Friday, October 21, 2011

Yakult is Coming to You


I had to come to Brazil to meet this Japanese "treat." I had no idea what the hell was in that little cup and was skeptical from the first moment Mr. Rant insisted I try it.

He went off about the digestive benefits and how he drank one a day, "ever day", while growing up. Obviously I was late to the boat and thus needed to start immediately if not sooner.

So I tried it. Did it give me healthy digestive benefits? If peeing out the wrong end is healthy then it sure did.

Of course not even my kids have had that problem with the interestingly fermented little drink. I'm thinking I must be full of the healthy bacterium Lactobacillus casei Shirota or am getting plenty of probiotics via osmosis from everyone else.

Anyway, Yakult was created in Japan and only showed it's face in Brazil in 1966 due to the large number of Japanese immigrants. Now it is available around the world and they are even going to open up a factory in the Probiotic heaven of the US: California.

And while you may be excited to have yet another way to replace those pesky little bacteria after antibiotic use, I mean aren't we all (please note dripping sarcasm), do remember that Yakult has more sugar per 100g than coca cola.

Hey people, you can't have it all!

Do you drink Yakult daily?

15 comments:

  1. Hahahah
    Well I used to drink daily when I was a kid and Breno, my oldest drinks sometime...My (irish)husband hates it !

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  2. You are right, it was a typo. Now it's a quote ;)

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  3. I love it! But we don't drink it everyday because I forget to buy it. I was actually introduced to it by my students first -- primarily Mexican and Filipino. They freeze it and suck on it like a lollypop. And then Paulo found it in Mi Pueblo (the Mexican grocery store where we get our produce). Last time I was in Safeway they were giving away samples, so it might become a big thing... who knows.

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  4. I was addicted to Yakult when I was a child. The sale was made ​​from door to door.

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  5. In Australia its been a big thing for ever... my mother swears by it as a cure-all! In London its not so common but now I am going out to get some as I havent drunk it for ages...

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  6. I was so surprised to read that it is all over the place. I figured some places but it is pretty well spread around

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  7. And my MIL insists that you drink it after antibiotics. Daily is better ;)

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  8. Great to hear - it has exactly the same effect on me and I was starting to think there was something wrong with me! :D It does taste yummy though.

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  9. Rachel, Oh my god.

    There is a large asian presence in my area so we have a bunch of asian supermarkets. I saw this stuff and thought it would be "interesting to try" so I bought it.

    As soon as it hit my taste buds, a little bit of me died. It is downright disgusting and putridly sweet. And peeing out the wrong end is right. I don't recommend it under any circumstance.

    But I do love most Japanese food!

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  10. I hate the stuff. Never managed to like it.

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  11. Rachel,


    We love it! We also grew up on the stuff. Our neighborhood in Sao Paulo had Yakult ladies who delivered the stuff weekly. They actually still do. The main Brazilian Yakult factory is located at my hometown in the outskirts of Sao Paulo.
    I never heard of your "peeing from the wrong end" result!! I wonder what happened!
    I can also tell you we have always found it and bought it in every place we have lived in the US, which includes Dallas, Texas, Miami and Tampa, Florida, California ( San Francisco area ) and Boston/MA, Providence/Rhode Island areas. We can find it at our local Stop and Shop which is a main stream large grocery store chain in the Northeast/New England areas.
    There are even a couple of knock off competitors in our area, that are similar but cheaper than Yakult.
    I have a good friend in Japan that told me they have entire exclusive Yakult branded stores all over Japan, that sells all kinds of dairy products being Yakult their main product.
    Listen to Mr.Rant's and your MIL's recommendation and take your daily Yakulty dose ;)

    PS: By the way, you are right about the HUGE sugar content. My dentist always told me Yakult is super corrosive to your teeth. One should always brush or at least rinse your teeth after drinking Yakult. It is a serious teeth cavity maker.

    Ray

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  12. My kids LOVE Yakult. More than one a day, though, makes them pee out the wrong end too. But they're one of those treats we have to keep around as they stop crying almost instantly.

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  13. So I have a recipe for knock off homemade Pinkberry, you know the frozen yogurt that took the US by storm, and the secret ingredient is yakult, which gives the frozen yogurt a nice sweet tangyness. If you don't like the drink, it doesn't matter as it works in the frozen yogurt.

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  14. I' shocked. I always thought Yakult was a western brand, perhaps even american. Even more shocked that you never heard of it before! And yes, I've been drinking it since I was a baby! hahaha

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