Culture, not cults

Am I the only one creeped out by Yakult probiotic dairy-drink ads? Children and adults pointing to their guts with plastic smiles proclaiming, “It’s here!” It’s incredibly uncomfortable to watch, like the actors’ glazed gazes are trying to indoctrinate viewers into “founder” Dr. Minoru Shirota’s culture cult. But there’s no need to buy into the milk-based liquid. Kombucha (fermented tea) is a great and—I’d argue—delicious probiotic, as is Wildwood’s vanilla Soygurt. It’s sweet and has far more nutrition than Yakult—8 grams of protein and 30 percent of the daily recommendation of calcium per serving vs. 1 gram and 2 percent—and not a drop of dairy. That’s not too hard to swallow.