Sugar free yogurt: is greek yogurt sugar free?
Do you know what is called as a “white poison”? The answer is “sugar”. If you ask me to give a suggestion to avoid an element from your diet, I will definitely suggest you to cut sugar from your diet. Now a day, the presence of sugar in foods and the amount of sugar we take regularly, is a concerning issue. Consuming an elevated amount of sugar causes serious health hazards. Today, I will try to focus mainly on the harmful effects of consuming much sugar, benefits of being sugar free and sugar free food items such as yogurt, Greek yogurt, etc. Moreover, I will help you to choose the best sugar free yogurt.
Recommended: Why should consume gluten free yogurt?
What does “sugar-free” mean?
A food product labeled “sugar free” simply means the product is free of sugar. On the other hand, another term “no added sugar” means a different thing. I will talk about this later on. Now I am going to show some facts about sugar free.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sugar free means that, the product has to contain no more than 0.5 grams of sugar per labeled servings and it also cannot contain any ingredient that has sugar.
Sugar-free and natural sugar
There are various whole foods such as fresh fruits which are sweet tasted. They basically do not contain any added sugar, but they are not sugar free because, they have natural sugar (fructose) in themselves.
On the other hand, sour tasted plain Greek yogurt does not contain any added sugar, but it contains natural sugar. Most of the cases, naturally occurring sugars are not much harmful to your health. Generally, the carbohydrate we consume, finally turns to glucose. Like other natural sugars, fructose and lactose, glucose is also a natural sugar. Glucose is considered as the main source of energy of our body. Moreover, natural sugars are also connected with minerals, vitamins, amino acids and fibers which have necessities in your health as well.
Read more: Why you should choose Fat free yogurt. Read the important article.
Sweet tasted sugar free food products
There are lots of food products available in the market, which are technically sugar free, but they contain artificial sweeteners. Zero calorie sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit or sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, malitol or erythritol are used as artificial or synthetic sweeteners. These types of artificial sweeteners also may cause harmful consequences on your health.
Sugar-free and natural sweeteners
If you make a food adding honey to it, can you say it sugar free? No, because honey, fruit syrup or condensed fruit juice are also natural sweeteners. If you are on a sugar free diet, you definitely need to avoid them.
“Sugar-free” and “ No added sugar”
There are distinct differences between “sugar-free” and “no added sugar”. I have already talked about sugar-free and now I will show you a comparison between food products which are labeled “sugar free” and “no added sugar”.
Sugar free means the food product does not contain any sugar. On the other hand, the products labeled “no added sugar” may contain any natural sugar by its own. For example, fresh fruits contain fructose which is a natural sugar.
Sometimes, in case of “no added sugar” labeled food products means that, the sugar is restored by sugar alcohol which I have mentioned earlier.
How you can identify added sugar in food?
Sugar consumption can cause harmful impacts on your health (I will talk about those harmful effects later on). Therefore, you need to avoid food or food products which contain sugar.
Now I will provide you some tips which will help you to identify any added sugar in foods or food products.
Read the label
First, you have to read the labeling carefully and then try to calculate the amount of both added sugar and natural sugar. If the amount exceeds the limit set up by FDA, then you have to avoid it.
Look for different names for sugar
Food products manufacturing companies used to follow different strategies to confuse the customers. There are 61 different names of sugars and you might not familiar with all of them. The manufacturers use these names of sugars and use many of them in a small amount. By this technique, they carefully break the law and make you confused.
So, if you know the 61 different names for sugar, you will be able to find them out on a label of a food product.
61 different names for sugar are as follows:
- Agave nectar
- Barbados sugar
- Barley malt
- Barley malt syrup
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
- Cane juice
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Castor sugar
- Coconut palm sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Date sugar
- Dehydrated cane juice
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Free-flowing brown sugars
- Fructose
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Glucose
- Glucose solids
- Golden sugar
- Golden syrup
- Grape sugar
- HFCS (High-Fructose Corn Syrup)
- Honey
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Maltol
- Maltose
- Mannose
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Muscovado
- Palm sugar
- Panocha
- Powdered sugar
- Raw sugar
- Refiner’s syrup
- Rice syrup
- Saccharose
- Sorghum Syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar (granulated)
- Sweet Sorghum
- Syrup
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
The list of different names of sugar will hopefully provide you assistance to choose a sugar free food.
