It’s not yogurt

We have been discussing how, by fermenting dairy or coconut milk products with Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC PTA 6475 and DSM 17938, we boost hypothalamic release of oxytocin that, in turn, yields increased dermal collagen, smooths wrinkles, accelerates healing, improves bone density, restores youthful strength and muscle, increases libido, and shuts down appetite.

Unfortunately, some people have misinterpreted this to mean that consuming yogurt in any form achieves these effects—not true. So let’s clear up this confusion.

To call something “yogurt,” by (semi-arbitrary) FDA guidelines, it must be fermented by the microorganisms Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus (unspecified strains). It can contain other fermenting species such as Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacteria species, but it must contains the first two species in order to be labeled “yogurt.” So our L. reuteri “yogurt,” if this were being sold commercially, could not be labeled as such because it was not fermented with Lactobacillus bulgaricus or Streptococcus thermophilus.

We are therefore not really making yogurt, but fermenting dairy or coconut milk with a unique microorganism to amplify bacterial counts of this specific species/strain. I’ve called it “yogurt” because it looks like yogurt, tastes like yogurt, and fits a familiar role in eating habits—but it’s NOT yogurt. And, of course, I’m not selling it to you.

So, by consuming Yoplait or Dannon or Stonyfield Farms yogurt, you will not be obtaining the L. reuteri-generated boost in oxytocin. I have nothing against these products (aside from the high sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup content of some), but they do not provide the same benefits as our L. reuteri fermented product. Because this idea of fermenting with unique microorganisms is so new, there is no appropriate terminology for this. So I shall continue to call it yogurt for our non-commercial purposes, but don’t let that confuse you into thinking that all yogurts yield the same benefits, because they do not.

And, by the way, our “yogurt” is the beginning of an entire host of interesting possibilities in the targeted amplification of specific bacterial species and strains that yield health benefits. I foresee a time when you can take a specific strain or strains, amplify counts via fermentation to yield “yogurt,” and address various health conditions and, for instance, accelerate weight loss, reverse health conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, even improve mental and physical performance.

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