I did another talk last week on nutrition (I don't know much about anything else...)
And I've noticed that this question comes up time and time again.
We were talking debunking food myths.
And a woman - confidently - raised her hand.
^^^ It was a bit like the kid at school who knows all the times tables...
"yes", I reply, encouraging the woman to 'debunk'.
"Low fat yoghurts are just full of sugar and full-fat are better for you", she said.
But like most things in nutrition
It depends on how you look at it!
Let's take (my favourite) yoghurt.
Greek yoghurt (I generally go for the Total brand or Waitrose own brand as it's pretty good and thick)
Full fat (per 100g):
Calories: 96
Fat: 5 g
Carbs: 4 g
of which sugar: 4 g
Protein: 9 g
0% fat (per 100 g):
Calories: 57
Fat: 0 g
Carbs: 4 g
of which sugar: 4 g
Protein: 10 g
^^^ So there's the same amount of sugar, but less calories and more protein in 0% Greek yogurt.
And it's the same with other brands like Skyr!
What about natural yoghurt?
Let's take Yeo Valley.
Full fat (per 100g):
Calories: 82
Fat: 4.2 g
Carbs: 6.5 g
of which sugar: 6.5 g
Protein: 4.6 g
0% fat (per 100g):
Calories: 59
Fat: 4.2 g
Carbs: 8.5 g
of which sugar: 8.5 g
Protein: 5.9 g
"Matt, there's more sugar" in the 0% fat yoghurt".
Yes, there is.
But, as Yeo Valley point out:
"No added ingredients. No added sugar. This yogurt contains only milk’s naturally occurring sugar (lactose)."
So, it contains more sugar (and protein) purely because..
Removing the fat from the yogurt means you need MORE of it to make up the 100 g tub.
So full fat Yeo Valley yoghurt contains about 30% more calories, 20% less protein, and about 25% more sugar.
And imagine this headline:
"LOW FAT yoghurts contain 25% more sugar"
You panic, right?
But what about if they went with:
"LOW FAT yogurts are packed with 20% more protein to keep you fuller for longer - and contain 30% less calories"
Low fat is back in, right?
And to top it off...
Muller Light yoghurts get a bad name
But they only contain 7.8 g of sugar per 100 g
(which is actually less than the natural Yeo Valley yogurt)
One thing to note...
I'm not referring to the Muller Light Desserts (they are pretty high in sugar...but after all, they're trying to mimic a dessert, not a yoghurt)
So, there you have it.
Don't believe the headlines
And READ the labels!
Matt "debunking the debunked" Fruci