Aiming high with prebiotic yoghurt

Dean Foods company Mountain High Yoghurt has introduced a yogurt containing the prebiotic fibre NutraFlora to promote healthy digestion.

There is a growing variety of yogurt brands on the market with added prebiotics but not all have strong evidence to show efficacy in fighting disease in humans. Prebiotics are thought to modulate enteric and systemic immune functions, and have also been shown to resist colorectal cancer-inducing carcinogens in laboratory animals.

Mountain High claims that there are more than 200 studies to support the effects of NutraFlora, first developed in Japan and supplied in the US by GTC Nutrition.​

The ingredient contains concentrated short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), found naturally in many fruits, vegetables, and grains. To gain the benefits of prebiotics from these foods however a consumer would need to eat very large quantities. Studies show that 1 gram of NutraFlora in the daily diet can help promote health, according to GTC Nutrition.

The new yogurt, Naturally Nutritious Yoghurt, is 99.5 per cent fat-free. With inclusion of NutraFlora it is said to help absorption of calcium, strengthen the immune system, fight infection, increase metabolic energy and promote regularity.

The yogurt comes in Mixed Berry, Peach Mango, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry and Vanilla flavors and is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.