Dannon Activia Yogurt Review

If it wasn't for Jamie Lee Curtis, I wouldn't be writing this ... but first, a flashback by way of explanation.

A few years ago, upon the occasion of my retirement, a well-wisher who dropped by my desk asked me what I was going to DO now and I replied:  "I'm not going to eat lunch at the same time every day."  After 42 years of working full-time downtown, I wasn't tired of the work assigned to me but the sparkle had worn off OTHER things:  commuting in bad weather, office politics, wearing nylon stockings every day ... and especially the routine of it all. 

If it was 7 a.m., I was eating toast or cereal at home.  At 11:30 a.m., I was heating something in the office microwave or buying lunch in the cafeteria.  Dinner was predictable too because I had to go to bed at a reasonable hour so as to begin the routine over the next day.  Hordes of hard-working people are striving to sock away millions or perhaps buy a second home.  God bless them but as for me, it was enough that someday I would be able to follow my own schedule.

I love being retired but alas, a schedule was one of the first casualties.  Gone are the days, my friends, when I ate breakfast at 7 a.m. or sometimes even breakfast at all.  Often I end up doing "brunch" at 2 p.m., hours after even I have been up ... or maybe I do breakfast at Noon and LUNCH at 3 p.m.  Dinner hour yo-yo's up and down wildly, especially on those numerous occasions when I don't "turn in" until 3 or 4 a.m.  Sometimes I eat wierd things in strange combinations, as my confused digestive system wonders what I'm doing or what I am going to eat next. 

Without going into clinical detail, there is probably not a digestive ailment or symptom lurking out there that I have been spared, including occasional pains which were sometimes sharp enough to cause me to lie down for a while.  I didn't appear to be seriously ill as much as I was "overdoing it" generally speaking.  So I was intrigued with the flurry of new products developed to "promote regularity" but a little afraid of whatever possible laxative effect they might have.  I hadn't viewed a potential purchase with such dark suspicion since the day someone tried to sell me a live lobster at Dominick's.

One day as I read about foreclosures in the Sunday Tribune, I heard a familiar voice and glanced at my television screen where Jamie Lee Curtis was sitting on a bright green sofa, holding her own newspaper, and commenting that 87% of other Americans were as screwed up as I was, digestion-wise.  She held up a little container of something called Activia and ... as I watched with paralyzed fascination ... she knocked back a spoonful and smiled confidently at the camera.  Such is the power of p.r. and commercial advertising that I figured if Jamie Lee Curtis had something good to say about something (even if she was being paid to say it) whatever it was had to be good enough for me. 

I picked up a four-container package of Activia (business appeared to be brisk, as other people must have seen the same commercial) and targeted my experiment for a day when I would be home (near the bathroom) all day -- good judgment, as it developed, because although nothing too dramatic happened, activity was brisk between the rest of my home and the bathroom.  By the end of the day, I had used up most of a roll of toilet paper but there I was with those three other 4 oz. containers of Activia which I hated to throw away (besides, the flavor of this product was really delicious).  So I forged ahead and tried another one and LO!, I have hardly had a digestive problem since.  After that first day, most of my adverse adventures in digestion have disappeared.  It has turned out that 4 oz. of Activia is the perfect sweet little "nightcap" at the end of the day (whenever that day may end!) and there are a lot of good things about this product, listed right there on the label. 

A single 4 oz. serving contains 110 calories with only 20 from fat.  There are 2 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, zero trans fat, 10 mg. cholesterol, 70 mg. sodium, a respectable 230 mg. potassium, 19 grams total carbs, 17 grams sugars, 5 grams protein, and even 15% (D.V.) calcium ... plus the mysterious "Bifidus Regularis" destined to flush us out and sooth our g.i. tracts. 

The enterprising folks at Dannon have developed a "Light" Activia also, which tastes even better and contains only 70 calories with zero calories from fat per serving, in addition to zero total, saturated, and trans fat, 5 mg. cholesterol, 80 mg. sodium, the same 230 mg. potassium, 13 grams total carbs, 3 grams fiber, 8 grams sugars, 5 grams protein, and 15 % (D.V.) calcium.  (Caution:  "Light" Activia also contains Sucralose which has been known to have a laxative effect in some people.)

Of course, digestive problems deserve medical attention and no one is suggesting that we just self-medicate even with Activia, but I suspect that a lot of people will probably benefit from this product. 

TASTE TIP:

Try freezing for about 20 minutes and stirring before enjoying Activia.