Yogurt

Yogurt is a delicious, creamy, healthy milk product. It can be enjoyed alone, or with fruit, nuts, or cereal. It can be eaten as a parfait, put in a dip, used in place of sour cream or mayonnaise, or hidden in baked goods. However, there are so many different types of yogurts around these days, how do you ever choose which one?

            Let’s begin with the fat content. Yogurt is available in a number of different milk fat percentages, the most common being 0% (fat free), 1% (low fat), 2%, 2.5%, and 3% (full fat). Obviously fat free or low fat seems like the healthiest choice, except for young children who need the full fat of course, but the lack of fat isn't always the best. Since taking away fat also takes away from flavour, extra sugar is often added, making for a sickly sweet yogurt. Or worse, artificial sweetener is added to keep the calorie count low as well, and, in my opinion, anything bearing the name artificial is not fit for human consumption.

Then there are ingredients. In most yogurts, the first ingredient is milk, the type depending on how much fat is in the yogurt. Full fat yogurts sometimes have cream as the first ingredient, while low fat yogurts may have skim milk as the first ingredient and cream as the second (counter-productive?). Then there is sugar, glucose/fructose, fruit (real or fake), gelatin, starches, gums, flavours (real or artificial), colours (real or artificial), and many others. Try to choose yogurts with few or no ingredients that you cannot pronounce or are not readily identifiable.

            Then there are different types of yogurt. There is natural, old-fashioned, probiotic, prebiotic, Greek, yogurt drinks, yogurt smoothies, fruit-on-the-bottom, traditional, and organic. Probiotic yogurts have good bacteria that help to strengthen our immune systems, but Greek yogurt contains twice the protein of any other yogurt, and I want to eat organic and all natural yogurt, but I want to be able to drink it and I want fruit in it too, but you can’t get drinkable Greek yogurt, and fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt doesn’t come with probiotics, and my yogurt smoothie isn’t organic, and………..aye yi yiiii!!!!

            Now, let’s talk flavours. Apparently plain is the best for you, since it contains minimal additives, but it’s just so bland. And sweetened plain yogurt is kind of defeating the purpose of plain. Vanilla is good, but it is often artificial, and contains additives. Fruit is a healthier sounding choice; but is it real fruit or not? Plus, fruit yogurts (especially fruit-on-the-bottom) often contain a lot of extra sugar. Then there are the exotic flavours, like crème brulee, and cappuccino, and chocolate mousse, and vanilla chai; but these are probably even worse than the fruit flavoured. You can also get yogurt with granola, nuts, and muesli, but is that any good?

            My suggestion to you, is to choose a Greek yogurt (which has lots of protein and also naturally contains probiotics) that is either plain, vanilla, or naturally fruit flavoured with minimal added sugar. If possible, buy organic and/or natural brands. Add your own fruit, nuts, and cereals; that way you can control what kinds and what amounts, and it will be healthier this way too. Buy fat free or low fat versions unless they are too sweet or contain artificial sweeteners. Look for a Greek yogurt with a short list of ingredients that you are familiar with. And if you want a yogurt smoothie, you can blend it yourself. I’m no expert, but this is the sense I can make out of all of this yogurt hoopla.

PHOTO CREDIT:"090422_its-time-for-a-strip-search-yogurt-spread-em_main"   http://thenakedlabel.com/it%E2%80%99s-time-for-a-strip-search-yogurt-spread-em/  .The Naked Label, n.d. Sunday, March 18, 2012.