A fermented dairy product, yogurt has long been a popular health food, largely because it provides beneficial bacteria that help support digestion and your immune system.

Now researchers are discovering that yogurt (and the friendly flora it contains) may also enhance nutrient absorption. One study shows that yogurt increases blood levels of several B vitamins, for example.

Two other investigations – one using Lactobacillus casei, the other combining lactobacillus with bifidobacterium – link yogurt (and its healthy bacteria) with higher blood levels of antioxidants. One study, in fact, finds that a combination of prebiotics and probiotics may help fight atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

“The improvement in antioxidative stress … may warrant further research in diseases in which oxidative stress plays a role [such as coronary vascular disease] or in populations in which the gut microbiota composition has been disturbed,” researchers conclude. So take your daily multivitamin/mineral formula along with some yogurt. [source: Taste of Life]