Introduction
Actimel® is a yoghurt drink from the company Danone, which has been advertised for its “activation of the body’s defences” for 20 years and has often fallen into disrepute for this. Critics warn that Actimel® has no advantages whatsoever over ordinary natural yoghurt, but is considerably more expensive. What exactly Actimel® is, how and whether it really works, you will find out in the following text.
Indication of Actimel®
Actimel® is not a medical device and therefore has no clear indication. Danone advertises its product with the ability to activate the immune system and prevent colds. The company has been under heavy criticism for years.
In 2009, they even received “the golden cream puff”, a negative award from the non-profit organization foodwatch, which promotes truthfulness in food advertising – thus calling Actimel® a particularly brazen advertising lie. However, regardless of any controversy, Actimel® can actually make an impact, pure as it is – a yoghurt product. Yoghurt contains so-called probiotics, which are lactic acid bacteria that are partly resistant to our body’s own stomach and bile acids and can therefore support the natural intestinal flora.
Possible indications for probiotic yoghurt products are chronic constipation and similar gastrointestinal problems. There is no scientific proof of the immune-boosting effect of probiotic yoghurt products. However, they can make an important contribution to a balanced diet and thus support the immune system.
Active substance/effect of Actimel®
The ingredients of Actimel® are: Yoghurt, skimmed milk, sugar, dextrose and Lactobacillus casei imunitass, a lactic acid bacterium These ingredients make Actimel® a probiotic yoghurt product. Probiotic in this case means that the above-mentioned lactic acid bacterium can defy our body’s own stomach and bile acids and can work alongside our natural bacterial intestinal flora in our digestive system. The actual benefit of probiotic foods is a very controversial topic in medicine and must be distinguished from the administration of therapeutic probiotics as drugs.
The study situation is very contradictory. Nevertheless, regular consumption of yoghurt products apparently promotes better digestion. Some bacterial strains also influence the so-called MALT system of the intestine, which is responsible for stimulating the immune system.
The exact mechanism of action is not yet known. In summary, yoghurt products can be used as part of a balanced diet. That Actimel® is superior to a conventional natural yoghurt could not be proven so far.
What does “probiotic” mean?
As mentioned above, Actimel® is a probiotic yoghurt product. Probiotic in this case means that the product contains certain lactic acid bacteria. These have the property of surviving the passage through the stomach and bile acids in a substantial proportion and thus influencing the body’s own intestinal flora. By the way, intestinal flora is the composition of micro-organisms in our digestive tract – this consists mainly of different bacterial strains but also of fungal species.
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