Greek Yogurt Explained: Making a Healthy Choice

There are many options for yogurt at the grocery store and sometimes it can be difficult to decide which one to choose. Many people consider yogurt to be a diet food but that is not always the case. One cup of yogurt could have as much as 32 grams of sugar or more. That is equivalent to 8 packs of sugar in one cup.

When you are choosing a yogurt make sure you choose a lower sugar option. Greek yogurt is a great option because it is actually a regular yogurt that is strained to remove excess water. This removes much of the sugar in the yogurt, causing the amount of sugar to go down.

Greek yogurt is a really great source of vitamin D, calcium, potassium. Lately, there has been an explosion of higher protein yogurts that are flavored with no artificial sweeteners and are low in sugar. Here are a few options from WGNO’s Like It, Love It, Hate It! segment:

Love It!

All of the options below have more protein than sugar and no artificial sweeteners.

Oikos Triple Zero – Zero added sugar, zero artificial sweeteners and zero fat. It has 7 grams of sugar and 15 grams of protein. It is sweetened with stevia. It has no real fruit but it is a great option for kids because it is still sweet.

Siggi’s – Is similar to Greek yogurt because it is also strained but it is strained even more, making it a thicker, protein-rich yogurt. Has real cane sugar and real whole fruit. With 15 grams of protein and 10 grams of sugar, it is a great option.

Wallaby Purely Unsweetened - Has zero added sugars. It is basically plain Greek yogurt and berries.

Like It!

Fage with Fruit – This flavored Greek yogurt is good but there is more sugar than protein. It has 15 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein.

Dannon Light & Fit - Has 7 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein but does have the same artificial sweeteners as a diet coke.

Hate It!

These Greek yogurts have way more sugar than protein.

Activia Greek – Has about 50% more sugar than protein with 19 grams of sugar and only 12 grams of protein. It is also sweetened with fruit, sugar and fructose.

Yoplait Light - Has twice as much sugar as protein with 10 grams of sugar and 5 grams of protein.

Yoplait Original – They market it as low sugar but it has three times as much sugar as protein. It has 18 grams of sugar and 6 grams of protein.

Overall, Greek yogurt is a great option as long as you pay attention to the amount of sugar versus the amount of protein. Some have almost as much protein as a chicken breast.