Yogurt's Broken Halo

Do you consider store-bought yogurt a healthy food?

Do you have any idea how much sugar companies add to yogurt?

It's maddening when I think about the American Heart Association's recommendation for daily sugar intake:

Children (age 2-18) should eat less than 25 grams of sugar daily (less than 6 teaspoons).
Women should eat no more than approximately 6 teaspoons of sugar daily.
Men should eat no more than approximately 9 teaspoons of sugar daily.

Four grams is equal to one teaspoon!

I'm so mad I'm considering Ben & Jerry's for breakfast. My neighbor made some yogurt the other day using bacteria and milk. She added nothing else (possibly a pinch of sugar to feed the bacteria?) and the outcome was incredible. It was refreshing, sweet (lactose in milk is naturally sweet) and satisfying.

So why are so many yogurt companies adding 20+ grams of sugar to each little cup of yogurt?! (And I'm talking about the healthier yogurts, organic, found at health food stores, etc.) For the same reason sugar is added to anything--we will remember how much yummier this brand is over this brand and we will gravitate towards the sweeter one. Naturally.

Examples of the healthiest yogurts I could find, but not healthy in terms of added sugars:

Nancy's
Whole Milk Yogurt Plain: 1 container (8oz) = 180 calories, 16 grams sugar (from milk)

Nancy's
Nonfat Yogurt Plain: 1 container = 120 calories, 17 grams sugar (from milk)

Nancy's
Organic Cultured Soy Unsweetened Plain: 1 container (6oz) = 80 calories, 0 grams sugar

Brown Cow (American Humane Certified)
Strawberry Nonfat: 1 container  = 130 calories, 23 grams sugar (evaporated cane juice)
Chocolate Nonfat: 1 container

Redwood Hill Farm (Goat Milk Yogurt)
Vanilla: 1 container (170g) = 140 calories, 5g fat, 14g sugars (maple syrup)

Wallaby Organic
Key Lime Lowfat: 1 container = 150 calories, 2.5g fat, 22 grams of sugar (organic evaporated cane juice)

Stonyfield Organic
Chocolate Underground 0% Fat: 1 container = 150 calories, 0g fat, 29 grams sugar (naturally milled organic sugar)

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream: 1/2 cup = 260 calories, 15 g fat and 25 grams sugar. This is less sugar than one container of Stonyfield chocolate yogurt. OMG.


Livid! The organic yogurts have a lot of added sugar and the sugar-free yogurts either are not organic or have scary artificial sugar substitutes. And soy? Not a huge fan anymore but at least no one is getting milked to make soy yogurt.

The ONLY brand of yogurt that I have found to be both organic and lightly sweetened is Nancy's. However, recently agave nectar has been substituted for honey in a few of Nancy's yogurts. Bad move! Sadly, this yogurt is difficult to find everywhere. I've lived on the west coast, east coast and a few places in between in the last five years and have not always been able to find Nancy's. Write or call your grocery store and request it.

Also, if you're as mad as I am about the tremendous amount of sugars added to yogurts, write to the companies. Or make your own (check out this wonderful book!)

The biggest take away I hope you get from this article is that YOGURT HAS A BROKEN HALO! MOST STORE BOUGHT YOGURT CONTAINERS HAVE YOUR ENTIRE DAY'S WORTH OF SUGAR. WORTH IT??