Yakult side effects – It is probiotic or slow poison?

NOTE – The article has been updated on 19-Jan-2021 after communication with Yakult team. Yakult had raised a concern stating that the information shared is misleading. Based on the communication with Yakult, each Yakult side effect mentioned before 19-Jan-2021 on this link has been “countered” by an apparent scientific explanation and research. The intent of sharing complete information is to make sure that audience of this blog is able to make the right decision when it comes to health and fitness. Please do read the disclaimer at the end.

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In past few years, a lot has changed when it comes to our eating habits. Brands are launching products that are beneficial for consumers and can add tangible value to overall health. We all aim for a healthy life which generally starts from a healthy gut and robust heart. When it comes to a healthy gut, it seems that nothing is better than a wonderful probiotic drink like Yakult and if something is endorsed by a super fit known personality, then who wouldn’t purchase it. After looking at the advertisement, the first thing I did was to add Yakult to my Supermarket shopping list without knowing Yakult side effects.

As soon as I went to purchase Yakult, a lady showed me tons of probiotic drink but I simply trusted Yakult. It was because of brand ambassador who endorses Yoga and has unflinching belief in Yakult. Little did I know what fat paychecks these so called “fitness enthusiasts” get for endorsing anything!

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I’m not against all probiotics so don’t get me wrong. Natural probiotics are great and have tremendous health benefits. Your gut health is closely linked to your overall health, so feeding your gut with good bacteria in the form of probiotics makes perfect sense.

Why should you avoid processed Probiotic drinks like Yakult?

Sugar

A major reason for referring processed probiotic drinks like Yakult as “slow poison” is because of its sugar content. A study completed by Dr. Robert Lustig, from the department of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco come up with the definitive evidence that sugar “is toxic.”  Lustig and his colleagues think they’ve produced the “hard and fast data that sugar is toxic irrespective of its calories and irrespective of weight.” Read here

Yakult’s sugar content is extremely high. It contains 11.4g of sugar per 65mL serving (this is 17.5g per 100mL) which is almost equivalent to 3 tablespoons per Yakult. You may think that shifting to Yakult Light might help but their ‘Yakult Light’ version contains 7.1g of sugar per 65mL serving (10.9g per 100mL).

If we look at the nutrition label, we can see that the standard Yakult probiotic drink has 10.2 grams of sucrose. Overall, nothing less than 2.5 teaspoons of pure sugar that you are downing first thing in the morning!

Corrected information on this Yakult side effects communicated by Yakult team

The sugar content in Yakult (Original) is 10 grams whereas Yakult Light contains 3.0g per bottle. A teaspoon contains about 4 grams of sugar and therefore a bottle of Yakult Light sold in India contains lesser than a teaspoon of sugar. We recommend one bottle of Yakult per day and therefore you are only consuming 10 grams or 3 grams of sugar from Yakult/ Yakult Light. Sugar has to be added to the product to overcome the sour taste that is produced due to lactic acid formation during the fermentation process

My thoughts – Yakult team did share their thought on why Yakult needs sugar and it is fair since almost everything processed has sugar in it. And Yes! I might’ve had the sugar stats wrong but a simple question one needs to ask themselves is should you worry about consuming sugar  even if it’s 1 teaspoon a day? Many studies show that the more plain white sugar you add in your diet, the worse your micro-nutrient (vitamins and minerals) intake becomes. If it is avoidable, smart thing to do is to avoid.

A study in the European Journal of Nutrition also states that: “Prospective cohort studies, which provide the strongest observational evidence, have shown an association between fructose-containing sugars and cardio metabolic risk including weight gain, cardiovascular disease outcomes and diabetes only when restricted to sugar-sweetened beverages and not for sugars from other sources. In fact, sugar-sweetened beverages are a marker of an unhealthy lifestyle and their drinkers consume more calories, exercise less, smoke more and have a poor dietary pattern. The potential for over consumption of sugars in the form of sugary foods and drinks makes targeting sugars, as a source of excess calories, a prudent strategy. Reference

Skim milk powder

Another unhealthy ingredient in Yakult is Skim milk powder. Skim milk powder is a particularly horrible food source partly because all the nutritious fat has been ‘skimmed off’ due to the heat treatment that the milk receives to turn it into powder form. This turns healthy nutritious food into an inflammation health bomb

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

The heat treatment of skim milk powder as a part of our manufacturing process does not produce any harmful substances that negatively influence the immune system and increase risk of infection. On the contrary, data suggests that regular consumption of Yakult for more than 3 weeks helps to improve immunity, especially for those who have a weak immune system.

My thoughts – While I understand Yakult team has their explanation that skim milk powder works quite well for our gut, Wikipedia still states that “It  has been argued that the reduction in calories keeps the body further from satiety, causing it to ultimately seek out the missed calories, possibly from sources less beneficial” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skimmed_milk

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Dextrose—More Sugar

Dextrose is simple sugar and not as bad as Sucrose but it is just more sugar entering your body.

