p. 29). Ancient Greeks ate a dairy

product they called "oxygala," which may have been a form or

yogurt. The oldest known writing that mentions yogurt comes

from Pliny the Elder who said some nations knew how "to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity" (John Bostock and Henry Thomas Riley, The Natural History of Pliny, vol. 3, p. 84). Several books written in medieval times mention the word "yogurt," especially in reference to the nomadic Turks, and the word comes from their language.

Today most grocery stores carry several kinds of yogurt, and there's recipes on how to make your own. In addition, yogurt can be used in almost every category of dish from sauces to entries to desserts. It's a very versatile food that's also good for you.

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