5 Health Benefits of Greek Yogurt

The health benefits of yogurt have been recognized for ages.

According to sources, its salubrious usage can be traced back to 500 B.C. in the Middle East in places like Iraq and Iran. It is said to also have been used by French royalty as remediation for diarrhea.

Yogurt has been cited as a source of longevity, and may potentially provide a longer life-span when consumed regularly by some.

1.) Complexion

Many have tried their own version of a homemade Greek Yogurt face mask. The secret is to keep trying it, for at least a month. According to the beauty blogger the Brilliant Farm Girl, using a Greek Yogurt facial mask with live cultures like acidophilus helped her skin look healthy, vibrant and more clear after one month of diligent application.

The results?

"The yogurt continued to remove daily grime that gets embedded in pores," she reported after about three months of using a Yogurt treatment. "Pimples are lessening and blackheads reduced in number. Whiteheads are starting to reduce in number as well. Skin is stronger, more resilient. Acne scars reduced by 50%."

2.) Digestive Health

While it isn't 'set-in-stone' or anything yet, yogurt has provided an abundance of digestive benefits for certain individuals when eaten routinely.

According to a study published in the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, yogurt has shown to offer alleviation for some of the following conditions:

Constipation

Diarrhea

Colon cancer

Allergies

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Lactose intolerance

Certain types of infections

3.) Depression

Eating the right variety of yogurt may also improve the function of your 'gut' or the intricate system that comprises the stomach, intestines and digestive tract. According to recent reports, having a healthy gut may be directly linked to mental disorders, specifically depression and other conditions that may intermittently affect a person's mood.

There are walls of the digestive tract that are essential for holding bacteria inside of our digestive tract without letting it escape into the blood stream. According to recent research, a 'leaky gut,' or a stomach that is letting out bacteria into the blood stream, may influence levels of depression in certain individuals.

"Normally the digestive system is surrounded by an impermeable wall of cells," writes Scientific American. "Certain behaviors and medical conditions can compromise this wall, allowing toxic substances and bacteria to enter the bloodstream. In a study published in the May issue of Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, approximately 35 percent of depressed participants showed signs of leaky gut, based on blood tests."

4.) Curbing Appetite

A recent study found that many Americans are obsessed with food during the evening hours. Scientists at Brigham Young University found that people reacted differently to thoughts of food at night, as opposed to during the daytime.

"They discovered that images of food, especially high-calorie options, spurred brain spikes throughout the day, but those responses were lower in the evening," writes Yahoo news. "Researchers said this indicates we're not as satisfied by food at night and tend to eat more to try to feel as satiated as we do during the day. They also discovered that we're more obsessed with food at night, even when our hunger and fullness levels are the same as they are at other times of the day," Yahoo news reports explain.

What do they recommend?

"... if you can't fight the urge to snack at night, just opt for healthier choices in smaller portions. Martin recommends reaching for a protein-based snack that will help fill you up, such as a half-ounce of almonds, a hard-boiled egg, or low-fat Greek yogurt," Yahoo officials report.

5.) Brain Health

A study conducted at UCLA took 36 women and allocated them to three different groups: one group was fed yogurt and probiotics; the second group was fed a similar product to yogurt; and the third was given nothing.

"Tasks like that are a measurement of activity in certain brain regions, and similar links have been found between gut changes and emotion recognition in animals, so this was a test to see if the process extended to humans," according to Popular Science.