How to choose the healthiest yogurt

Amelia Winslow

Feb 23rd 2017 8:27AM

The yogurt aisle is perhaps the most confusing aisle of the grocery store. With so many options, each offering something that supposedly makes it superior, you could spend all your precious shopping time just reading yogurt labels.

I'm here to provide some guidance.

While yogurt selection of course boils down to personal preference, some are definitely healthier and more high quality than others. No need to consume twice the sugar of a serving of ice cream (yes, some yogurts have this much) or "mono- and diglycerides" along with your morning meal, when you can fuel your body a better option.

Here's what I look for when buying yogurt:

Plain or low in sugar. Plain yogurt is ideal. If you don't like plain, mix in your own fruit, jam, honey, maple syrup, etc. If you prefer to buy a flavor, look for one with:

Less than 18 grams sugar for a 6 oz serving.
Less than 12 grams sugar if the yogurt is Greek (since Greek is strained, it has less milk sugar, so if the sugar grams are high it's from added sugar, not naturally-occurring lactose).

Free of calorie-free sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, stevia, erythritol). These sweeteners are often found in "light" yogurts, but eating these chemicals is not worth the calories you may save.

Organic. I do occasionally make an exception here, if it's a brand I love and trust to use high quality ingredients (like Siggi's, or Dreaming Cow Creamery), but in general I recommend buying organic dairy products – here's why.

Short ingredient list. As always with food, less is more. All you need to make yogurt is milk and live active cultures — plus fruit and maybe sugar for a flavored yogurt – so watch out for ingredients

Discover some of the the best yogurt brands at Eating Made Easy.

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