Greek yogurt vs regular yogurt: Which one is more nutritious?
Suppose you want to buy a yogurt and there are only Greek yogurt brands available in the store. You may be confused thinking whether there are any differences? Yogurt is a food with a great taste and lots of benefits. From several types of yogurt, there are some basic differences between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt. Moreover, I have previously talked a lot about Greek yogurt and regular yogurt. Today, my post is basically on Greek yogurt vs regular yogurt. Through the write up, I will try to make understand about some significant differences between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt.
You know yogurt is basically a fermented milk product and both regular yogurt and Greek yogurt are made of milk. Although both of them are produced from the same source, there are differences in their components as well as their production process.
How they are maid?
The initial process of making both regular yogurt and Greek yogurt starts as same. It involves: milk gets heated first and then cooled to the optimum temperature (106 -114º F). After the temperature has reduced to the desired, bacterial cultures are added and mixed nicely to make a smooth mixture. Then the mixture is allowed to ferment for a particular time, so that the bacterial fermentation can occur to produce lactic acid and solidify the milk to produce regular yogurt.
On the other hand, to make Greek yogurt, regular yogurt undergoes an extensive straining process to remove liquid whey to provide a thick textured yogurt.
Recommended: Discussion about Can you freeze Greek yogurt?.
What are the differences?
The differences between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt can be categorized in several factors and the factors are as follows:
- Straining process: The production of Greek yogurt involves multiple straining than the production process of regular yogurt. This straining process is used to remove the whey of the yogurt. Whey is a liquid component that we sometimes see at the top of the yogurt and it also can be produced by bacterial respiration. As multiple straining processes remove much of the whey, Greek yogurt gets a thicker consistency.
- Protein content: Greek yogurt is a nice healthy snack because it gives more protein than regular yogurt. Protein is a component that provides the fullness after eating.
- Sugar and carbohydrate contents: Greek yogurt contains less amount than the regular yogurt. But, you have to keep in your mind that flavored Greek yogurt can contain much amount of carbohydrates. So, be careful before buying flavored Greek yogurt.
- Fat content: Greek yogurt usually contains more than regular yogurt and it is the only considerable thing in the case of Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is less in protein and carbohydrates
Yogurt benefits: Which one is healthier: regular or Greek?
It is important to make you clear that, both regular and Greek yogurt in any forms can be a part of your healthy diet. They are low in calories and rich in essential nutrients along with live bacterial cultures which are also called probiotics. But the Greek yogurt is extremely strained to remove much of the liquid whey. Moreover, Greek yogurt meets the consumer satisfaction as it has a wide range of popularity all over the world.
As I said Greek yogurt has a higher amount of protein. The amount of protein is responsible to provide the satisfaction after eating a food which makes an individual not to eat more. So,
I have also said that, Greek yogurt has a less amount of carbohydrate. So, going Greek yogurt can be a nice for the low-carb dieters.
The consumption of foods that are rich in carbohydrate can interrupt the insulin production. In that case, Greek yogurt is a better choice than the regular yogurt as it contains almost half amount of sugar and carbohydrates in an equal amount of serving.
Along with that, one of the most important aspects that I have to mention is the microbes of yogurt. They play important roles in our digestive system. Moreover, our digestive system has a lot of microorganisms where both good and bad microorganisms are present.
Yogurt is a good source of probiotics that establish a balanced ratio of both good and bad bacteria to facilitate the digestion process. In that case, the amount of probiotics is higher in Greek yogurt than the regular yogurt. So, choosing the Greek yogurt is better.
Besides these, yogurt is a nice source of calcium and the regular yogurt has the higher amount. Calcium is an important nutrient for the bone development. Consumption of yogurt regularly can meet the requirement of calcium in breastfeeding moms as they may lose some calcium through breastfeeding. Moreover, in women, menstruation is also responsible for losing calcium in some case. Therefore, women should stick to regular yogurt as yogurt is a nice healthy food for women.
There are also differences in texture of regular and Greek yogurt. While Greek yogurt has a thicker consistency, regular yogurt has not the same. The thicker texture of Greek yogurt makes it more preferable in cooking as it does not get curdled like regular yogurt while cooking.
Besides lots of benefits, Greek yogurt is more costly than the regular yogurt. Customers demand can be responsible for its high cost. Moreover, production of Greek yogurt requires multiple straining which also increase its buying expense.
In addition to that, there are several environmental aspects are also related to the byproduct (whey) of Greek yogurt. When Greek yogurt is strained, its liquid whey gets removed. This whey has also several uses among farmers because they can use whey as their livestock feed or fertilizer in the fields. Moreover, whey can also be used in generating electricity. But, it is a matter of concern that, since the production of Greek yogurt is increasing rapidly, more whey is produced and farmers do not have the capacity to handle the large amount of whey. They can utilize a limited amount of whey properly, but the remaining whey unproductive. Therefore, more research is required to ensure the proper use of this byproduct.
Recommended: Information on lactose intolerance and yogurt.
These two forms of yogurt are highly mentionable and there are some other types include vanilla yogurt, sugar-free yogurt, frozen yogurt etc. Most importantly, you should choose the desired one and buy the best yogurt from the market.
I wish to conclude saying that, whatever it is regular or Greek, yogurt is a healthy choice in your diet. Both of these types are rich in nutrients which can keep you healthy. But, I like to suggest you to choose the unflavored one. Through the post I tried to make you understand about the basic differences between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt as well as their benefits. I believe the article will be helpful for you.