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

Dextrose or Glucose is a type of monosaccharide which is also found in grains, fruits, and honey. It plays a vital role as an energy source for our body. A small amount of glucose is used as a substrate for the growth of the probiotic bacteria Lactobaci/lus casei strain Shirota and to ensure that the final product has the required (6.5 billion) number of bacteria after the fermentation process.

My thoughts – I don’t know much about Yakult’s probiotic formula but haven’t heard anything bad about Dextrose. I simply feel why to consume sugar in a processed Probiotic drink when we could choose natural probiotics. Not to mention, the money you would save.

Ultra heat treated

High-temperature treatment of milk destroys milk proteins and can lead to autoimmune issues.

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

The heat treatment of skim milk powder as a part of our manufacturing process does not produce any harmful substances that can affect the immune system. The product is tested in a government certified laboratory after its manufacture. My thoughts – While I have no reports to back up the fact that heat treatment is harmful and Yakult team can share all kind of approvals, reports and research that the treatment doesn’t affect our immune system. I still believe that any kind of treatment to natural or processed products always impacts structural molecules. Now it might not impact it a bad way but benefits of skimmed milk are anyways debatable as shared earlier.

Homogenization

After the fermentation process is complete when making Yakult probiotic drinks, the next step is “a smoothing process” known as homogenization. I’m not entirely sure if this is good or bad for the human body.

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

The homogenization process is to break up larger milk molecules into finer particles for easier digestion and absorption. This process does not alter the nutritional composition of milk and does not impart a harmful effect on the body.

Artificial Sweeteners and flavoring

While I might not be the most healthy person but I would never favour artificial sweetners. Anything artificial going inside your body just destroys your body over a period of time and causes harm all of which is not easily discernible.

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

Yakult contains Natural and Natural Identical flavours and has no preservatives. In India, Steviol Glycoside is used in Yakult Light which is a natural sweetener and has been approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It has no side effects and can be consumed by anyone above the age of 1 year.

Plastic bottles

Yakult comes in a small plastic bottle and we are starting to realize that plastic is not necessarily the best form of packaging when it comes to health. Plastics disrupt our endocrine system, impact our hormonal and reproductive systems and have even been linked to cancer and neurological damage. Additionally, plastic is extremely hazardous for the environment and takes eons to disintegrate. For a drink which is supposedly the best for our body, using exclusive plastic packaging in small packages seems extremely careless and totally against corporate social responsibility.

You would notice most probiotics come in a small plastic bottle and we are starting to realize that plastic is not necessarily the best form of packaging when it comes to health. Plastics disrupt our endocrine system, impact our hormonal and reproductive systems and have even been linked to cancer and neurological damage. Additionally, plastic is extremely hazardous for the environment and takes eons to disintegrate. For a drink which is supposedly the best for our body, using exclusive plastic packaging in small packages seems extremely careless and totally against corporate social responsibility.

Corrected information communicated by Yakult team

The plastic bottle of Yakult has been tested for its safety and other parameters and complies with the recently notified Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 which makes it mandatory to thoroughly test the packaging materials (plastic or otherwise) for any food product. 

The strength of the plastic bottle has also been tested repeatedly to ensure that both the quality of the product and the specific number of probiotic bacteria (6.5 billion LcS) that are essential for the health benefit are maintained throughout the shelf life of forty days. The bottle has been used in 40 countries and regions around the world for over 50 years with no harmful effects. 

However, as a responsible company we are highly committed towards sustainability and ecological responsibility and hence we have registered with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure a clean environment for India. Therefore, in accordance with the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment), Rules 2018 notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), we complied with the “Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR)”.

My thoughts – I have heard about food grade plastic which has been approved by government bodies round the world and there are chances they might be good but do we need to use plastic at all. I hardly believe it what government throws our way. A sitting American President called their entire election “rigged” and “stolen”.  

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Conclusion

After communication with Yakult, I do believe that they have complete faith in their product and have given quite a bit of proof that it is, in fact, healthy for consumption. They also mentioned how rich their history is and how many millions of customers they have across the world which made me wonder why they actually bothered to give a point by point rebuttal on my article if they actually have so many satisfied customers globally.

There are literally tons of products available at our home that could help our gut health. A simple and easily available probiotic is Yogurt or curd. This is one of the best sources of increasing probiotics in your body, especially homemade curd. One bowl a day and you will not even think about going for any artificially sweetened products endorsed by celebs.

It is always better to choose natural ingredients readily available at home compared to the processed ones.

With holiday season starting let us aim to stay healthy and happy 🙂

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Disclaimer – The views and opinions expressed are of the authors and do not necessarily represent official policy, people, institutions or organizations that owner may or may not be associated with. Any views or options are not intended to Malign any religion, ethnic group, company or individual.