What is the biggest mistake that people make on a regular basis when trying to eat a “healthy” diet?
… well, they substitute fat for sugar.
So when I decided to try a store bought brand of “Greek” yogurt, I opted for a Pomegranate flavored Chobani “Greek” Yogurt. There was no fat in the yogurt, but that is more of a bad thing than a good thing… As you may know, the FDA, requires that ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance according to the weight of each ingredient (21 CFR 501.4) . So… what is the first ingredient? Nonfat yogurt. What is the second ingredient? Evaporated cane juice. That’s right, the 2nd largest ingredient of that yogurt is sugar! … And you thought it was good for you???
Let me read the Ingredients list off to you:
- Nonfat Yogurt (Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk, Live and Active Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus and L. Casei)
- Evaporated Cane Juice
- Pomegranate Seeds
- Pomegranate Juice Concentrate
- Pectin
- Natural Flavor
- Locust Bean Gum
- Fruit and Vegetable Juice Concentrate
Picture of ingredients list in Chobani Pomegranate flavored Greek Yogurt
Think of it this way, if the ingredient after sugar is pomengranate seeds followed by pomengranate juice, then that means that the amount of sugar is greater than each of these ingredients individually. So when you are eating this yogurt, just look at the massive volume of pomegranate seeds and pomegranate juice and say to yourself, would I add that much sugar to my yogurt?
Surely, your answer would be a strong resounding NO!
But the truth is that there is already that much sugar in the same yogurt which you are eating right now! So if this product is called “Greek”, when it has nothing to do with coming from the nation of Greece, if it is called “Yogurt” and “Pomegranate”, then why isn’t it called “Evaporated Cane Juice Yogurt”? Because there is more Evaporated Cane Juice in this product than there is pomegranates.
Stop eating low-fat high sugar “Greek” yogurt!
Stop eating sugar laced “health” food products and start eating full-fat yogurt made from whole milk. This is very simply to do, all you have to do is purchase yogurt that contains a very simple ingredients list: The ingredients on the product must not contain ~any~ sugar or sugar substitutes. Pomegranates are supposed to have a nice flavor naturally without having to add sugar, so why is Chobani doing so?
Oh yeah, did you continue reading the label? Did you notice another funny ingredient called “Natural Flavor”? I made it red for a reason…
Natural Flavor
Natural Flavor is a convenient method for manufacturers to sneak GMO’s into their products. Don’t believe me? Google it…
Heart Disease
Also, for those who may not know this yet, but sugar has recently been vindicated as the cause for heart disease. Yes, that’s right, sugar is what causes inflamation of your veins and other bodily organs, which as a result become weaker and weaker and then one day they collapse causing what is known as a heart attack… Avoiding fat and cholesterol is so 80s.
It gets worse…. See Fage
Even Fage puts sugar as the first ingredient in most, if not all of its fruit flavored yogurts, except for in their honey flavored yogurt.
Noosa
Noosa has to put sugar even in its honey flavored yogurt. Tell me something is not wrong here… Noosa yogurt is supposed to be some new “hot” thing which is Aussie-style yogurt. I purchased a cup today and noticed that not only was sugar the 2nd ingredient after yogurt, there were various other forms of sugar listed throughout the ingredients list. So be warned, soon Fage and Chobani will be moving their sugar into other forms of sugar so that they can be moved further down the ingredients list.
As for Noosa, stay away from it right now! As for Fage and Chobani, opt for the plain flavored yogurt and get the higher fat version. Nonfat doesn’t work, neither does diet or light. Just look around you, do you see any healthy looking people eating nonfat yogurt? I only see fat people and anorexic looking people eating nonfat yogurt.
