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Yakult: The Benefits of Probiotic Foods on a Poor Westerner’s Stomach
Posted by Mike in China Living
The Yakult drink may not look like much…more like a simple shot of milk, but it is MUCH more powerful than it looks! For about 1-2 RMB per “shot”, this mighty drink attacks all of the bad bacteria living in your stomach by lining your stomach walls with good bacteria that, put simply, keeps your stomach in order. It’s sort of like the Yin to the Yang (or vice versa…).
As you can tell by the description above, I am not a doctor and can’t tell you for sure the “whys and hows” of this product. In fact, my description is probably only a bit more understandable than the joke (I think) below:
While my scientific explanation of this drink is a bit lacking, here are some more facts that should help with your understanding of this powerful probiotic food:
- Yakult contains around 8 billion probiotics called Lactobacillus casei Shirota, which is only contained in the Yokult product.
- People in stressful situations tend to have upset stomachs. Yakult is supposed to help with this.
- Generally speaking, you should have more “good bacteria” than “bad bacteria” in your stomach. When you are dealing with random foods in China on a daily basis, your “bad bacteria” numbers are bound to increase.
- Yakult needs to be taken on a daily basis (not sure if this is just marketing) to be effective. It is a preventative food rather than a reactionary food.
- Yakult loses effectiveness if it is not refrigerated at 4 degrees C or under. Do not freeze!
- Yakult comes in 4 different flavors. However, to me, it all tastes the same.
- Speaking of taste, I actually don’t mind the taste of Yakult. It tastes a bit like sweetened milk.
- Each shot of Yakult has 46 calories.
So, with all of this being said, do Yakult drinks really help?
I’m a bit skeptical, but others swear by Yakult. I’ve used the drinks on-and-off for the past few weeks and have the same amount of stomach problems as before. However, I failed to take the drinks daily and typically use them as a reactionary measure, so my study is far from scientific. I do believe that a lot of the effects of Yakult might be psychological — you think it works, therefore it works. I am a firm believer in the placebo effect and can see this happening. I’ll leave it up to you to decide. Even if you do give the drinks a spin, you aren’t losing much — they taste fine and they don’t exactly break the bank.
Have any of you used Yakult? Please leave your thoughts below!
Hi,
I think a lot of what you said is true, its very important to have a good balance of probiotics over bad bacteria in the system.
However a few things you havent mentioned:-
1)Yakult is absolutely packed full of sugar, which in turn weakens the immune system
2) Yakult only contains one probiotic strain whereas multiple strains is more beneficial
3) The probiotics in yoghurts just dont survive like the probiotics in supplements.
Id go with a high quality probiotic capsule!
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
October 7th, 2010 at 12:05 am
Thanks, I appreciate the knowledge!
[Reply]
Hi Mike and everyone!
As Gregory stated above, Yakult is in fact full of sugar, which is why it tastes like milk flavored Kool-Aid. While it does have a lot of the probiotics in there, a healthy dose of yogurt also does, and it usually has more than one strain of bacteria. I don’t agree that a supplement is the way to go, as yogurt itself helps prevent bacteria from being killed by your stomach acid.
Either way, your body usually has enough of these bacteria naturally, and because it’s a bacteria, it does replicate in your intestines, stomach, and mouth (naturally in humans). Having some yogurt to make sure there is plenty never hurts, and having some on a regular basis can aid (NOT CURE) some problems, as it helps break down complex foods (and oils).
Keep in mind that in China, most everything from a small cough to itchy feet seems to require IV antibiotics when you visit a (non-Western) doctor o hospital. If you are taking anti-biotics, keep in mind that they also kill the GOOD bacteria as well as the bad. If I need to take AB for anything, I increase my yogurt intake.
As for stomach problems, it depends on you personally. I often get acid reflux and/or heartburn. Yogurt and yogurt drinks do help this, but if i’s bad, almost every local pharmacy has Omeprazole and even drugs with the same ingredients as like Pepcid or Zantac(in the US anyway). Just difficult to identify if you can’t read Chinese extremely well. If anyone wants to know what they are, post here and I will give you the Chinese.
Another thing that has at least helped me since I’ve been in China (5+ years) is a small pill called “Berberine HCL” which is available from just about any pharmacy and is OTC. It is sort of a mild anti-biotic, and it also has other benefits. Not very common in the West, but research has shown that it is safe and does have a lot of benefits.
Most of the food/stomach related issues here are caused by A.) less than sanitary conditions – which means strains of havoc wrecking bacteria, or B.) consumption of too much of a different product. I have issues because the diet in a lot of China is oil and starch, two things I rarely consume in the US in great quantities. Considering that most vegetable dishes here are cooked or soaked with oil or often pork fat… And remember that most restaurants aren’t concerned with providing you with healthy options, but what is cheap and turns a good profit. Quality cooking oil is one of the first “cut-backs” a restaurant will make here in China, and as food prices have risen over the past year, it is 100% noticeable in places I eat at (and no longer do).
Best bet: buy food from places you trust, cook at home = 0 problems.
Recently in Shanghai and a few other places they found that some “lamb” street vendors were soaking cat meat in sheep urine to make it taste like “lamb”, because lamb prices have gone up considerably.
Not all of course, these are isolated and random incidents, but it makes me cautious.
[Reply]
Mike Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
David,
Thank you for your detailed reply on Yakult and Yakult benefits.
I do venture out a bit too much with somewhat risky food. Your information on vendor lamb BBQ makes me sick since it is some of my favorite food! Now I just imagine cat meat and sheep urine in my stomach… Your quote may keep me from ever buying lamb from an outside vendor again :).
Fortunately, most of my cooking is at home. I still have some issues, but I find my stomach is getting stronger and stronger as the months go on. Maybe it’s psychological or maybe it is that my immune system is adjusting to the new germs and bacteria found in China. I’m far from a science guy, so my knowledge in the area is limited. Glad you are here to help out.
Your advice on yogurt is helpful. My hope is, a combination of Yakult and yogurt will help keep me generally healthy. I’m not looking forward to ever dealing with a hospital out here, so I hope to prevent stomach issues any way possible.
Thanks again,
Mike
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