Greek Yogurt is in the news almost every day. You read about the Greek Yogurt brands, what real Greek yogurt is and what not and about the Greek yogurt Nutrition facts. The fact is that Greek Yogurt is in our lives and it is a healthy meal which is off course is part of the Mediterranean Diet, probably the healthiest diet in the world.
What is Greek Yogurt?
Greek yogurt is a type of yogurt which has undergone a straining process which removes the whey while keeping all the healthy nutrients found in yogurt. The straining process in the traditional way is done by the use of a cloth. With the removal of whey, a liquid, a lot of calories are removed but all the nutrients are kept and as a result Greek yogurt has more nutritional elements and fewer calories per serving than regular yogurt. Greek yogurt is more than proteins; it is a more filling snack/meal than any other yogurt and most of the other healthy snacks. Greek yogurt is one of the many healthy Mediterranean Diet snacks.
Greek Yogurt Brands
There are many Greek yogurt brands in the market and the end products vary from the simple plain non-fat Greek yogurt to the exotic Greek yogurt with ’black cherry and port wine! Recently released statistics show that Greek yogurt has a 35% market share of yogurt kept in refrigerators while in 2007 it had a mere 1% share! The leader in the market is Chobani followed by Fage, Danone and Yoplait. Voskos Greek yogurt completes the top 5 group. As the market grows more and more brands will find their place in this expanding market.
Greek Yogurt and Mediterranean Diet
Yogurt is part of the Mediterranean diet and in fact is one of the basic components of the Mediterranean diet and it is one of the foods which can be taken daily meaning that it is near the base of the Mediterranean diet pyramid. It is rich in minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium and has many proteins and vitamins.
Greek Yogurt Nutrition facts
As stated many times both plain yogurt and Greek yogurt are healthy foods which can and should be consumed daily as part of our breakfast or as snack with fruits and nuts. It has however been proven beyond any doubt that Greek yogurt has nutritional advantages over plain yogurt and some of the Greek yogurt nutritional facts will be presented so that we will have a clear picture of its beneficial effects and how the various brands compare to each other.
Calories: Since many weight loss diets are concerned about the calorie intake, we will start with the amount calories are foun in various Greek Yogurt brands. We start with the leader Chobani and its plain low fat Greek yogurt. A 6oz serving of Chobani low fat plain yogurt has 100 calories. The equivalent Fage product has 97 calories. There are just 60 calories in a 6 oz serving of Greek Gods No fat plain Greek yogurt. The 8oz container of Voskos plain no fat Greek yogurt has 140 calories which amounts to 105 calories for a 6oz serving. The Yoplait 6oz container of plain no fat Greek yogurt has 100 calories. As you can see almost all plain no fat Greek yogurt brands contain about 100 calories per 6oz serving with the exception of the Greek Gods brand which stands out of the crowd with just 60 Calories!
Proteins: One of the reasons people choose Greek yogurt over any other yogurt, apart from its health contribution, is the fact that it is more filling and this is attributed off course to the high content of proteins present per serving of Greek Yogurt. Chobani plain non-fat Greek yogurt has 18.0g of Proteins in a 6oz container. The Fage equivalent has 17.2g, while Greek Gods no fat plain yogurt has just 6g of proteins. There are 18g of Proteins in 6oz of Voskos plain non-fat Greek yogurt but 13.9 in the Yoplait equivalent. This shows that there is a difference in the amounts of proteins contained in various Greek yogurt brands and one can draw its own conclusions. If you need to take 18g of Proteins from Greek yogurt then you would have to do the necessary math so as to see the number of calories which will correspond to the required quantity of Greek yogurt. The amount of proteins needed by the human body depends on the age, size and activity. The rule of thumb states that a 150lbs person should eat 55g of protein per day and 200-pound person 74g of protein.
Calcium: The beneficial effects of Calcium are known. Calcium is important for the bone and teeth formation and has an important role in the smooth heart operation. In 6oz servings the Chobani product has 22% of Calcium; Fage plain non-fat yogurt contains 19% of Calcium, Geek Gods 25%, Voskos 15% and Yoplait 35%! As you have noticed in this category we have a great variation of % content of Calcium in a 6oz serving.
Carbohydrates: Low carb-dieters love Greek yogurt because of its low content of carbohydrates. Chobani plain non-fat yogurt has 7g of carbohydrates, Fage has 6.7g, Greek Gods has 10g, Voskos 6.75g and Yoplait 10g. So if you are looking for the Greek plain no-fat yogurt with the lowest carbs you should avoid Greek Gods and Yoplait.
The benefits of Greek yogurt are many and its nutritional contribution to our daily needs is recorded and it can be easily compared with any other food and among the different Greek yogurt brands.
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