Plain vs Flavoured Yoghurt

Whilst eating my mid afternoon snack of blueberries and yoghurt I started wondering about the fruity yoghurts we can buy in shops. It is pretty much common knowledge now that plain yoghurt is the healthier option but I started wondering why.

I found plain greek style yoghurt and a whipped greek style corner yoghurt in my fridge which means I can start comparing.

Calories

Not that this is something that particularly bothers me, I have never counted calories and probably never will, but the calorie content of both is fairly similar with only 5 kcal more per 100g in the corner yoghurt.

Fat

Plain yoghurt actually contains more fat than the corner yoghurt by nearly 4 grams. There is also 2.1 grams less saturated fat than in plain yoghurt. So in terms of fat content alone the corner yoghurt wins.

Carbohydrate

This is the part of the Nutrition Information table I look at most (or avoid looking at most in case of cheesecake ;)). The carbohydrate content of the corner yohgurt is nearly THREE TIMES that of plain yoghurt! By now we all know that too much sugar is bad for us – tooth decay, diabetes and it is even described as addictive. Considering that the American Heart Association recommends no more than 36g of sugar per day for men and 20g for women, the 14.2g of sugar in the corner yoghurt is already nearly three quarters of the recommended daily amount and this is only a snack!

Protein

Since both of these are Greek yoghurts of some form, protein content is very similar with 4.2 grams per 100g in plain yoghurt and 4.1 grams in the flavoured.

After the macronutrients the next thing that I wanted to compare was the ingredients list. It’s nice and easy for the plain yoghurt – “Greek Style Natural Yoghurt (Milk)”. That’s it. One ingredient. The fruity kind however has 12. And only one of them is fruit. So what is actually in there? Added sugar – explaining the high sugar content. Water – yep, I can understand that one. E472b – I had no idea what this was but anything starting with E followed by a number does not fill me with confidence. After some basic research I found that this is an emulsifier made mostly from plant oils but animal fats are not excluded. From what I know about emulsifier this is the stuff that makes the fatty yoghurt and the non-fatty jam mix and not separate. Next on the list is pectin which is listed under the subheading of stabilisers. Although derived from plants it undergoes an industrialised extraction process and is added to foods in the form of a powder. It’s a commonly used gelling agents so will often be seen on many other food products. Guar gum is the next ingredient and one I have never heard of before. Again, extracted from plants and ends up as a powder used to thicken yoghurt and to stabilise condiments as well as to improve appearance. Gelatin is another gelling agent on the list – obtained from various animal by-product – this explains why the yoghurt isn’t suitable for vegetarians. Then comes the citric acid (a flavouring and preservative) and sodium citrate (an acidity regulator, which for example makes cheese melt without becoming greasy).

Even though some of these ingredients don’t sound that bad I think I will stick to my plain yoghurt with fresh fruit or granola, I think the sugar content alone is enough to make me stick with it.