8 Health Benefits Of Yakult Probiotic Drink

Yakult, a probiotic drink, improves gut health by balancing microbiota. It aids in treating diarrhea, promoting food absorption, and avoiding constipation. Essential for maintaining a healthy balance of gut bacteria. Beneficial for gluten intolerant individuals and enhances immune system function. Also helps in reducing upper respiratory tract infections and stress.

Maintaining your gut health is essential for your overall well-being, as your gut absorbs the foods you eat and extracts the nutrients in them. To improve the health of your stomach, you need the help of good bacteria like probiotics. Even though your gut flora consists of good microbes, you must improve it to remain healthy by preventing infections and illnesses.

Yakult was developed by Dr. Minoru Shirota, who isolated the Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota in Japan in the 1930s. It was first sold in Japan in 1935.

The primary ingredient in Yakult is the probiotic strain Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Probiotics are live microorganisms. Regular consumption of Yakult helps balance the gut microbiota and enhances digestive health.

Factors like a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy foods, stress, and lack of sleep can disrupt your digestive health. These factors might also multiply the harmful bacteria, affecting your health. You can increase the count of good bacteria with Yakult. It is a non-fat probiotic drink that can help in improving gut health.

Top Health Benefits Of Yakult

Listed below are some of the top health benefits offered by Yakult.

1. Treats Diarrhea

A bottle of Yakult is loaded with 6.5 million Lactobacillus casei Shirota, essential for overall health. These probiotics can improve the overall immunity level in your body. It also prevents the development of infections in the gut, which can trigger diarrhea. Diarrhea can be a fatal condition that can lead to the loss of salts and minerals in the body. So, preventing such a disease is imperative, and Yakult makes a very beneficial choice.

As per a study, probiotic Lactobacillus casei can lower the frequency and duration of diarrhea in children and healthy adults. While the exact mechanism is unclear, it is believed to boost immunity, prevent harmful bacterial adherence, inhibit bacterial invasion of the gut lining, and possibly produce antimicrobial substances. (Source)

2. Promotes Absorption Of Food

When the gut flora is not up to the mark, the benefits of all the nutrients and vitamins in your food are absorbed partially. Yakult helps digest the food completely, as it promotes intestine movement. When the performance of your gut is improved, the food gets absorbed fully. It also supports the intestines’ peristalsis and facilitates digestion. So, your overall body health is improved as the complete nutrients in your food are absorbed and reach your bloodstream.

3. Maintains Perfect Balance

In your intestines, when the ratio of harmful bacteria is higher than good bacteria, you tend to fall sick from infections and diseases. You need Yakult to maintain the right balance of good and bad bacteria. As it is full of probiotics, there is no question of depletion in the levels of good bacteria in your gut. So, it is essential to have a bottle of Yakult every day. If your doctor has prescribed you antibiotics to improve the number of good bacteria in the gut, Yakult might also help.

4. Avoids Constipation

Most people face the issue of constipation as they follow an unhealthy diet. When they consume processed food regularly, it is less in fiber and will not support bowel movement. When they take Yakult regularly, it aids in gut mobility, relieves constipation, and maintains gut health.

5. Useful For The Gluten Intolerant People

People with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance will suffer from several digestive disorders when they eat gluten-containing food. As Yakult’s gluten-free ingredients, they can take it regularly, as it will help treat diarrhea and other digestive issues.

6. Eliminates Bacteria

Lactobacillus casei Shirota present in Yakult can eliminate the four major disease-causing bacteria. They are Shigella dysentery, Salmonella enteritis, E. Coli, etc. This bacteria-combating action begins after you drink Yakult, reducing half of the harmful bacteria in the gut in 5 minutes. It also prevents the growth of bacteria. It is the best choice for people with a low immune system, as it improves the good bacteria count while pinning the harmful bacteria.

As per a study, Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota is a recognized probiotic, considered safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It helps in gut health by balancing microbiota and improving gastrointestinal function, contributing to overall digestive well-being. (Source)

7. Helps in Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs)

Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota or LcS, when taken with fermented milk (LcS-FM), helps in URTIs and reduces its risks. This study was done on middle age, healthy office workers. This action is possible due to its influence on the immune system. No adverse effect was observed in the test cases during the test period.

8. Helps in Reducing stress

A study found that LcS-FM, as above, helps reduce physical, psychological, and psychological stress in students. This study was done on students who were going to take a promotion examination in Japan. The students were given LcS-loaded fermented milk for eight weeks before the examination. Students exposed to a stressful situation showed a beneficial effect of LcS with fermented milk. There were fewer physical symptoms of stress in this group as against the group consuming placebo milk daily.

The study found that Lactobacillus casei Shirota (LcS) reduced academic stress-induced increases in cortisol levels and physical symptoms in humans. In rats, LcS suppressed stress-induced corticosterone levels and reduced stress reactivity in the brain. This effect is likely due to LcS stimulating vagal afferent signals to the brain, helping regulate stress response. (Source)

The health benefits of Yakult clearly show that it has lowered the side effects caused by antibiotics. It also promotes the absorption of minerals and vitamins in the body.

About Yakult

What are probiotics?

Our digestive system has many bacteria, but not all bacteria have a negative effect on your body. While some bacteria can cause diseases, the good bacteria in your body promote gut health. It also helps in improving the digestion of food and helps in the quick absorption of nutrients.

Probiotics are highly beneficial bacteria that are best for maintaining the health of your gut. Even though they occur naturally in your body, you need to include them in your diet. You can consume the probiotic bacteria in drinks like Yakult that contain Lactobacillus, which is best for the gut.

What is Yakult?

Yakult is a delicious probiotic drink prepared by the fermentation of milk. It is rich in probiotics, containing Lactobacillus casei Shirota, a rod-shaped bacterial strain. It is sold in 31 countries and is available in 65 ml, 85 ml, and 100 ml bottles. It is offered in two variants: the red bottle, the first drink, and the blue variant, which is sold as Yakult Light with less sugar.

Lactobacillus casei Shirota, water, skimmed milk powder, natural flavor, and glucose are the main ingredients of Yakult. A little sugar is added to Yakult, as it is essential for providing nutrients to the probiotic bacteria and keeping it alive while promoting its shelf life. Plus, it is free from all types of stabilizers, colorings, and preservatives harmful to your health.

Who can drink Yakult?

Yakult is a safe probiotic drink that people of all ages can consume. When giving it to your children for the first time, ensure you provide a small amount of Yakult to check whether they can tolerate it. You can give them more probiotic drinks if there are no reactions. Adults and older people can drink a bottle of Yakult daily to reap the health benefits. Yakult can also be given to patients and weak people, but it is best to consult the doctor before taking it.

Yakult Side Effects – A Word of Caution

• People trying to shed excess body fat and diabetics should avoid it, as it has sugar.
• Weight Watchers, however, could opt for Yakult Light, as it contains less sugar.
• Some of the common skin problems that might be associated with the consumption of Yakult are –
  • Rashes
  • Acne
• However, the above problems might be temporary and can be reduced by adjusting the dosage.
• Some problems related to the stomach, like cramps, gas, diarrhea, and gas, could also be experienced. These might be there for an initial 2 weeks. Take plenty of water, decrease the dosage, and give your body time to adjust. If the problem increases, see a doctor.