Good-quality yogurt is one of the healthiest snacks you can enjoy—packed with nutrients and probiotics, it’s good for your gut and tasty to boot, especially Greek yogurt. “It’s one of those foods that hits a lot of nutritional high points,” says Jillian Wanik, RD, a registered dietitian with Hartford HealthCare. “Greek yogurt is rich in protein, calcium, probiotics, and other nutrients that support overall health — and it’s incredibly versatile.” Sadly, not all yogurts are created equal—here are six yogurt brands that use low-quality ingredients for certain products.
YoCrunch
YoCrunch is made with low-fat milk and contains live yogurt cultures, but it’s also packed with added sugar, preservatives, modified corn starch, and other ingredients that make this yogurt an ultra-processed item. The YoCrunch Granola Strawberry has 22g of sugar per serving, which includes 16 g of added sugar. This should absolutely be treated as a dessert item.
Great Value
Great Value Original Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt is another ultraprocessed food containing both fructose and sugar (21g per 3/4 of a cup). It also contains a host of additives such as modified food starch and corn starch, gelatine, and more. There is also no actual vanilla in this vanilla yogurt.
Yoplait Go-Gurt
Yoplait Go-Gurt is marketed towards kids, which makes the sugar content (23g for one serving of which 18g is added sugar) even more concerning. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends less than 25g per day of added sugar for kids. With industrial thickeners, gelatin, and lab-created flavors, this yogurt is essentially a candy.
Activia
Activia Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt contains live and active cultures, but also texture modifiers, “natural” flavors, 12g of sugar, gelatin, and other additives. This is essentially another ultra-processed yogurt with some health benefits, but should not be considered a health food.
Chobani Flip
Another yogurt that should be classed as a dessert, the Chobani Flip Key Lime Crumble contains both cane sugar and brown sugar (17g total), plus additives and refined fats such as soybean oil. As an occasional treat it’s fine, but should not be considered a healthy option in the same way a basic cup of regular Greek yogurt would be.
Dannon Light & Fit
Another ultraprocessed yogurt item, the Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Cheesecake contains modified food starch, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives. It does have live cultures and is marketed as low-fat and lower-calorie, but that doesn’t necessarily make it healthier than a regular yogurt with no added sweeteners.
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