Tanya’s Tasty Tips: How Healthy Is Yogurt?
Q: Is yogurt really that good for me—and if so, which do you recommend?
A: Yogurt can make for a great breakfast or post-workout snack. However, I’m sure you know that there are so many to choose from and they are NOT all created equally! Although many people think of yogurt as a diet food, a typical yogurt parfait can contain as many as 350 calories, 50 grams of carbs, 10 grams protein and 30 grams of sugar—that is definitely not diet friendly.
Recently, Greek yogurt has made a comeback and become very popular. My top three favorites are: 0% Fage Yogurt, Chobani, and Oikos Organic by StonyField Farms. These all have about half the calories, 1/5 the carbs, and 3 times the protein making them a much healthier choice. One 6 oz container of Greek yogurt has only 90 calories, 6 grams of carbs, 16 grams protein and 6 grams of sugar—you can see the difference!
Compared to a typical bagel and cream cheese breakfast that can have as many as 650 calories and only 3 grams of fiber, my yogurt parfait (see recipe below) has less than 200 calories and 14 g fiber!
Think your low fat donut from Dunkin Donuts is a better choice than your bagel breakfast? Think again! A typical muffin packs around 500-600 calories and only 2 grams of fiber. It might taste good, but you will be feeling hungry soon after and you’ll be on your way to a diet disaster!
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being. For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.
Tags: 0% Fage Yogurt, and Oikos Organic by StonyField Farms, bagel, Chobani, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, yogurt
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I bet she really wanted to know if the yoghurts advertised on tv constantly like Activia really populate your digestive track with beneficial flora and if so which brand ie yoplait or activia or dannon or no-name brands…sugar free or not, etc are best. When the average american asks to compare brands, they usually mean nationwide brands not obscure greek organic brands. Just saying…this answer was unhelpful. So, do brands like activia really give a health benefit as advertised?
I imagine most of us pay attention to sugar content, fiber and protein when we purchase yogurt. However, I’m inclined to agree with ‘freelisa’ – when I saw the topic question, I also was hoping to find info pertaining to the regular grocery store variety of yogurts, and the claims of digestive benefits from some brands.
Thanks Tanya. With endless rows of choice in the yogurt section of my supermarket, its good to know that there ARE some that are low in carbs, calories and sugar – all important for those of us losing or maintaining weight.