Health Tips

Is Yogurt Really A Health Food?

Yogurt is marketed as a delicious food that has many health benefits, and for good reason!  Yogurt contains up to 45% of your daily calcium needs in a single serving.  It also contains key nutrients such as protein, potassium, iodine, and B vitamins.  It may help to prevent osteoporosis, colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, high blood pressure, and yeast infections.  Usually people with mild lactose intolerance can eat yogurt even.

With all these great benefits, yogurt definitely sound like a great health food, but not every yogurt is.  In fact many yogurts have as much fat and sugar as desserts.   Below are four things to look for to make sure you make the best choice of yogurt.

• Fat Content Yogurt can be made with the same choices we have for our milk: whole, 2%, 1%, and skim.  Yogurts made with the whole are going to contain a lot of fat, this is your regular yogurt.  Yogurts made with 1% and 2% milk are going to be called low fat and skim milk made will be fat free.  Choose yogurt with less than 4 grams of fat
• Calories Choose yogurt with less than 180 calories.  If you are following a low calorie diet to lose weight, choose a yogurt with less than 120 calories if eating yogurt as a snack.
• Sugar Choose yogurt with less than 30 grams of sugar.  Keep in mind that the milk used to make yogurt naturally contains 12 grams of milk sugar.
• Protein Choose yogurt with at least 5 grams of protein.