It’s creamy. It’s healthy. In fact, recent research from Harvard University identifies yoghurt as one of the best foods for weight loss—think low GI, high protein and a bone-strengthening boost of calcium. But not all varieties are health heroes. Here are five sneaky saboteurs to avoid:
The sugar bomb
There’s fruit and then there’s ‘fruit’. Many yoghurts with pureed, sweetened fruit mixed in are loaded with
more sugar than a chocolate bar. Plain yoghurt a bit tart for your taste? Mix in a teaspoon of honey, add banana slices for energy, walnuts for omega-3 or blueberries for an instant dose of antioxidants.
The fat trap
Greek yoghurt may be thick, creamy and delicious, but it’s also
high in fat. “It generally contains 8-10% fat compared with 4% for normal yoghurt,” explains nutritionist Catherine Saxelby. The simple solution?
Low-fat Greek yoghurt is just as
rich in calcium and protein, with less than 3% fat. Win-win!
The smoothie
The yoghurt smoothies found in juice bars across the country are often no different to a milkshake in disguise: some have as many kilojoules as a bowl of ice-cream. So how can you make sure you get all the benefits without the sugar? Mix your own with unsweetened frozen berries, plain yoghurt and low-fat milk.
Dessert in disguise
If it sounds too good to be good for you, then it probably is. “Dessert yoghurts may contain a little bit of yoghurt, but there’s also added cream or chocolate, and flavouring like cheesecake, caramel or tiramisu,” explains Saxelby. “These are really an indulgent dessert, rather than a healthy snack.”
What about frozen yoghurt?
Frozen yoghurt may seem like a healthy snack, but it’s not a substitute for the real thing. “It may be healthier than ice-cream with less sugar, fat and a low GI, but it has
twice the kilojoules of low-fat yoghurt so it’s not entirely guilt-free,” Saxelby adds. Bump up the health factor with frozen yoghurt that has live probiotic cultures and enjoy occasionally.
7 Comments
How "big" are you exactly, Kev? Is that "big" beer gut, and tiny d~i~c~k?
1 ReplyLove your comment Prof - you sheep ! It always cracks me up how someone with a bit of paper seems to have the top rankings when it comes to opinions. Why not ask my granny whose 88. After all how do you suppose she got to live to be 88 dumb#$%$. When I was young we ate all of the so called bad foods ( roasts, cream, butter,biscuit & tea with three sugars ) but we also didn't have TV, computers or XBox to sit on our fat #$%$ in front of. We played and ran around outside burning it all off. I don't need any university degree to see why we were all skinny then - It's obvious to me Prof. Plus to top it all off your scientists keep changing whats good for you every time they need to justify their existance ( get funds ). If you really want to know anything ask OLD people !
4 Repliesthe so-called fat trap is a blatant lie, i proved it by not eating processed sugar, biscuits, cakes, using unprocessed sugar like honey, agave and natvia, but, i then converted to fullfat yoghurt, milk cheese and lots of butter and cream, fullfat of course, and lost lots of weight. fatfree is obviously not working, is it. by eating fatfree you trick the brain into thinking that you are still hungry and are not satisfied, same with sugar and processed foods. when are the so-called xperts going to wake up to the fact that the human body needs fats.
ReplyWho is this written by? What are their formal qualifications?
3 Replies