Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Ask a Nutritionist.

This is our midweek segment of Dishing Up Nutrition.

My name is Brandy Burrow.

I'm a registered and licensed dietitian, and today we're going to be diving into the topic of yogurt and

fermented foods. Yogurt and fermented foods are promoted as a gut healthy choice, but I think

there's a lot of confusion around what the best option is, especially yogurt. So we are going

to try to clarify some confusion around yogurt, answer some questions you might have, help you determine

what are the best choices, what are the healthiest choices when it comes to yogurt?

And if yogurt doesn't agree with you, how do you still get some gut health benefits from other foods?

So we are going to zoom out a little bit and talk more broadly about fermented foods, what they are,

what are some of the health benefits,

and how to choose the best options without getting too overwhelmed. So whether you love yogurt

or maybe you avoid dairy, but you're still looking for some alternative foods to support

your gut health, this is the episode for you. So let's start with some of the basics. First,

a common question that comes up a lot is, is yogurt a fermented food? Well, yes, yogurt is a fermented food, but only

when it's made in the traditional method. Yogurt always starts with milk, and then specific

bacteria are added, usually a lactobacillus and a streptocococcus string. So these bacteria ferment the lactose,

lactose being the natural sugar that's in milk, and it converts that sugar into lactic acid.

So the fermentation process ends up thickening the milk. It gives yogurt its tangy flavor.

And because the fermentation converts lactose into lactic acid,

the end result is actually lower lactose content. And it also creates more live bacteria,

which we know as probiotics. So at its core, yes, yogurt is a fermented food. However, and this is important, not all

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