Healthy Diet - FOOD PRESCRIPTION #10 - Go For Yogurt

GO FOR YOGURT

I’ve always been a fan of yogurt, but my esteem turned to admiration in 2011 when Harvard School of Public Health researchers named yogurt as one of the two foods that are most associated with healthy long-term weight maintenance. (The other food is nuts.) Now, yogurt is one of my top go-to foods, and it holds an important spot in The Healthy Diet as well.

Here’s the deal: Researchers have been following the health of about 120,000 doctors and nurses for a couple of decades as part of three big studies at the Harvard School of Public Health. Every few years, the participants are asked all about their health, their food choices, their exercise routines, their weight, and all kinds of other stuff. Then, the researchers sift through tons of data and look for associations between the choices the participants have made over the years and their health and weight.

In the 2011 study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers compared weight change among study subjects with the kinds of foods they routinely chose to eat.

Just so you know, even though the people in the Harvard studies are doctors and nurses, they are just as prone to gain weight over time as everyone else. During the previous four years, the study participants had gained an average of about 3.35 pounds, which corresponds pretty closely to the average pound-a-year gain among American adults.

Once they crunched all their data, the researchers discovered that the food choices the participants made had a big impact on their weight.

People who routinely ate potato chips, French fries, potatoes, sweets, desserts, and sugar-sweetened beverages packed on the most weight every year—no surprise there. But what stood out was that people who ate vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt actually lost weight during the study period. The biggest surprise of all (to me and the Harvard researchers) was that yogurt had the biggest association of all with weight loss in the study participants—and the more yogurt they ate, the more weight they lost.

THE HARVARD FOOD AND WEIGHT STUDIES ALSO SHOWED THAT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND TV VIEWING INFLUENCED CHANGES IN WEIGHT. ALSO, THOSE WHO SLEPT SIX TO EIGHT HOURS A NIGHT GAINED LESS WEIGHT THAN THOSE WHO SLEPT LESS THAN SIX OR MORE THAN EIGHT HOURS.

WHAT’S YOUR SECRET?

Why would yogurt play such an active part in weight loss? The researchers don’t know for sure, but one of their theories is that the active cultures and good bacteria in yogurt, which reduce inflammation and contribute to the health of your digestive system, also speed up weight loss and fat burn.

What exactly do I mean by “active cultures” in yogurt? These are actual living organisms. They include Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt through fermentation, as well as strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus (usually on yogurt labels, the word “lactobacillus” is abbreviated with just a capital L) and Bifidobacterium animalis, which is marketed under the trade name Bifidus. These living organisms in yogurt do good things in your digestive system.

Don’t let the word “bacteria” frighten you. Even though we think of it as being something that causes illness, there are both good and bad bacteria in the world (and in our digestive systems). You don’t have to worry about getting any bad bugs in your yogurt as long as it’s made from pasteurized milk, as all major brands are.

It’s also possible that yogurt’s weight-fighting power comes from its protein and calcium. Protein promotes feelings of fullness, decreasing hunger and boosting satiety. And some studies suggest that calcium in dairy foods may do this as well.

It’s also possible that yogurt eating is associated with some other kind of food choice or behavior that the Harvard studies didn’t ascertain—although these studies are pretty thorough.

Personally, I don’t need to know exactly why yogurt helps with weight loss. What matters to me is that it works—so I feel really good about eating it myself and making it part of The Healthy Diet.

YOGURT’S OTHER BENEFITS

Beyond being a great food for weight loss, yogurt brings lots of other nutritional plusses to the party:

•  It’s good for your bones. Yogurt is a rich source of bone-building calcium and vitamin D, which is especially important for women, who have a higher risk than men of developing bone-thinning osteoporosis. Depending on the brand and serving size, yogurt delivers up to a third of your daily calcium need and 20 percent of your vitamin D. Find out exactly how much calcium and vitamin D are in your yogurt by reading the label.
•  It’s packed with protein. A cup of plain, low-fat yogurt has 12 grams of protein.
•  It’s heart-healthy. Studies suggest that eating yogurt may be associated with lower blood pressure, and it’s often recommended as an important part of medically supervised antihypertensive eating plans.
•  It may be OK if you’re lactose-intolerant and may improve GI health. The live, active cultures in yogurt break down most of its lactose, a dairy carbohydrate that can cause bloating, gas, and other gastrointestinal disturbances in certain people.

BETTER THAN MILK?

There’s lots of disagreement about whether milk is an important—or even necessary—part of a healthy diet. I admit there’s a decent amount of evidence out there that people can get all of the calcium they need without drinking milk. But there’s also plenty of evidence in favor of milk for those who enjoy it. My take on the milk debate is that if you like milk, it’s worth keeping in your diet.

I do think yogurt has more going for it than milk. They both have protein, calcium, and vitamin D, but with yogurt you get all those great live, active cultures. And if you eat Greek yogurt, you get a lot more protein.

LOW-FAT VS. FULL-FAT DAIRY

There has been some debate lately about whether it’s better to eat non-fat vs. full-fat yogurt or drink skim milk vs. whole milk. Most nutrition experts recommend skim milk, which is whole milk with all its fat skimmed off. But there is a growing number of people who think we should give whole milk a second look.

Here’s why. When you pour skim milk on your cereal, you’re getting a lot of carbohydrates and some protein. When you choose whole milk, you’re getting the same amount of protein, but you also consume fewer carbohydrates because whole milk has more fat. Plus, you get a dose of appetite-curbing fat. True, that fat contains calories—about 50 more per cup of milk. But it also may fill you up more, allowing you to feel less hungry through the rest of the morning.

