I'm sure you've seen those commercials for Dannon's Activia yogurt, the ones that say that the yogurt contains special ingredients that help with digestion and the immune system. Now those claims are being challenged by a lawsuit.

The lawsuit says that the ad lie and that Dannon's own research doesn't even back up the medical claims. The yogurt costs 30% more than regular yogurts and the lawsuit says that this is unwarranted because the advertising is deceptive. The suit is looking for damages for anyone who bought any of the Activia brands, and they also want Dannon to stop the ads and run a new "corrective ad campaign."

Other brands aren't mentioned in the lawsuit because they don't make the same claims.

There are also two other new items in Dannon's lineup. DanActive, a "probiotic dairy drink" which was released nationwide this month that is supposed to help strengthen the body's immune system. Danimals, a kids yogurt drink, is also being re-released with a new formulation that includes "he world's most researched probiotic culture for children, Lactobacillus GG (LGG)," which has been clinically shown to improve gastrointestinal and immune functions and contribute to good oral health.

Probiotics are being called "this decade's oat bran," by trendspotters, who are referring to the fact that that grain rose quickly to popularity in the 1980s - and stayed there - when "it was shown to lower cholesterol levels." Oat bran ended up in everything for a very long period and it seems likely that probiotics will, too, provided that the companies that use them can get the same results from the live cultures than Dannon has. Known benefits include relief from irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea, but more claims are being made every day, suggesting "probiotics may help ward off everything from allergies to colon cancer."

For now, most probiotic products are dairy-based, including a TCBY frozen yogurt, StonyField Farm's upcoming dairy-based energy drink and Dannon's Activa and DanActive. There are soy milk products that contain probiotics and Kashi has put it into cereal.

 Thanks you all for your recent comments on your experiences with Activia, the new yogurt product from Dannon. The yogurt contains a proprietary probiotic bacteria, Bifidus Regularis, which is supposed to help keep people "regular."  

Probiotics are getting a lot of attention these days for their health benefits. Dannon has been doing a lot of research into probiotics and their benefits, and are introducing another new yogurt product along the same vein as Activia. DanActive, which is a drink, contains the L. Casei Defensis bacteria, which is supposed to help with human beings' immunity.

I haven't tried the product yet, but if I see it in the markets, I'll be sure to pick one up to give it a taste test.

A L.A.-based frozen yogurt shop is currently causing locals to wait in very long lines on these very chilly West Coast nights. Located in West Hollywood, Pinkberry serves frozen yogurt that's slightly sour, a little salty, and totally yummy because it's not too sweet. In short, it's frozen yogurt that actually tastes like yogurt (it tastes a lot like very cold, plain Dannon yogurt to me). The yogurt comes in plain or green tea; toppings include fresh fruit and granola. There's talk that Pinkberry will open up more outposts in L.A., but I really hope the chain goes national one day. Simply because Pinkberry needs to save the frozen yogurt/low fat ice cream genre from the evil Tasti-D-Lites of the world! Pinkberry: 868 Huntley Drive, West Hollywood, California, (310) 659-8285.

We've already mentioned  the new yogurt product from Dannon, Activia, that claims that the live probiotic culture, Bifidus Regularis has been clinically proven to help regularte the digestive system. If you haven't guessed from the culture's scientific name, it keeps you, um, regular.

Well, at the danger of publicly humiliating myself, I have bought one package of the yogurt to test the product's claims, and even went so far as to purchasing the prune flavor for the added benefits of the dried plums. Taste wise, the yogurt is fine, and I've never tasted it with prunes, which is actually pretty good. As far as the results of the Bifidus Regularis? The packaging says that you have to eat it daily for two weeks, so I guess I have to go back to the market and get a second 4-pack.

I'll let you know how everything comes out. (No pun intended.)

Dannon's new yogurt, Activa, contains a special bacterial culture known as Bifidus Regularis that helps to regulate the digestive tract. To help promote their new product, and perhaps to locate potential markets for this breakfast-food-come-Milk of Magnesia-competitor, Dannon commissioned a survey to determine the most irregular cities in America. The survey defined irregularity as not going to the bathroom for two or more days and found that the ten most irregular cities are:

1. Orlando, FL
2. Memphis, TN