Is Activia Yogurt Actually Good For Your Gut? Your Body Might Not Think So At First

Activia asks you to "take the gut health challenge," suggesting that you eat Activia yogurt twice a day for 14 days. That gives those little bacteria found in Activia and other fermented foods time to go to work in bringing your gut back into balance. Your gut can easily get out of balance due to stress, aging, and a poor diet, causing bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea.

However, you might not believe Activia works at first, especially if you're not used to eating fermented foods or probiotics. Depending on the current state of your gut health, you could experience gas and bloating when you begin eating Activia yogurt. After a few days, your body and gut should get used to the active probiotic cultures found in Activia, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and Lactococcus lactis. Activia yogurt also has an exclusive probiotic culture that is unique to the Dannon brand.

Eating Activia yogurt twice a day could help alleviate constipation, according to a 2008 study in Acta Gastroenterológica Latinoamericana. Women ate either Activia yogurt or a similar dairy dessert twice a day for two weeks, then switched places for another two weeks. Women who had chronic constipation found significant relief for their symptoms after eating Activia yogurt compared to the dairy dessert. Activia yogurt might also alleviate other gut issues that plague your digestive system.

Activia's parent company, Danone (Dannon in the United States), funded a 2019 study in Nutrients that looked at how its exclusive probiotic plus other probiotics in Activia could improve digestive symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, or a rumbling stomach. More than 500 women were asked to eat Activia yogurt or a control product for four weeks, and the study found that the women who ate the Activia yogurt saw their digestive issues improve after two weeks (You should avoid eating one particular type of Activia yogurt, however, if you have diabetes).

Activia might also help people with disorders of gut-brain interactions (DGBI), which include irritable bowel syndrome, functional constipation, or reflux hypersensitivity. While a healthy plant-based diet can help people with DBGI, it might also come with a bit of gas. According to a 2021 study in Nutrients, supplementing with Activia helped people with DGBI adjust to a plant-based diet by reducing the gas-related side effects. However, Activia didn't change the diversity of bacteria in the people's guts. This study, too, was funded by Danone, and Danone researchers helped in interpreting the data and writing the report.

You don't necessarily need to turn to Activia yogurt exclusively to reap the benefits. All yogurts have Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, but some yogurts have additional probiotics like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus acidophilus (here are the healthiest brands of yogurt). These added probiotics might not make that much of a difference in your gut health, according to a 2022 review in Foods. Yogurt and yogurt with additional probiotics can relieve IBD symptoms and constipation.

Because a cup of low-fat yogurt provides 34% of your daily recommended calcium and 12% of potassium, it contributes to a healthy diet. People who eat more yogurt tend to have better bone health and immune function than those who pass on this fermented dairy product. Consuming yogurt and fermented milk is also associated with lower levels of LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. People with type 2 diabetes might see lower fasting blood sugar and HbA1c after adding yogurt to their diets.