Frozen yogurt, Greek yogurt, Activia yogurt, non-fat, low-fat and regular yogurt: what really is the difference between all of those yogurts? Here are some fun facts that we hope will get you even more excited about choosing your favorite snack-on-the-go.
The Cultures of Yogurt
And A Mouthful of Scientific Words
Yogurt is the result of live, active cultures or living organisms interacting with milk through a fermentation process. In order for yogurt to be labeled as yogurt according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), two cultures are required to be used in production: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Some yogurts may also contain additional live bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus, and others but these are sometimes eliminated in manufacturing processes which heat the yogurt after fermentation.
Surprisingly, your body actually needs a healthy balance of good bacteria to function well and fermented foods are believed to be helpful in preventing gastrointestinal infections, fighting certain kinds of cancer and strengthening the immune system, to name a few. More research is being conducted about the connection between live and active culture yogurt and these benefits, but the evidence so far is positive.
I’ll Take My Yogurt Rare and Still Mooing, Please
Which Yogurt is Right For You?
Yogurt seems to come in a variety of options from non-fat plain yogurt to Greek yogurt with blended fruit flavors, but there aren’t as many true differences between all of these yogurts as you might imagine. While all yogurts first start from combining milk with the two live, active cultures required by the FDA, most of the differences from there are simple taste and texture preference or fat and sugar levels. For example, the only thing that makes Greek yogurt “Greek” is the number of times the yogurt is strained to remove a liquid called “whey.” Regular yogurt is strained twice, but Greek yogurt is strained three times, resulting in a thicker, creamier texture to please your palate.
The real difference in yogurt boils down to the amount of live bacteria remaining in the product when you buy it off of the grocery store shelves. Because any or all of the beneficial bacteria may be eliminated by heat-treating the yogurt after fermentation, The National Yogurt Association (NYA) has gone one step further in defining its criteria for live and active culture yogurt with the use of the Live & Active Culture seal. This seal guarantees a minimum amount of bacteria per gram of yogurt. If you are interested in knowing who participates in this seal program, you can read that here.
Activia yogurt, for example, contains a third strain of bacteria exclusive to Activia products made by Dannon. However, don’t be too quick to be drawn into heavy marketing as there are also plenty of other yogurt products which provide even more live and active cultures. Some yogurt products also have a high sugar content, so if you are interested in yogurt with health-promoting probiotics, we recommend that you read the whole label, look for the Live & Active Culture seal and make the choice best for you!