Say YES to Yoghurt - Get into the Culture
contributed by
Dr Haslina Hassan, Senior Consultant / Educational Therapist,
Crayons Early Intervention

"James is not well again", said a good friend to me recently. James is one of my favourite kids and I have watched him grow up since birth. James is an active kindergarten child, but he is often down with tummy upsets, colds and fevers. His stomach discomfort will very often cause him to have no appetite at all! My good friend will then start to panic whenever her son James falls into that ‘tummy pain pain’ mode.

I was chatting with another good friend whose son is the same age as James. I remember very well that about a month ago, she brought her son out while she was on a lunch date with me. Unlike James, Hayden is healthy and he hardly falls ill. His appetite is good and he does not have any issues such as tummy pain etc. So I took that casual chat as an opportunity to find out how this friend of mine looks after her son’s health. Her answer to me:

"Hello my dear doctor friend, have you not heard of yogurt? I have been giving Hayden yogurt since he was much younger..... It helps! Yogurt is indeed very good for children. That is the reason why Hayden never gets an upset tummy."

So I decided to find out more about yogurt before telling my good friend about this ‘magic’ formula. I spoke to many parents whose children are between the ages of 3 and 7. While some parents are not aware of the goodness of yogurt, the majority of the parents that I spoke to told me that they give their children yogurt and keep yogurt in their children’s diet. These parents told me that the nutrients found in the yogurt help to build up antibodies in the young ones, hence preventing them from common illnesses such as tummy discomfort, lost of appetite, frequent vomiting and other related ailments.

However, I also discovered that most of these parents were not giving their young ones yogurt at the right temperature. Afraid that it would be too cold if given directly from the fridge, many parents chose to leave the yogurt at room temperature before giving it to their little ones. This is certainly incorrect! Yogurt has to be consumed directly from the fridge. Yogurt is a fermented dairy product that is made by adding bacterial cultures to milk, causes the transformation of the milk, sugar and lactose into lactic acid. So yogurt in the fridge is kept at the right cold temperature and should not be removed from the fridge unless it is going to be consumed immediately.

I bought a pack of yogurt when I visited James’ mother, and told her to give it to James and to monitor his condition. I asked my friend to chart James’ frequency of falling ill. James does not really enjoy the taste of yogurt, but his mum said he eats it anyway. A week after my good friend included yogurt in her son’s diet, James showed significant improvement. Now, he does not experience tummy upsets and his appetite is growing. I reminded my friend to give her son the yogurt directly from the fridge…..she was reluctant at first, but when I reminded her of the issue of food poisoning that is caused by our own negligence and lack of knowledge, she argued no more.

So whenever I do my grocery-shopping, I will pick up packs of yogurt. Not only do I keep some for friends who drop by my place with their children, but I also give yoghurt to my parents. Just as well that latest research indicates that old folks who consume yogurt are actually maintaining their good health! So I think we can conclude that yogurt is for all age groups….young, old and in-between….. So, let’s have our yogurt today!