Grass-Fed Yogurt

Grass-fed yogurt is a relatively new food in the U.S. marketplace, and grass feeding is a practice not yet familiar to all consumers. By definition, 100% grass-fed yogurt comes from cows who have grazed in pasture year round rather than being fed a processed diet for much of their life. Grass feeding improves the quality of yogurt and makes the yogurt richer in omega3 fats and CLA, a beneficial fatty acid named conjugated linoleic acid.

Because grass feeding of cows can increase the healthfulness of fats in their body, milk from those cows can be a source of high quality fats for making yogurt. Lactic acid bacteria used to ferment milk into yogurt have now been shown to take some of its fatty acids and convert them into conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). A fairly conservative estimate of the CLA in grass-fed yogurt would be about 8 milligrams per liquid ounce. Research is linking our CLA intake to decreased risk of many health problems, including heart attack, blood sugar imbalance, excessive inflammation, and loss of bone
mass. One of the reasons we generally recommend grass-fed yogurts from whole milk is that nonfat and skim milk yogurts—while still healthy in many ways—cannot naturally provide this same level of CLA or other high­-quality fats like the omega­3s found in most whole milk yogurts.

Yogurt has recently been show to lower risk of type 2 diabetes in several large­scale human studies. While the greatest risk reduction has been shown in individuals who average about 6 ounces per day, even 3 ounces per day has been shown to decrease risk. While a variety of different factors might be involved in this health benefit, improved digestive function is undoubtedly high on the list. Repeated studies on live culture yogurts show the ability of yogurt to help regulate the steadiness of food passage through our digestive tract, and to support the digestion and absorption of food through increased metabolism by healthy bacteria in the gut. Steadiness and hardiness of digestion are very important for healthy blood sugar regulation since they help prevent both too quick digestion and release of sugars from food as well as too slow digestion of food that might cause unwanted dips in blood sugar in the hours following a meal.

Probiotic yogurts (containing millions or tens of millions of live bacteria per gram of yogurt) have been found to decrease total blood cholesterol levels while increasing HDL ("good cholesterol") levels in a recent study on Iranian women. Women in the study consumed about 10 ounces of yogurt each day over the course of 6 weeks. Interestingly, the authors of this study speculated about the potentially important role of sphingolipids in promoting better levels of cholesterol. Sphingolipids—including sphingosine, sphinganine, and sphingomyelin—are naturally occurring fats in yogurt and other foods; researchers now know that they play a key role in cell signaling and promotion of health in numerous body systems, including the cardiovascular system.

One final note about grass-­fed yogurt: while this food is becoming more and more popular in the marketplace and is being carried by numerous whole food groceries across the country, small local dairies that are pasture-­focused can be a very good source for grass­-fed yogurt. One website that can help you find local grass-­fed dairies in your area is www.eatwild.com. On this website, you can find a map of the United States which allows you to click on your state and find local dairies that are
pasture-­focused and engage in yogurt production