Starting your day with a bowl of yogurt is an easy way to boost your gut health. This fermented dairy product is packed with probiotic cultures that help balance the ratio of good to bad bacteria in your gut microbiome, improving digestion and overall well-being. While yogurt’s gut-healthy benefits are already impressive, new research from the University of Illinois suggests that adding a special topping—honey—can boost these effects even further.
Studies from the University of Illinois reveal that honey can support yogurt’s probiotic cultures, potentially amplifying its gut-health benefits. But what does this mean for your breakfast routine? Should you start drizzling honey on your morning yogurt? In this article, we delve into the research to find out what these findings could mean for you.
The study
The biggest challenge with yogurt probiotics is that they don’t always survive the journey from our mouths to our gut microbiome. According to researchersThis is largely due to the enzymes found in our mouths, stomachs, and intestines. These enzymes are essential for digestion and nutrient absorption, but they can also reduce the number of probiotics that make it to our gut. However, after conducting three studies, researchers found that adding a small amount of honey can help support the survival of these probiotics.
In the First of all An in vitro study to simulate oral, gastric, and intestinal digestion allowed the researchers to confirm their hypothesis that clover honey can improve the survival rate of probiotics during digestion. This proof-of-concept study was an important first step, but it was not conducted in humans.
Building on these results, the researchers conducted a second, separate study to see if this effect could be applied to humans. 66 healthy adults were tested who consumed yogurt with clover honey and yogurt without honey. The results showed that the combination of honey and yogurt actually improved the survival rate of probiotics compared to yogurt alone.
A small follow-up study was conducted, in which participants consumed yogurt with regular sugar. Even in this study, honey was found to have the greatest impact on supporting probiotic survival.
How to Use Honey to Improve Gut Health Yogurt
What do these results mean for you? For starters, a small amount of honey can be a great alternative to regular sugar or other sweeteners you might use in your yogurt. Not only is honey better for your gut than sugar, but it also contains powerful antioxidants. antioxidants. Additionally, research has revealed that Honey is better for blood sugar than regular sugar.
That said, it’s important to remember that honey is still considered a form of added sugar. Consuming too much added sugar may increase your risk of heart disease, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes. However, a small amount of honey mixed with yogurt should be safe for most people.
At the end of the day, you can top your yogurt bowl with something other than honey. Consider adding nuts or nut butters for healthy fats and protein, or your favorite fruit for fiber and antioxidants. No matter what combination you choose, enjoy the gut-healthy benefits that a little drizzle of honey can provide.
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Samantha Boesch
Samantha was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, and now works as a writer in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more about Samantha
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