Much has been written about the health benefits of yogurts. It is evident since they are a good source of proteins that deliver the necessary nutrients such as zinc, calcium, and vitamins, along with gut-friendly probiotics. Besides that, yogurts are among the most versatile foods going. You can take it as a snack, use it in drinks or dips, or cook with it. But how do you tell the best healthy yogurt to buy? Choosing yogurts may be complex and confusing. However, this post will guide you on what you need to look for and avoid while shopping.
Bulgarian Yogurt
Bulgarian yogurt is a dairy food made by the fermentation of dairy milk. Two bacteria strains trigger it, that is, Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. While millennials have consumed dairy fermented foods as Asian, Mediterranean, and eastern Europe traditional food, Bulgarian yogurt is known to be among the best-researched dairy foods and its associated many health benefits.
Greek Yogurt
Greek Yogurt is a Yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey. It preserves the distinctive sour taste, resulting in a thicker consistency, and concentrates some nutrients than regular yogurt. Greek Yogurt has twice as much protein (around 15 g) as regular yogurt. It’s generally made from whole milk, but nonfat and 2 percent varieties can also be found.
How Do You Choose The Best Healthy Yogurt?
How do you tell that you are choosing a healthy yogurt? Choosing may be difficult as most of the top brands come complete with hidden sugars and additives. Since yogurt is gaining popularity as people’s kitchen favorite, they’re a quick and easy go-to for low-calorie breakfasts, desserts and afternoon snacks, much like cereals. But with debatable talks about yogurt, from Greek to Bulgarian yogurt, here is what you need to consider while looking for the best healthy yogurt to buy.
- Always read the label.
First, ensure you read the label to help you understand the essentials to know what’s really in your food. Once you know what you are looking for, labels will help you learn a lot about healthy culture Greek yogurt.
- Nutrition facts
Besides information on labels, nutrition facts about yogurt will give you the most specific information. The listing includes serving size and calories per serving. Nutrition facts will tell you about the amount of carbs, protein, fats, and sugar in each serving. It will also tell you how much calcium and vitamin D each yogurt serving contains.
- Ingredient list
Typically, all yogurts start as plain yogurt. But by the time they reach the final process and are stored in a refrigerator, they contain additional ingredients, including preservatives, dyes, stabilizers, artificial flavors, and sugars. If possible, consider one with fewer ingredients, including milk, the bacterial cultures that turn milk into yogurt.
- Probiotics
Probiotics are good bacteria in yogurt essential to keep your digestive tract in working order. You can check for the actual bacteria name listed in the ingredients— look for names like L. acidophilus, L. casei, B. bifidum, and B. Longum.
The Benefits Of Choosing A Healthy Yogurt
Typically, dairy-based yogurt is rich in proteins and delivers upto 45% calcium that you’d need in a day. They are also a good source of potassium essential to ease tension inside blood vessels, which in turn help to lower blood pressure. Since they are also made using fermentation, they contain probiotics that help to restore and maintain healthy microorganisms in your digestive tract. It also plays a vital role in the body’s immune response system. Above all, choosing healthy yogurt means you are making a step for better diet quality, healthy weight, lower body weight, less weight gain over time, and a smaller waist circumference.
Conclusion
You can miss the yogurt aisle these days as there are competitive brands, which might make your decision confusing and overwhelming on which is the healthiest. However, it all depends on what you’re using it for and, of course, your taste preferences. While choosing the best healthy yogurt to buy, keeping it simple means keeping it healthy. Ensure you try picking the one containing few ingredients with little added sugar, plain and unsweetened. With the above tips, you’ll be confident enough that healthier and more nutritious yogurt.
