Dietitian says dollop of dairy food ‘reduces risk of heart disease and helps weight loss’

A dietitian has explained how a dollop of Greek yoghurt on your muesli can help reduce the risk of heart disease and be helpful for those trying to lose weight. But Victoria Taylor also sounded a note of caution, saying it was all about choosing the right yoghurt.

Writing for the British Heart Foundation, she said: “Yoghurt is a nutritious dairy product that can be a tasty and healthy addition to your diet. It is a fermented food made by adding live yoghurt (which contains bacteria) to milk. It is a good source of protein and calcium.

“Research also suggests that the special mix of nutrients in dairy foods like yoghurt and milk helps reduce the risk of heart and circulatory disease. This is true even though the type of fat in dairy foods is saturated fat.”

Victoria said strained Greek yoghurt was thicker and higher in protein than normal plain yoghurt or milk. She said adding 200g of it to muesli instead of the equivalent amount of milk could “double the amount of protein you are getting from around 7g to 14g”.

She said: “This increased amount of protein can make Greek yoghurt more filling, which is helpful if you are trying to lose weight. But not all Greek yoghurts are the same. Some are less healthy than others.

“Some are sweetened, making them high in sugar. In fact, sugar-sweetened yoghurts are one of the biggest sources of added sugars in our diets. And some are made with cream as well as milk, making them high in saturated fats.

“However, others containing live bacteria (cultures) may be good for gut health. But more research is needed to know the full benefit.”

Victoria said the key was to look for the words ‘no added sugar’ and ‘100% milk’ on the tub of the product. She said the only ingredients should be ‘milk’ and ‘live cultures’.

She also recommended low-fat yoghurt over full-fat to help with keeping cholesterol levels down: “It also has fewer calories, which helps with weight loss. But watch out for low-fat fruit yoghurts as they often have a lot of sugar in them.”