Most of us enjoy yogurt and are aware of its many health benefits. However, are you choosing the right kind?
You want to be selecting a full fat, organic plain yogurt as this resembles yogurt in its purest form.
When we choose low fat products, the fat is removed and replaced with thickeners like carrageenan which is suspected to be a carcinogen. Low fat dairy products have been advertised for years to help individuals lose weight. However, recent studies have found low-fat dairy products may actually be causing weight gain and the importance of full fat dairy products is coming into focus.
The next issue is flavoured yogurt, check the nutrition label and examine the sugar content. There are about 4 grams of naturally occurring sugars in 100 grams of plain yogurt, anything above 4 grams of sugar is added sugar. Sadly, many flavoured yogurts contain anywhere from 13 to 24 grams of sugar per 100 grams of yogurt! To put this into perspective 4 grams of sugar is 1 teaspoon of sugar. So if your yogurt contains 16 grams of sugar, take away 4 grams because they are natural sugars found in the yogurt and you are left with 3 teaspoons of sugar that have been added to your tiny serving of yogurt! Sugar also suppresses the immune system for approximately 4-5 hours.
Lastly, you want to buy organic because hormones and pesticides love to hang out in higher fat items like dairy and meat. The hormones and pesticides are found in much higher concentrations compared to produce.