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Ask the Dietitian

By Althea Zanecosky, MS, RD, LDN
Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association

Q: I am overwhelmed by the variety of yogurt products available on the dairy shelves. How do I choose the best yogurt for my needs?

A: Consumers’ desires to eat healthy and a growing awareness of yogurt’s active-culture health benefits have made yogurt one of the most popular foods in the dairy case!  More than 1,200 new yogurt products were introduced in the U.S. since 2005. No wonder it’s so hard to choose!

To make sense of the explosion of yogurt options, choose one according to your dietary and/or health needs.  Here’s a guide:

• If you eat yogurt to supplement milk intake: Choose one that’s lower in calories and saturated fat.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines recommend three to four servings of dairy products a day for most people. If you are drinking one to two servings of milk and are having a serving or two of yogurt daily, choose a yogurt product with less than 120 calories and 1g (gram) of saturated fat per 4-ounce serving. (If your yogurt is in a 6-ounce container, choose one with less than 150 calories and 1.3g of saturated fat.)   Many yogurt products meet these criteria; some are even much lower in calories and are fat free.
• If you eat at least three servings of yogurt to replace milk: Choose low calorie, high calcium and Vitamin D fortified.  In addition to being low in calories, look for a yogurt product that contains at least 15 percent DV (Daily Values) of calcium per 4-ounce serving if you do not eat any other calcium-rich foods. Surprisingly, unlike milk, not all yogurt products are fortified with Vitamin D, so read the nutrition label.
• If you eat yogurt to reap its health benefits for a healthier gut: Look for a specific strain of “live active cultures.”  Many studies have reported that eating yogurt with active culture (also called probiotics) can improve bowel functions. Look for the words “active culture” or “live culture” and then look for one of these strains on the labels: L bulgaricus, S thermophilus and/or L casei.  These three have been well studied for their health benefits on the bowel in humans.
• If you drink yogurt: Choose lower sugar.  Most yogurt drinks are catered to kids and generally are sweetened. So if you offer yogurt drinks to your kids on a regular basis, choose one with lower sugar level: less than 12g – or 3 teaspoons – of sugar.
• If you eat yogurt as a snack to delay hunger: Choose Greek yogurt.  Greek yogurt is strained so the whey (liquid) is removed, resulting in a yogurt that has twice the protein than unstrained varieties.  The higher amount of protein promotes satiety and stabilizes blood sugar levels. And the thicker texture difference fools our palates into thinking it’s a higher-fat, more calorie-dense food than it really is!
• If you eat yogurt as a dessert or treat and only eat it occasionally: Choose any kind.  Yogurt products are much higher in nutrients than most other desserts like cookies, pies, and cakes, since yogurt contains many nutrients like protein, calcium, Vitamin B12, riboflavin, and potassium. So if yogurts can satisfy your taste buds – go for it! But even if you have a very sweet tooth, try to still choose one with less than 5g of sugar per ounce (less than 20g of sugar per 4 ounce or 30g of sugar per 6 ounce).