Is yogurt healthy or junk food?

1. Look at the sugar in the ingredient table.

To avoid sugar, stay away from sugar-filled yogurt, such as a piece of candy or cookie. Yogurt contains a lot of natural-looking sugar such as lactose. Checking the ingredient table for sugar is not the reason to avoid the product. Because yogurt may contain lactose and protein. However, if sugar occupies the first or second spot on the ingredient table, it is better to find another product.

2. Look at the phrase ‘artificial flavoring’.

If a yogurt says ‘strawberry scent,’ the product will use artificial flavors and no natural fruits at all. If you want fruit-flavored yogurt, make sure that the ingredients list the actual fruit. The actual fruit will definitely be at the top of the component table. In fact, buying plain yogurt with nothing added and eating it with your favorite fresh fruit would be healthier than buying fruit-flavored yogurt.

3. Make sure it’s heat-treated yogurt.

Some companies heat yogurt to reduce sourness and increase shelf life. This is to kill microbes in yogurt, to remove living organisms, to help our body’s immune function. Check the label for ‘live and active lactobacillus’. If the yogurt is heat treated after incubation, the contents will be written on the label.