Here are a few key points to keep in mind when selecting yogurt. Supermarkets offer a dazzling array of yogurt and similar products. Besides yogurt, there are confusing names like "cultured milk drink," "lactic acid bacteria milk," and "acid milk drink." So, how should we choose? First, determine what type of product you want to buy.
Here are a few key points to keep in mind when selecting yogurt. Supermarkets offer a dazzling array of yogurt and similar products. Besides yogurt, there are confusing names like "cultured milk drink," "lactic acid bacteria milk," and "acid milk drink." So, how should we choose?
First, determine what type of product you want to buy.
Are you looking for a sweet and sour acid milk drink, or yogurt? You can basically be sure it's yogurt if the product packaging states that the protein content is greater than or equal to 2.3 and the contents are thick or in a gel-like state. If the protein content is greater than or equal to 1.0, it is a milk drink. These products are made from milk, water, sugar, flavorings, acidulants, or fermentation agents and cannot be called yogurt.
Second, choose different yogurts for different groups.
Yogurt is easy to digest, high in nutritional value, and has health benefits. Except for a very small number of people allergic to milk protein, it can be consumed by children over 1 year old and the elderly. For young people and children, as long as they do not have obesity, they do not need to avoid its fat content. Middle-aged and elderly people with high blood lipids can choose low-fat yogurt. It is also worth mentioning that drinking skim yogurt is not necessarily healthier because the anti-cancer substances and vitamins A and D in milk are also in the milk fat.
Unless there is a doctor's order, for healthy people, if you only drink a small cup of yogurt every day, it is recommended to choose full-fat. For diabetics, sugar-free yogurt is the safest choice.
Third, prefer plain yogurt over yogurt with fruit pieces.
Does yogurt with fruit pieces combine the nutritional value of yogurt and fruit and become healthier? The answer is no. In fact, a small amount of fruit pieces does little for nutrition and is difficult to provide a rich aroma. The rich aroma of such products actually comes from flavorings. Children under 3 should choose plain yogurt and not products with added fruit pieces or juice. This is because almost all products with added juice contain flavorings, and fruit pieces pose a risk of being inhaled into the trachea. At the same time, a child's detoxification ability is far from that of an adult, so products without any additives are the best.
Fourth, try to choose yogurt with the most recent production date.
At 4°C, the shelf life of yogurt is about 21 days. But even when refrigerated, lactic acid bacteria will gradually die over time. Many of the health benefits of yogurt come from live lactic acid bacteria. Therefore, although the nutritional value of long-stored yogurt does not change, its health benefits will be reduced. So, when buying yogurt, check the production date and try to choose yogurt that was produced within the last week.