Frozen yogurt just got cooler
September 11, 2009 • written by Jenae Galang
Pinkberry, a popular frozen yogurt vendor located in Santana Row, offers its customers many varieties of toppings for several flavors of frozen yogurt while also presenting a healthy snack. Thanks to probiotic bacteria, frozen yogurt provides consumers with calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2.
Summer is over, but the hot weather is not, and people seem to be stepping away from the usual ice cream shops and into Tuttimelon, Pinkberry, YoSwirl, Yogurt Train, Nubi,and Tutti Frutti. The list goes on and on.
In the past year frozen yogurt shops have popped up throughout the Bay Area. Whether it’s due to the Jonas Brothers’ highly publicized visits to Pinkberry or its guilt-free delectable taste, frozen yogurt has proven to be marketable for both healthy and creative reasons.
“It’s just the rave because its more creative,” sophomore Jessica Suguitan said, “since there is a different variety and you can add what you want.”
Most frozen yogurt shops are self-serving, which enables their customers to personalize each cup of yogurt to their liking. Having the freedom of piling up whatever topping on whatever flavor of yogurt seems to be a hit with consumers. “I don’t think it’s the actual frozen yogurt that’s the hype, but rather the self-serve aspect,” senior Chloe Segismundo said. “It’s just fun!”
What’s even more fun, however, is knowing the secret behind “fro-yo’s” one-two punch of great taste and health benefits that leaves ice cream knocked out of the ring, possibly for good.
The secret is probiotic bacteria, which boost the immune system, increase metabolism, promote a healthy colon. Plus, thanks to its vitamins and minerals, frozen yogurt almost allows us to skip right over vegetables and go straight to desert.
If probiotics boost the immune system, does that mean people with the H1N1 Virus can stop taking distasteful medicine and start eating yogurt? Sorry, but not quite. It may not be as strong as flu medication, but in combination with Vitamin E, it stimulates the growth of white blood cells and keeps consumers relatively healthy.
In addition to their ability to fight off illness, probiotics can also prevent lactose-intolerant people from getting the stomachaches typically caused by dairy products. Probiotics keep food surging through the digestive system and increase the absorption of essential nutrients such as protein and calcium.
Interestingly enough, The Dairy Council has discovered that although spinach is high in calcium, it takes 11 servings to equal the amount of calcium received in a 12-ounce cup of yogurt. Imagine how much stronger Popeye would’ve been if he had just served himself some yogurt.
Aside from calcium and protein, a single serving of frozen yogurt also provides people with their daily dose of Vitamin A, which is important to normal eye function, Thiamin (Vitamin B1) vital for neurological and cardiac function, and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) necessary for healthy membranes and skin. And if yogurt did not already contain a Justice League of illness defenders, frozen yogurt has increased concentrations of a fatty acid known as conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which is believed to protect people against cancer.
Despite frozen yogurt’s tremendous health benefits, the reason for its popularity according to Paul Burchak is simple.
“It’s just refreshing.”
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