Sugar Free Yogurt Basics
Sugar free yogurt is one of the healtiest foods available on the market today. It is a great source of protein and calcium, and provides many health benefits.
Many manufacturers makeyogurts that have a ton of added sugar.No-diet versions will contain normal, white sugar and diet versions of yogurt will contain either artificial or natural low-calorie added surgars. There is no question that eating too much sugar in your diet is bad for you.Added sugars in foods is a large factor in the rise of obesity in America. These added sugars in yogurts not only harm your health, though, buy they alsotake away from the nutritional value of yogurt.
The Sugar Situation:
Many people wish to eat sugar free yogurt, but have a difficult time finding a brand that makes yogurt without sugar. Before you start shopping for your sugar free yogurt, you should understand some of the characteristics of yogurt. Yogurt in itssimplest(and healthiest) form has two ingredients: milk and active, live cultures. It is basically made by adding good bacteria to milk and incubating the mixture until it thickens to form yogurt.
Even though plain yogurt (as seen above) only contains milk and cultures, its nutrition label will still show that it has a significant amount of sugar. This is due to the fact that there are many different forms of sugar. The kind of sugar found in this yogurt is called “lactose.” It’s the natural sugar found in milk and it is completely fine (and healthy) for you to consume.
If you are looking for yogurt with zero sugars on the nutrition label, you simply aren’t going to find any.
What you want to look for, instead, is yogurts that have no added sugars. Many yogurts on the market today are loaded with added sugars – white sugar, organic sugar, aspartame, evaporated cane juice, honey, and many other artificial or natural added sugars.
Instead of looking at the nutrition label when looking for healthy yogurt, you should focus more on the list of ingredients. If a yogurt’s ingredient list just includes milk, active cultures, and possibly milk powder, the yogurt is considered sugar free.
There are several brands of yogurt that use completely natural, healthier sugar substitutes. These brands are not included in our Sugar Free Yogurt List, but you can find some of the brands and flavors using natural, healthier sugars on our Healthiest Yogurt page.
Here are some examples of products on the market that are considered to be sugar free yogurt. They contain no added sugars, just milk and cultures.
Sugar Free Yogurt
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Benefits of Sugar Free Yogurt
Eating sugar free yogurt on a regular basis can give you some major health advantages. Here are some of the health benefits that yogurt can give:
- •Helps Prevent Osteoporosis – Since yogurt is made from milk, it contains a significant amount of bone-friendly calcium. Just one 8-ounce serving of yogurt can contain 40% of the recommended daily amount of calcium. If you need to increase your calcium intake, stick with regular yogurts opposed to Greek yogurt. Greek yogurts typically contain less calcium.
- •Provides Protein – Sugar free yogurt is a great, healthy source of protein. An 8-ounce serving of regular yogurt contains about 12 grams of protein. The same amount of Greek yogurt can contain 15 to 20 grams of protein. The protein makes yogurt an excellent snack for dieters because it helps the body feel full longer. Also, the large amount of protein in yogurt makes it a great post-workout snack.
- •Helps the Digestive System – The active, live cultures in yogurt are often termed “probiotics.” These good bacteria help promote a healthy digestive system.
- •Helps Lower Risk of High Blood Pressure – Studies have shown that eating yogurt on a consistent basis can help lower your risk for hypertension and heart problems.
- •Helps Lower Risk of Vaginal Infections – Yogurt that has active cultures can also help reduce the risk of vaginal infections like yeast infections.
- •Provides Other Nutrients – Yogurt also contains vitamins like potassium, magnesium and vitamin B.