It was believed that the biblical Abraham owed his virility and longevity to yogurt, while ancient Persians and Middle Eastern nomads used it as a way to preserve the goodness of milk. Hongkongers have also caught on to the health-giving benefits of the fermented dairy food - albeit the frozen version, a fad of the 1980s that's now making a comeback worldwide. More than 25 frozen yogurt shops have popped up in the city in the past couple of years, proclaiming the food's no- or low-fat probiotic powers.
But is it really a healthy alternative to ice cream? Elaine Hsieh, a US-registered dietitian at Quality HealthCare's iWell Centre, sorts the fact from the fiction.
Frozen yogurt contains lots of healthy probiotics and live cultures.
True and false: research has shown that probiotics can help regulate bowel movement, strengthen the immune and digestive systems and improve inflammatory conditions.
While frozen yogurt is often marketed as containing probiotics, much of the beneficial bacteria can be lost during commercial processing. For products that come from America, look out for the 'live and active cultures'' seal by the US National Yogurt Association, which indicates that the yogurt contains 10 million cultures per gram at the time of production. American frozen yogurt franchise Tuttimelon Yogurt, with outlets in Sha Tin and Tsim Sha Tsui, for example, has this seal.
But there isn't a governing body for yogurt in Europe or Asia, so be aware that what the marketing materials say may not be the truth.
It's low in calories.