Yakult review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Yakult. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this popular fermented milk drink.
Yakult in widely available in the UK, Australia and many other countries globally. It was originally developed in Japan in the 1930s.
Ingredients of Yakult
Yakult includes water, skimmed milk powder, sugar, dextrose, flavouring and live bacteria.
Personally I don’t love that it includes added sugar and dextrose. It is over 17% sugar which is much too much in my opinion.
Other things I don’t like are the added flavouring and that it is made from milk powder rather than milk.
In summary, Yakult is very much a manufactured product, rather than a traditional probiotic product like kefir or yoghurt.
Benefits of Yakult
The main benefit of this drink is the probiotics (ie live beneficial bacteria) it contains.
Probiotics
Yakult includes the strain Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Shirota. On their website, Yakult claims it is “scientifically proven to survive the journey through the gastric juices to reach the small intestine alive”. If that’s the case, that’s a great benefit.
Each bottle contains 6.5 billion colony forming units of this bacteria.
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Postbiotics
Postbiotics are essentially things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Appearance
Yakult has a yellowy, milky appearance.
Flavour
The aroma is strong caramel and condensed milk - which makes you brace yourself for an onslaught of sugar...
But the taste is not what you would expect! There’s a strong lemony acidity which cuts through the sweetness a lot. It’s actually quite pleasant and drinkable.
It does sort of coat your teeth and make them feel like they are corroding with each sip though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Cost of Yakult
The shot sells for £3.70 for an 8 pack in Tesco in the UK.
In Australia, you can buy a 10 pack for $7.70 from Coles.
So in terms of cost, Yakult performs extremely well compared to other fermented products.
Summary
3.75 stars out of 5.
A very affordable, mass produced probiotic.
Pros
lots of probiotics
pleasant enough taste
Cons
too much sugar
a very manufactured product compared other fermented foods
only one strain of bacteria
Our favourite gut health products in the UK
Symprove probiotic - developed by scientists, supported by clinical studies and superior at colonising you gut. The best and most evidenced probiotic in our opinion. Use discount code HELLOGUT50 for 50% off the first three months
Healthpath gut health tests - the UK’s most comprehensive gut health test. It tests over 100 biomarkers, checks your digestion and immune response, analyses leaky gut and provides a report on your microbiome
M&S x ZOE gut shot - this is both the best kefir and best gut shot in the UK in our opinion. It has 14 different strains of beneficial bacteria, prebiotics, fruits, ginger and lemon - all which have been shown to be good for the gut.
Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut enthusiast and passionate kombucha maker!
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