Nutrition Tip March 5 2011
Yogurt
Comments: Who would have thought that yogurt could be so confusing?!? An 8 oz. container of plain yogurt will usually have the most calcium. From there, it can drop by 100-300 mg depending on the size of container and other ingredients used which decrease the volume of milk. When decreasing the size of your yogurt in order to decrease your calorie intake, remember, you’re also decreasing healthy things like calcium. Calories usually range from 60-240 depending on size and type. Light will have the least calories since it uses a sugar substitute. While Splenda might be considered a “safe” substitute, if the yogurt also contains acesulfame potassium, avoid it just like aspartame (both have had somewhat weak studies show a correlation to cancer risk). Beware that some “fat-free” yogurts use artificial sweeteners as well. Furthermore, some yogurts have more ingredients than candy bars, using colorings, sweeteners, etc to make them appeal to us! If you like the taste of whipped yogurts, realize that not only are you getting less calcium, protein, etc, you’re also paying for air!
What to buy: Organic yogurt whenever possible, plain yogurt without hormones to be mixed with honey, fruit, etc., or milk to make your own!
What to leave: Yogurts containing aspartame or acesulfame potassium, those that do not identify themselves as hormone-free ,whipped yogurts with little nutritional value, low-fat yogurts with 240+ calories and 30+ grams of sugar!
By Kelli Jennings of www.apexnutritionllc.com.
An important thing to realize about calcium is that presence of calcium in the diet is not entirely sufficient. A low-fat diet often lacks the lipids, vitamin A, and vitamin D found in animal proteins, that help retain synthesize and retain calcium in your body. Go for full-fat yogurt. It’s the sugar that stimulates your insulin that triggers weight gain anyhow.
Absolutely – It’s not the fat from animal products that cause most of our health problems, it sugars, refined ingredients, and even fat-free additives that are used to improve the texture of foods that have been unnaturally made to be fat-free and light . I’m with you, full-fat plain organic yogurt is the way to go for nutrition, hormone balance, and overall health.