Ask the Dietitian
By Althea Zanecosky, MS, RD, LDN
Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
August 2009
Q: In the hot weather I love a cold dairy treat and often choose frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. Is frozen yogurt healthier than ice cream? And is frozen yogurt as good for you as regular fat-free yogurt?
A: Frozen yogurt is a dessert similar to ice cream, but made with yogurt rather than cream. It tends to be lower in fat and calories than ice cream, so many people choose it as an alternative.
Yogurt is a fermented food, made by adding live bacterial cultures to milk. These bacteria provoke fermentation in the milk, releasing lactic acid. This acid thickens the milk proteins and causes them to form a mass which creates a creamy, thick product.
Yogurt is usually only considered true yogurt if live bacteria remain at the end of the creation process. When a person consumes true yogurt, these live bacteria enter the body and assist other beneficial microorganisms; scientific studies show these bacteria can provide positive effects on digestion and immunity. Frozen yogurt is usually made with a starter culture (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus), but if the product has been heat treated the cultures are destroyed. Look for the “Live and Active Cultures'” seal on the label to obtain a frozen dessert with these beneficial bacteria. Some frozen yogurts can have added probiotics, but the amounts may not be adequate to confer a benefit.
Yogurt, and by extension frozen yogurt, has another positive feature desired by some individuals. Yogurt contains enzymes that assist in breaking down the sugar in milk called lactose. This allows people with lactose intolerance to ingest yogurt and frozen yogurt with little or no ill effects.
Frozen yogurt is perhaps best viewed health-wise as being somewhere between real yogurt and ice cream. While a cup of regular nonfat, plain yogurt delivers 10-12 grams of protein and 300-350 mg. of calcium for about 110 to 130 calories per cup, the nutrition in frozen yogurt is generally lower.
- Most frozen yogurts contain as little as 4 grams of protein per cup, roughly equivalent to that found in ice cream.
- The calcium content in many frozen yogurts usually doesn't measure up to regular yogurt, though some brands are fortified with extra calcium to deliver as much of this mineral as a glass of milk.
- Frozen yogurt usually has less fat than a comparable ice cream, but higher amounts of fat and substantially more calories than a comparable refrigerated yogurt. Fat-free frozen yogurts exist, but they often have more added sugar than other varieties.
- Calories in frozen yogurt vary, too, ranging from 180 per cup to 460.
Frozen yogurt is made in much the same way as ice cream so it can be prepared at home in an ice cream maker. Yogurt replaces the cream content of ice cream, but otherwise, similar ingredients are used. Yogurt - because of its changed structure - freezes and melts at much higher temperatures than milk, making frozen yogurt stay frozen much longer than ice cream when subjected to room temperatures.
Check out these frozen yogurt recipes in our Dairy Lover’s Kitchen:
Peanut Butter Cup Frozen Yogurt
Chippy Bing Cherry Lowfat Frozen Yogurt