Add Some Yogurt to Your Day

So many yogurts and so much to choose from.  Some nutritionists name some foods as super foods.  If so, yogurt would certainly be a super food.   When buying yogurt should you buy low-fat or whole milk yogurt?  Consumer Reports has a great article on Is Whole-Milk Yogurt A Whole Lot Better?  For years we have been told to eat low-fat to lower our risk of heart disease.  Most people would say whole-milk yogurt tastes richer and just better than low-fat yogurt.  But we choose the low-fat as the American Heart Association and other experts emphasized low-fat, not full-fat versions of dairy products.  But now it seems, FAT IS BACK.  At least dairy fat may be back.  Low-fat yogurt is still the best seller but more and more you are seeing “whole” milk yogurts on store shelves.  Many consumers are buying whole-milk yogurt as they believe whole-milk yogurt is better for you than low-fat yogurt.  So, are recommendations changing?  Is whole-milk yogurt healthier?

Taste- whole-milk yogurt definitely has a creamier, richer taste. 

Health – For years the American Heart Association and other health experts have recommended low-fat dairy products.  This was to cut back on the saturated fat in our diets.  By lowering the saturated fat in our diets, we could lower our cholesterol and reduce our risk of heart disease.  But now, scientists are discovering that whole-milk dairy products may actually be good for your health.  How could this be?  Cut the Fat – has been the mantra of health experts for years and years.  So, we bought low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt.  And now some experts are saying the whole-milk products are not only OK they actually may be good for our health?

Yogurt is Good for You – eating a yogurt a day is good for your health.  Any type of yogurt will have health benefits.  A Harvard study in 2014 found that eating one yogurt a day reduced one’s risk of getting Type 2 diabetes by 18%.  Another study reported in the journal of Nutrition & Diabetes found that those who ate a lot of dairy every day from 1-7 cups a day of milk, butter, cheese, cream, or yogurt had less body fat than those who ate less than ¾ cup of dairy a day.  Not only less body fat but smaller waists and a lower BMI (body mass index).  This goes against the advice we have been hearing for years about avoiding butter, avoiding cream and choosing low-fat dairy products. 

Yogurt Lowers Blood Pressure – Studies have shown that those who eat yogurt every day lower their risk of developing high blood pressure. 

Why is yogurt so healthy?

• Protein – yogurt is not only a good source of protein, the protein in yogurt is a high-quality protein.  Eating protein at meals helps you feel full longer as protein has “staying power” and takes longer to digest than carbs.  This may be the reason that yogurt helps keep off the weight.  Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt but often has less calcium.
• Probiotics – a huge, benefit of yogurt is the probiotics.  The “friendly bacteria” in yogurt that seems to have so many health benefits.  Look on the label for “live” active cultures when buying yogurt.
• Fat in Yogurt – the fat in yogurt contains “sphingolipids” a type of fat that actually seems beneficial to heart health.  And fat is more filling.  Eating whole milk yogurt would be a snack that would be more filling and have more "staying power" than a low fat yogurt. 

Not All Dairy Fat is Equal – one would think that the dairy fat in butter would be the same as the dairy fat in cheese.  But not so.  Apparently, butter fat has less of those “sphingolipids” than cheese or yogurt does.  This is good news for cheese lovers like me. 

Calcium and Vitamin D – these are 2 nutrients that so many Americans are not getting enough of.  Adding a yogurt to your day will boost your calcium intake.  But check to make sure the yogurt you are eating also provides vitamin D.  Not all brands do.

Which yogurt to choose?  Choose a brand you will eat.  A student in my class was eating yogurt and looking pained with every bite.  She was trying to add yogurt to her day but choose a brand of yogurt she obviously did not like.  Other students in the class offered her suggestions and the next class she said she found a yogurt brand she liked to eat.  Plain yogurt with no added sugar can be a good choice.  My husband buys plain yogurt and adds some fresh berries to it.  I like flavored yogurt.  And if you like whole-milk yogurt – enjoy every bite.  New research is showing you may not have to switch to a low-fat yogurt.  Try different brands, different flavors and find some yogurt you can enjoy every day.

This week, add a yogurt a day for better health.  In their yogurt article, Consumer Reports recommends a number of whole milk yogurts including Trader Joe’s Organic Plain Whole Milk Yogurt, Annie’s Organic Whole Milk Yogurt, Dannon Oikos Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt, Chobani Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt and Great Value (Walmart) Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt. For those who like a little more flavor in their yogurt, some berry yogurts recommended by Consumer Reports are Dannon Strawberry Whole Milk Yogurt, Brown Cow Strawberry Whole Milk Yogurt, Chobani Raspberry Whole Milk Greek Yogurt and Fage Total Strawberry Whole Milk Greek Yogurt.

Sources:   Whole-Milk Yogurt A Whole Lot Better , Studies, Calcium and Vitamin D   Image Source:  Strawberry yogurt, Greek Yogurt