With so many flavours, fats and protein options, the choices seem to be endless when it comes to yogurt.
Registered dietitian Heather Barns says it’s important to understand the difference between the types of yogurt available in the dairy aisle.
“I think it can get kinda confusing for people, because generally you would think of yogurt as just a healthy option, and now some of them range from being very healthy to almost super-indulgent,” says Barns.
Choosing the right yogurt depends on your health goals. Always check the ingredients list for unwanted additives.
“The absolutely best yogurt to look for, on a nutritional stand-point, would be a plain yogurt with very few ingredients,” says Barns. “So you should be looking for skim milk, or milk as the first ingredient, and then bacterial cultures.”
Popular choices for plain yogurts with high protein are Greek and Skyr.
Probiotic yogurt is also a healthy choice which helps boost your immune system, but watch out for the sugar content, especially if it's flavoured.
“The first thing you want to look at is the sugar, so just because it actually says “low in fat” it may actually have more sugars added to it,” says Angela Dufour, registered dietitian.
Some servings of yogurt can have upwards of 20 grams of sugar in a single serving, which is typically three-quarters of a cup.
“Usually some of those kid friendly type of packaging, or yogurts with fun packaging have added sugars,” says Dufour. “Again, actually have some added sugars and maybe sweeteners, and artificial ingredients.”
Dufour says Canadians are not meeting their two to three recommended daily servings of dairy. She says yogurt is an excellent way to meet this requirement, while enjoying other health benefits as well.
“(Yogurt) can help with reducing your risk of blood pressure, hypertension, colorectal cancer, helps with mood, can improve immunity,” says Dufour.
If you don't like the taste of plain yogurt on its own there are a variety of ways to include it into your diet, like cold soups and baked goods.
“You can do it as a sauce as a topping for burgers and you can make it as a dip,” says Dufour.
“Another option would be to mix some of your flavoured yogurt with a plain yogurt, so that you're decreasing the amount of sugar that's in the overall product,” says Barns.
Dufour says avoid artificial colouring or artificial sweeteners if you can, something commonly found in flavoured yogurts, and if you need something sweet, just add fresh fruit.
