Greek yogurt has been receiving a lot of praise lately as a healthy, protein-packed alternative to regular yogurt. It turns out, however, that there is more than meets the eye with this latest health craze.
According to recent research, one of the byproducts of greek yogurt production is a little-known thing called acid whey. Oddly enough, this runny substance is actually really bad for the environment. It's decomposition can deplete ecosystems of oxygen, killing fishy inhabitants.
With the increase in this substance due to the rise in popularity of the delicious goodness, scientists are having a hard time finding an ecologically responsible way of getting rid of acid whey is becoming an increasingly crucial problem to solve.
There might be a solution soon, though, thanks to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Investigators at the Center for Dairy Research are working to find a practical application for the acid way that actually might be useful for other things like to marinate or pickle meats without all the additional salt.
In order to do this, though, they are working with different ways to easily filter out the whey acid from the product.
One of those filters--lactose, to be exact--might be the most interesting one of the lot, and researchers say they may be able to find a way to isolate it in the yogurt production process itself.
Sounds like the whey to go!
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments!
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