Role of Yogurt in Human Diet: Health Benefits and Key Concerns

摘要

In recent years, there has been increasing demand for a new range of dairy products like yogurts, which are similar to traditional milk products but have a low fat content (Begona and Rosario, 2000). Throughout the world yogurt has a number of synonyms (Table 1). It is becoming increasingly popular around the world, particularly in the United States, as well as Turkey, India, and Greece, where it is being used for culinary purposes. Yogurt first gained international prominence in the early 1900s whenIlya Metchnikov, a Russian bacteriologist, observed that the long life span of Bulgarians was mainly due to their diet which included the consumption of large quantities of soured milk (Whitman and Craig, 1985). The first industrialized production of yogurt is attributed to Isaac Carasso in 1919 in Barcelona (Mariani, 1999). Its health benefits only became apparent during the 20th century, due to the research performed by Dr. Elie Metchnikoff on lactic acid bacteria. The word is derived from Turkish — yogurt, and is related to yogurmak 'to knead' and yogun "dense" or "thick".