Best sugar free foods to eat
If you want to avoid consuming sugar, you need to maintain a sugar free diet. I have given some sorts of sugar free foods below:
Beef and mutton: You can eat the meat of grass fed cattle such as cow, lamb, etc. But, while consuming, you have to maintain a limit because, these foods contain a high amount of protein, cholesterol etc.
Poultry: You can also eat chickens and turkey and they are good sources of proteins.
Vegetables: You can eat vegetables as much as you can because, they are sugar free. Eating sufficient vegetables also have lots of useful consequences on your health.
Fishes: Fishes of both fresh water and sea water do not contain any sugar. Therefore, they can be included in your diet. Sea water fish contain ‘Iodine”, which is an essential component of your health.
Note: When you are on a weight loss program, You should add yogurt to the diet list. From different form of yogurt which one is suitable for you? We have the solution for it. So, Read!!
Fermented food products: Fermented foods such as sugar free yogurt can also be a better option. Fermented foods are also a good source of probiotics. So, you are more likely to get enough amounts by consuming fermented foods.
Moreover, I mostly prefer yogurt as a sugar free item. The reasons behind to choose yogurt are the numerous health benefits of yogurt and its components. I have talked a lot about yogurt in my previously published articles. There I have mainly focused on its health benefits for both children an adult.
Now, I will show some facts about sugar free yogurt.
Reduced sugar yogurt contains a little amount of sugar, which may not cause any harm to your health.
Note: If you have problem to consume dairy product then you might be face problem to take regular yogurt, so take dairy free yogurt. Read where and how to choose it.
There are several forms of sugar free yogurt available in the market. These include:
Sugar free frozen yogurt
Low sugar Greek yogurt
Sugar free Greek yogurt
A full cup plain yogurt contains approximately 17 grams of carbohydrates that are all natural sugar. In case of whole milk, a cup of whole milk yogurt contains 11 grams of carbohydrates, where the same amount of plain whole milk Greek yogurt contains 10 grams of carbohydrates.
Bad sides of food products with added sugar
There are lots of harmful impacts of consuming foods with added sugar. These include:
- Disrupt blood sugar regulation: A higher intake of sugar may cause interruption in blood sugar regulation. This phenomenon occurs mostly in diabetic patient and it may result in dangerous consequences.
- Disturbed neural function: Researchers have shown that, inflammation occurs by high sugar consumption may hamper regular neural activities.
- Dental problems: Eating foods with high sugar may enhance the multiplication of bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria are responsible for making cavities.
Benefits of consuming sugar free foods
Earlier I said sugar as a white poison. So, you need to deduct sugar from your diet. It is clear to you that, consuming sugars have a lot of harmful consequences on your health. Therefore, you need to follow a sugar free diet. There are lots of benefits of consuming sugar free foods and avoiding sugar content foods. These include:
- Economic benefit: If you observe, you will find added sugar foods are expensive. So, if you think about the price and the harmful effects of high sugar foods, you will definitely consider again before buying.
- Reduce the risk of cancer: Researches also show that, consuming sugar free foods may also reduce the risk of cancer.
- Improved workforce: Going sugar free will increase your energy and help you to give more concentration on your regular work. Besides these, it may positively impact on your mood and thus you can get more inspiration.
Finally, I wish to sum up the article saying that, we need to maintain a sugar free diet. Supermarkets are full of expensive added sugar food products and we randomly buy them. But, you need to be concerned about your health. Doctors also suggest avoiding sugar rich food products. Therefore, you should cut this white poison from your diet to maintain a healthy life. I have talked a lot about sugar free regular yogurt and Greek yogurt. So, I believe you got understand all the advantageous aspects of yogurt. All the information in the article is based on researches.
Note: Yogurt Trusted Brand: Chobani, Fage, Yoplait, Dannon, Oikos, siggi etc.