Searching through the grocery store yogurt isle may leave you confused as to what the healthiest yogurt really is.
It always seems like there are new yogurt products out there competing for attention. Some yogurts are full of sugar and others are loaded with artificial sweeteners. However, yogurt is always a good source of calcium.
So, is there really a healthy yogurt out there and what should we look for?
Yogurt Label Clues
- Light: This means the food has at least one-third fewer calories and half the fat compared to the regular product. Light yogurt contains on average 10 to 17 grams of sugar per six ounce serving. The problem with light yogurt is that they use aspartame and other artificial sweeteners as the sugar substitute. Some countries avoid aspartame, and others consider it safe. I advise people to avoid it when they can.
- No Sugar Added: This is basically a fake yogurt. They use milk proteins to create a product that is no where near close to the real thing. Plus, there are more artificial sweeteners used than in light yogurt. (The exception to this rule would be all natural, plain varieties.)
- Fat Free/Low Fat: This doesn’t necessarily mean less sugar. Most contain about 30 grams of sugar or more per six ounce serving.
- Organic: Sometimes this is a good choice because it is natural, contains probiotics, and has less sugar (about 20 to 30 grams per cup) than the regular fat free yogurt.
- Greek: This yogurt is strained so that it is thicker and contains higher amounts of the actual milk proteins. Greek yogurt tends to be natural and most do not contain artificial sweeteners. The added bonus about Greek yogurt is that the levels of sugar tend to be lower than most. Try to choose a brand that contains 10 to 18 grams of sugar per six ounce serving.
- Soy: A good option for those who can not tolerate, or choose not to consume dairy.
- Probiotic: Always look for the yogurt to say that it contains live and active cultures. If the yogurt is just made with the cultures, they are likely destroyed by the time you eat it. Probiotics are a good way to increase the healthy bacteria in the gut.
Conclusion
We have to remember that even though all yogurts contain some amount of sugar, much of it is from the natural milk sugar, lactose. The most important thing is to remember to read the label. Small amounts of fat free or low fat dairy in moderation is a great way to get your calcium and maintain health.
Which is your favorite brand of healthy yogurt?
I’m in the UK. I eat
‘Yeo Valley Organic Whole Milk Natural Probiotic Yogurt’ . INGREDIENTS: No added ingredients.
A natural yogurt is just milk and yogurt culture.
A fruit yogurt is yogurt + fruit + sugar where the sugar kills the yogurt bacteria, so destroying the health giving properties that you bought it for.
If you wish to eat fruit yogurt buy natural yogurt and add chopped fruit when serving.
Cheap should not be the deciding factor when considering what to put in your body. Although artificial ingredients don’t bother you now, it is one of the main cause of cancer in the US.
The fight against artificial foods today is the same as the fight against cigarettes that started in the 1970s; although people realize it’s bad for you there are no immediate side effects so they don’t see a reason to stop.
There are many options out there, read the ingredients in your yogurt.
Is it made out of ingredients your grandmother would recognize?
Check out the sugar content. Most yogurts pack 20-50 grams of added sugar per serving.
Normal ingredients found in yogurt: Pasteurized milk, live cultures (when milk is pasteurized the live cultures are killed so producers have to add them back in) fruit.
I prefer plain yogurt with a ton of fruit and a little granola on top. It takes some getting used to, but your body will thank you.
There really shouldn’t be anything else in it. Don’t you agree?
Cheers,
Linda
I turn the carton of yogurt around and focus on the ingredients and nutritional lable. I look for those with a higher ratio of protein to carbohydrate (the lower sugar type will be the same thing). I buy both Greek and regular, either reduced fat or fat free, and plain yogurt only with the exception now and then of Trader Joe’s individual serving cups of flavored yogurt, which contain only a slightly higher number of grams of sugar per serving than plain, but not as many as flavored yogurt usually contains (it comes in pomegranate, honey and blueberry flavors).
Fiber makes me…sad.
you may call that cheap, but I call it smart!
You know exactly what you’re eating.
I’m cheap, so I buy large tubs of Dannon All Natural plain and strain it myself, and then add whatever I want to it (usually a little bit of honey or some stewed fruit).
I actually like the Yoplait Fiber One yogurt, even though it’s one of the “fake” yogurts on your list. I like it because it’s cheap and has fiber in it–I’m aware of the aspartame in it, but it doesn’t bother me. I also eat a lot of plain nonfat yogurt that I strain to make Greek yogurt–I use it in place of sour cream in dips and as a topping for potatoes.