As a Nutrition Consultant I’ve been on top of this topic for already a long time. Another one of my biggest peeves at the grocery store are yogurts claiming to “restore digestive health.” Personally I love yogurt but not the types that come in those cute little convenient cups with a lot of artificial ingredients, food colorings, sugar (literally teaspoons or artificial sweeteners) and thickeners. So yes the ones that say, " live active cultures" may have some redeeming features but they come at a cost.
Instead purchase a good quality non-fat Greek yogurt (rich and creamy, really!) or plain non-fat yogurt in a quart container and add your own fresh fruit, stevia (a non-artificial healthier sweetener) or a bit of unprocessed honey and consume a full eight ounces of the yogurt. You not only get more health benefits but a whole lot less of the other useless additives and more savings in today’s economy. Note though as good as the Greek yogurt is, it does not contain as much calcium as other natural plain yogurts.
And the amount of probiotics you find in about a half cup of regular yogurt won’t help you if you have major digestive issues. You probably need more fiber (from real fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and possibly a good quality brand of supplemental probiotics for stronger benefits. Note that sugar (found in many of the probiotic yogurts) actually depletes your immune system so what’s the real point other than convenience?
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