THE first ever Yoghurt Summit by the newly established South African Yoghurt Initiative, saw over 200 health professionals, dietitians, suppliers, yoghurt manufacturers and retailers get together at The Campus, in Bryanston, Joburg.
Various local and international speakers gathered to unpack the latest science on gut health, which was part of this year’s theme: “More Than A Gut Feeling”.
Marlinie Kotiah, senior science manager of research and development at Danone Southern Africa, said: “The latest research findings also highlight gut health as a major contributor to one’s overall health, particularly mental health.”
Prof Yanga Zembe, associate professor of social development at the University of the Western Cape, said that none of her research subjects ate the recommended two to three servings of dairy a day.
Dr Ruairi Robertson, a postdoctoral research fellow at the centre of genomics and child health at Queen Mary University London, found that the trillions of gut microbes influence both physical and mental health, and most importantly how our diets influence this relationship.
“Serotonin is sometimes referred to as the ‘feel good’ hormone because it causes anxiety and happiness as part of its functions. While serotonin is created and used in the brain, between 80% to 90% of it is manufactured in the intestines — our gut.
“Therefore if you feed the gut, you feed the body and the brain.”
