This Dairy Staple In Your Fridge Seems Healthy But Isn't As Good For You As You Think

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We have more convenience foods, restaurants, and delivery apps at our disposal than ever before in history, yet the modern landscape of food has made it more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Usually, when one decides they will eat healthier, they first limit the aforementioned conveniences — sticking to making meals at home from scratch is the easiest way to eat healthy, right? Perhaps at surface level, but once you start reading the labels, reality hits: some foods seem healthy but aren't as good for you as you think. One of the leading examples of that is flavored yogurt.

We spoke with Samar Kullab, a Chicago-based registered dietitian nutritionist, and asked her about the paradox of people mistakenly viewing all flavored yogurt as healthy. "Yogurt has a health reputation because [of] its protein, calcium, and probiotic content," she told us. Those nutrients aren't the only ones, however. "Once the flavoring is added, a lot of times the added sugar can climb — sometimes as high as 15-20 grams of sugar," Kullab warned.

This doesn't mean that all flavored yogurts are to be done away with, however. If the extra flavor is a must-have but you want to avoid an excess of added sugar, Kullab offers some advice. "When picking up yogurt, it's worth taking a look at the added sugar section on the nutrition label, keeping it under 10g of sugar," she said.

If you love a certain brand of flavored yogurt, you don't instantly have to give it up just because of its sugar content — there's absolutely nothing wrong with making yogurt dessert-worthy. But the situation is trickier if you're eating yogurt in part to pursue your health goals; in that case, a swap might be warranted. The first thing Kullab recommended is flavoring the yogurt at home. "Flavoring it yourself can help control how much added sugar there is," she noted. There are many ways to add more flavor to yogurt while keeping the added sugar low: fresh fruit, peanut butter, cinnamon, coconut, etc. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be. "It really comes down to what someone has time for that day," Kullab said.

If you usually don't have the time to flavor your own yogurt or prefer to eat the dairy on the go, don't worry — "There are healthy flavored options out there," the expert said. As consumers are becoming more health-conscious, brands are expanding their lineups to include flavor-forward, low-sugar yogurts. For example, the Chobani Less Sugar Low-Fat Greek Yogurt has only 5 grams of added sugar, and it's the best low-sugar vanilla yogurt, according to Amazon reviews.