The Dirty Little Secret That Yoplait, Dannon and Others Don't Want you to Know

Dannon and Yoplait Flavored Yogurts

We have all been taught to think of yogurt as a wholesome, low fat, and low calorie source of protein. That is only true if you are talking about plain Greek Style Yogurt which contains around 19 grams of protein per cup. Plain Greek Style Yogurt is a good source of nutrition and has the added benefit of nourishing you gut microbiome.

Flavored yogurts are a completely different story: I actually stumbled across this when I was doing some research on ultra-processed foods and how they harm our health. I was surprised to see yogurt listed as an ultra-processed food, but after looking at all the added sugars, and artificial ingredients contained in flavored yogurts, I realize that they are in fact not a true health food.

Dannon has been around for decades, and it's a popular brand. Dannon puts colorful images of fresh fruit on the containers. Their fruit-flavored products, especially the Fruit On The Bottom cups look like pure yogurt with wholesome fresh fruit added.

However, these small cups, are incredibly high in sugar, with 15 grams of added sugar for a total of 21 grams in each 150-gram container of its strawberry flavor. Each cup provides only 5 grams of protein, making it a low-protein choice. For comparison, one cup of plain Greek yogurt provides 19 grams of protein.

There are also a number of additives in Dannon's Fruit On The Bottom yogurts, that you might want to avoid. Their strawberry yogurt contains modified food starch, carrageenan, and disodium phosphate. That last ingredient is a additive found in processed foods. Research has identified potential risks associated with phosphate additives, most notably a strain on the kidneys and a higher risk of chronic kidney disease.

Yoplait also goes wrong when it comes to flavored yogurt. Some of its dessert-like yogurt flavors are full of sugar. Its Cherry Cheesecake flavor contains 18 grams of added sugar in each tub, over a third of your recommended daily value, and 22 grams of sugar overall.

The Yoplait Whips product line seems to have the appearance of healthiness, with a whipped, light texture and "low-fat" displayed prominently on its packaging. Despite this, Yoplait Whips actually have a high amount of saturated fat in them, with 1.5 grams per serving, roughly 8% of your daily recommended amount. The serving size for each of these yogurts is small. While most yogurt tubs weigh 170 grams, each Yoplait Whips tub is just 4 ounces, meaning you're getting a large amount of sugar plus 140 calories in a small portion.

Great Value Yogurt is Walmart's store brand and they sell a lot of it.

Great Value Original Strawberry Low Fat Yogurt is full of added sugar. Each container has almost a third of your daily value, with 16 grams of added sugar per 170 grams. It also has a lengthy list of additives containing fructose, modified food starch, carrageenan, and gelatin.

Carrageenan, has been subject to a great deal of discussion about its potential health effects. Walmart's Great Value yogurt also lists "artificial flavors" in its ingredients, but does not disclose what these flavors are or what they're made from.

Trader Joe's has become a popular brand with a sort of health food vibe and a knack for making its products look good. Each of its Peaches & Cream and Mango & Cream Yogurt Cups is beautifully presented with illustrations of fruit and gentle pastel-colored yogurt inside. Its nutrition is less attractive. Each of these quite small yogurt cups has 13 grams of added sugar. That's over a quarter of the maximum amount of added sugars you should consume per day. These yogurt cups are also high in saturated fat, each small cup contains around 18% of your suggested daily allowance. There are only 4 grams of protein per serving, and they are low in vitamins and minerals. Each tub also contains modified cornstarch, and gelatin which are added to enhance smoothness, and do nothing to enhance the nutritional value.