Why full fat greek yoghurt?

[zauberflote]

@Sarbak on the yogurt-- I have been warned by my cardiologist that if my cholesterol (from all that butter, cheese, chicken skin...) doesn't go down, she will put me on statins. Since I don't want her to fire me, I eat as little saturated animal fat as possible. Of course she would love me to eat a low fat diet too, but we're not there yet. I like my nuts, olive oil, more nuts...
So I put olive oil in fat free Siggi's skyr type yogurt. It is perfectly good without, but sticks to the ribs better with the oil.
I think you're doing really well!

 

[Deleted member 475901]

I have been using FAGE fat free greek yoghurt for the last few months, but I've noticed quite a few people saying that full fat is better... but is this just because the higher fat content will supposedly make you feel fuller? For someone who is trying to lose weight with a combination of low carbs and keeping half an eye on calories, I can eat twice as much fat free as I can full fat and I don't struggle with hunger at all with what I eat.

For example, the FAGE fat free per 100g is 54cal, 0g fat, 3g carbs, 10.3g protein with no sweeteners or obvious nasties added.
By comparison, Yeo Valley greek style is 129cal, 9.7g fat, 5.3g carbs and 5g protein

You shouldn't try to compare real Greek yogurt with 'greek style' as the latter is often significantly higher in carbs. I prefer full fat Greek yogurt but if I can't get it I will eat fat reduced real Greek rather than 'greek style' yogurts* - some of which use thickening agents to achieve a thicker yogurt.
Fage 5% has just 3g carbs.

*The only exceptions I would be happy with are some of the small UK dairies who make a Greek style using the same technique as Greek yogurt.

 

[Lamont D]

Nobody has mentioned the benefits of full fat Greek yogurt being good for your gut biotic and helps with the good bacteria in your gut.
The gut has an important role to play in how your glucose/insulin response effects your blood glucose levels.

It is very low carb and no hidden production industrial sugars and additives, that can cause higher levels.
The taste is better, especially with 90% chocolate and a few frozen berries.
And if that doesn't fill you up?

Keep safe

 

[MrsA2]

I sometimes add double, or even clotted, cream to my plain yoghurt... which happens to be whichever yoghurt is cheap and available at the time.
(Blush)

 

[Robbity]

Why full fat Greek yoghurt?
For me three main reasons:

• I see no sane, logical reason to take a food that nature intended to be full of fat and then remove this, having to replace it with less nutritious "stuff" to make it palatable again. I was eating real yoghurt long before the reduced fat kind came along, and those early l versions I tried were just an unpleasant watery chalky mess, which absolutely convinced me to stay with normal yoghurt....
• Genuine Greek yoghurt contains live/active cultures which offer some health benefits as @Lamont D has already mentioned.
• Fat's a sustainable source of energy that has the added bonus of not raising our (T2) glucose levels unlike the alternative short term energy from carbohydrates, so it's in my interest to eat normal fat foods. These also keep me satisfied for longer, meaning I eat less, and as I'm able to burn off stored fat when I run out of dietary fuels, I'm more likely to lose rather than gain weight.

As a sightly oxymoronic currently pre-diabetic T2, I eat a low carb high (AKA normal full) fat diet specifically to manage my glucose levels rather than to lose weight, although by cutting right down on carbs my weight loss (which was "ordered" by my GP) actually came about early on as an added bonus . And a slight increase in fat consumption from LCHF has had very little impact on my cholesterol levels both with and without statins. The only thing they ever did for me was to raise my glucose levels which I wasn't aware of when I was first prescribed them long before I had T2 - and stopping them saw an almost immediate and additional 2mmol reduction that I'd not been able to achieve through my diet, due to those statins keeping them elevated.

 

[uruudoshi]

I have been using FAGE fat free greek yoghurt for the last few months, but I've noticed quite a few people saying that full fat is better... but is this just because the higher fat content will supposedly make you feel fuller? For someone who is trying to lose weight with a combination of low carbs and keeping half an eye on calories, I can eat twice as much fat free as I can full fat and I don't struggle with hunger at all with what I eat.

For example, the FAGE fat free per 100g is 54cal, 0g fat, 3g carbs, 10.3g protein with no sweeteners or obvious nasties added.
By comparison, Yeo Valley greek style is 129cal, 9.7g fat, 5.3g carbs and 5g protein

I completely agree with the idea of avoiding "low fat" stuff, because that often has added sugars. Tesco low fat greek style, for example, having 7.2g of carbs, over twice as many as the fat free one I eat.

Why full fat Greek yoghurt?
For me three main reasons:

• I see no sane, logical reason to take a food that nature intended to be full of fat and then remove this, having to replace it with less nutritious "stuff" to make it palatable again. I was eating real yoghurt long before the reduced fat kind came along, and those early l versions I tried were just an unpleasant watery chalky mess, which absolutely convinced me to stay with normal yoghurt....
• Genuine Greek yoghurt contains live/active cultures which offer some health benefits as @Lamont D has already mentioned.
• Fat's a sustainable source of energy that has the added bonus of not raising our (T2) glucose levels unlike the alternative short term energy from carbohydrates, so it's in my interest to eat normal fat foods. These also keep me satisfied for longer, meaning I eat less, and as I'm able to burn off stored fat when I run out of dietary fuels, I'm more likely to lose rather than gain weight.

As a sightly oxymoronic currently pre-diabetic T2, I eat a low carb high (AKA normal full) fat diet specifically to manage my glucose levels rather than to lose weight, although by cutting right down on carbs my weight loss (which was "ordered" by my GP) actually came about early on as an added bonus . And a slight increase in fat consumption from LCHF has had very little impact on my cholesterol levels both with and without statins. The only thing they ever did for me was to raise my glucose levels which I wasn't aware of when I was first prescribed them long before I had T2 - and stopping them saw an almost immediate and additional 2mmol reduction that I'd not been able to achieve through my diet, due to those statins keeping them elevated.

Hi there, I just looked at the the Fast 800 diet and there is a lot of evidence suggesting that anything full fat (Butter, Cheese, Yogurt etc) is 10x better for you than all this low fat. If you think about it, most of our parents were brought up on fat and seemed to be much more healthy than we are today. I honestly believe this new style of eating is bad for us, good homely foods, traditionally grown is best.

 

[Robbity]

If you think about it, most of our parents were brought up on fat and seemed to be much more healthy than we are today....

Indeed, and I'm ancient enough to have grown up eating normal full fat food..

 

[Roggg]

Most people I know doing low-carb. are also doing high-fat. After all, if you remove carb calories, you need to add some calories somewhere else. If that's the case, full fat not only tastes better, but also helps to bulk up fat intake to satisfy macros. Especially if you are doing keto (which I know you are not). Me for example, I try to follow what Stephen Phinney calls a "well formulated ketogenic diet". Strict limit on net carbs, an adequate amount of protein, and the bulk of my calories in healthy fats. In that sense, removing the fat from mat yoghurt is a actually a set-back in achieving my macro-nutrient goals. The only yoghurt I eat right now is a plain "Mediterranean style" 10% fat yoghurt. It is so creamy and delicious.