Yoghurt is a thick texture drink made from pasteurized cow's milk. Nutritionists encourage you to eat a cup of yogurt every day because it is very he althy. It increases immunity, protects against infections and helps heal them. The problem is that there are many yoghurts on the market that are artificially colored and sweetened with aspartame. Which yoghurts are the he althiest?
Real yogurtconsists only of milk and bacteria. This condition is met only bynatural yoghurt , and not everyone. The trap is in the name itself. The inscription on the label "natural yoghurt" does not mean that it is produced using natural methods, but only that it does not contain any flavorings.
Natural yogurt is made by fermenting milk that has been treated with appropriate strains of bacteria. The vast majority of yoghurts available on the market are dairy products with the addition of bacteria and various substances that give them the right consistency and structure.
Natural yoghurt is never uniform, it only consists of curd and "water". Only when we mix it does it turn smooth as cream. Meanwhile, many natural yoghurts on sale have a velvety consistency or can be cut like butter. This applies to both plain and "Balkan" or "Greek" yoghurts, which we choose because we are convinced that they are the best.
The truth is that they were stuffed with additives that made them look nice. Don't be fooled!
ImportantYoghurt dessert is different from yogurt
In such desserts there is only an addition of yogurt, which is lost among other ingredients, and the list of them is usually very long. In addition to a large amount of sugar, you can find cream, emulsifiers, foaming agents, gelatin, dyes and flavors there. The same goes for yoghurt bars.
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Yogurt - the fewer ingredients it has, the better
Nutritionists convince: you want to have natural yoghurt, make it at home. It's very simple and doesn't take any time. But if you don't feel like it, before you buy yogurt, carefully study the composition of the product, even if it is printed in tiny print.
The general rule is this: choose yoghurts with the fewest ingredients. Longthe inventory shows that the product is very far from natural. Look for the name of the genus, species and strain of the bacteria on the packaging, e.g. Bifidobacterium (genus), lactis (species) DN-173010 (strain).
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Yogurt - which is the best?
Yogurt is made by adding two species of bacteria to milk: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Probiotic yogurt must also contain strains of lactobacilli, which have been proven he alth-promoting in clinical trials (they improve immunity or the functioning of the intestines). There must be at least one million living cells in a milliliter of yoghurt to work.
Most companies take advantage of our ignorance and state only the name of the species ("yogurt contains Lactobacillus casei bacteria beneficial to he alth") or briefly inform that yoghurt contains live bacteria or yoghurt bacteria.
Meanwhile, among many strains of lactic bacteria, only some have probiotic effects. So if you don't find detailed information on the type, species, strain and amount of bacteria used, you are not sure if it contains he alth-promoting bacteria.
There are yoghurts on the market that do not have a single bacteria, and are obtained from milk through various technological processes. In order to prolong the shelf life of the yoghurt, it is sometimes heated (thermized). This kills harmful but also beneficial bacteria. Information about such treatment should appear on the packaging, but this is not always the case.
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Yogurt light, 0% fat
It's good for the yoghurt to be skim, but not "light" or "0 percent. fat ”, because they do not contain fat-soluble vitamins A, D or K, and the calcium contained in them is less absorbed. In the case of fruit yoghurts, this may mean that sugar or sweeteners are in the composition. The fat content of yoghurt ranges from 0.5 to 8 percent. in cream yogurt. It is best to buy those that contain 1.5-2 percent. fat.
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Real yoghurt - how to recognize it?
Most of the yoghurts available on the market contain various thickeners: milk proteins, powdered milk (it contains caloric milk sugar and cholesterol) or modified corn starch (E 1422, E 1413, E 1414),the effect on the body is not yet fully understood, so caution is recommended when consuming it.
The popular substances E 412 (guar gum obtained from the Indian tree), E 440 (pectins produced from apple remnants and white citrus fibers), as well as magnesium phosphates (E 343), which additionally give the product a smooth structure, are not harmful , but they prove that yoghurt has a lower nutritional value, because its density does not result from the evaporation of milk, but is obtained artificially.
Gelatin added to yoghurt is not suitable for people who avoid animal products, because it is obtained from cartilage and bones.
ImportantAcidity regulators used in yoghurts: citric acid (E 330), sodium citrates (E 331), considered harmless, may cause allergy symptoms in people sensitive to monosodium glutamate. In addition, they react with some medications to weaken or increase their effects. Anyway, why buy condensed milk as yoghurt.
Fruit yogurt - is it he althy?
Store shelves are full of fruit yoghurts, flavored with vanilla, chocolate, coffee, even cookies. What is really hidden in them? Just look at the ingredients list - it is usually very long.
It is worth paying attention to whether the yoghurt actually contains fruit, i.e. fruit filling, also called pulp. Unfortunately, the composition of such a load is usually not precise, and it often contains dyes, aromas and gelatin, and there are also preservatives. Fruit input is usually about 5 percent. volume and often these are not just the fruits that decorate the packaging.
Upload 5% strawberries to natural yoghurt and blend, and you will find that your yoghurt is not as intense in color as the one from the store. In addition to cherries, cherry yoghurt contains black carrot concentrate, strawberry yoghurt - beetroot juice concentrate, kiwi yoghurt - nettle, apricot-nectarine - paprika extract.
The fruits of elderberry, chokeberry and blackcurrant contain the so-called anthocyanins, or red-violet vegetable dyes (E 163), which are also added to yoghurts. To obtain the red color, cochineal is also used - a dye obtained from the abdomen of one of the aphid species.
It is always better to buy peach yoghurt (at least 6.5% of the fruit) or peach yogurt (at least 3.5%) than peach-flavored yogurt (less than 3.5% of the fruit).
Avoid yoghurts with no word for fruit, but no lack of colorings and aromas.
A medium cup (330 g) of flavored yogurt contains approx. 9 teaspoons of added sugar, with sucrose oftenis replaced with glucose-fructose syrup, which causes more metabolic disturbances than regular sugar.
Regular consumption of such yoghurts is a straightforward way to obesity, it can disturb sugar metabolism and, as a result, lead to type 2 diabetes.
Aspartame-sweetened yoghurt (E 951) should be avoided by children and pregnant women - artificial sweeteners can cause diarrhea and headaches. Suspicion should arouse yoghurts with glazed peas, chocolate dragees, crisps. They contain artificial colors, flavors and sugar.
It's better to add fruit or dried fruit yourself to a good natural, home-made or bought yoghurt. Even if we sweeten it, there will be less sugar in it than in the one from the store.
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