Another common argument against full-fat dairy milk is that the fat it contains is saturated. For years, organizations such as the American Heart Association have been telling us that full-fat dairy products such as whole milk raise heart disease risk. But as with red meat, new research is suggesting that when cows are allowed to graze on grass rather than eating highly processed, nutritionally deficient feed, their milk is more nutritious even when the fat is left in.

For example, a 2010 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming full-fat dairy products from grass-fed cows may actually lower heart attack risk by as much as 50 percent.

If all this leaves you scratching your head, don’t feel bad—I’m scratching mine, too. I’m going to continue to keep a close eye on the research on dairy. In the meantime, I’m going to go ahead and put a teaspoon of half-and-half into my coffee (instead of sugar), pour low-fat milk on my cereal, and eat non-fat Greek yogurt because it’s what I enjoy. My recommendation for you is to go with what you like once you’ve reached your goal weight, but be conscious of calories and serving sizes if you go full-fat. The STAT and RESTORE Plans recommend low-fat dairy to keep calories low. But stay tuned as we learn more about this debate.

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Q: I’VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT GREEK YOGURT. IS IT BETTER THAN THE USUAL YOGURT I SEE IN MY GROCERY STORE?

A: They’re both good, but Greek yogurt may be superior for a few reasons. It’s made differently than ordinary yogurt, so it contains about half the sugar and double the protein. Because of this, Greek yogurt tends to be tangier, creamier, and less sweet than ordinary yogurt. Greek yogurt is my go-to choice, and I sweeten it by adding fruit or a touch of honey.

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YOGURT BUYING GUIDE

The number of yogurt choices has exploded in the past few years—you can get dizzy looking at all the yogurt options in your local supermarket. Here are some tips on making the healthiest picks:

•  Look for live, active cultures. The beneficial bacteria in yogurt enhance digestion, improve nutrient absorption, boost the immune system, and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria in the digestive system. Check yogurt container labels for the presence of cultures such as L. bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, Bifidus (again, a trade name for Bifidobacterium animalis), L. casei and L. reuteri. Some yogurt products are heat-treated after fermentation, which kills most of the beneficial active cultures found in the yogurt. So be sure your yogurt label lists “live, active cultures.”
•  Skip the jam-like fruits. Many “fruit” yogurts contain a highly sweetened fruit mixture that is really more like jam than actual fruit. It is loaded with sugar, and it turns a healthy food into an over-sweetened disgrace. If you like fruit in your yogurt, stir in your own fresh strawberries, raspberries, or chopped, pitted stone fruit (i.e., plums, cherries, peaches, etc.).
•  Stay away from the mix-ins. Pretty much anything that comes in those little mix-in capsules attached to yogurt containers is full of sugar. If you like a little crunch in your yogurt, stir in your own chopped nuts.
•  Watch out for sugar. Even the fruit-free varieties can be loaded with sugar—a cup of vanilla yogurt, for example, can contain several teaspoons of added sugar.
•  Watch out for artificial sweeteners. To trim calories, some yogurts rely on aspartame and other sugar substitutes.
•  Retrain your palate. The healthiest choice is plain, low-fat yogurt. If you’re accustomed to overly sweet yogurt with lots of junk added in, you may not love plain yogurt at first. But as you progress on The Healthy Diet—as you cut out super-sweet processed foods and increase your focus on whole, natural foods—your palate will change and you’ll most likely find a new appreciation for the flavor of plain yogurt. And remember—you can always stir in your own add-ins (fruit, nuts, a little honey) for extra flavor and texture.
•  Don’t get your kids hooked on “kid-gurt.” Some are terribly high in sugar and calories, and with mix-ins ranging from sweetened cereal to ground-up cookies, they’re really just desserts disguised as health foods.
•  Be wary of fro-yo. Frozen yogurt sounds healthy, but it often is only marginally better than ice cream. Depending on the brand and variety, fro-yo can be packed with sugar and fat. And it may contain few or none of the live, active cultures that make yogurt so beneficial. Be sure to read fro-yo labels carefully before you buy.

OTHER WAYS TO EAT YOGURT

It’s not just for breakfast. You can include yogurt in healthy meals throughout the day:

•  Make a smoothie. Yogurt’s creamy texture makes it a perfect base for all kinds of smoothies.
•  Whip up a dip. Mix yogurt with chopped peeled cucumber, fresh dill, and minced garlic for a delicious vegetable dip.
•  Stir up a sauce. Blend yogurt with olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon juice, and mint for an elegant sauce for fish or chicken.
•  Swirl it into soup. A dollop of yogurt is a creamy change of pace in hearty vegetable- or bean-based soups such as black bean, lentil, and gazpacho.
•  Dress a salad. Use yogurt in place of mayonnaise in your favorite salad dressings.
•  Serve it as a side. Instead of the sour cream called for in many Tex-Mex foods, use Greek yogurt. It actually tastes better on many dishes than sour cream, and you get the added health benefit.
•  Build a parfait. Create a luxe dessert by layering yogurt with fresh berries and chopped nuts in a fancy parfait glass.

PRESCRIPTIONS FOR LIFE

There you have my 10 Food Prescriptions for optimal health. By following these recommendations, you’ll put yourself on the path to a lower weight, a slimmer waist, a healthier body, and a longer life. I hope you’ll take these prescriptions every bit as seriously as you would a prescription for a medicine or a medical treatment, because, as Hippocrates said, food really can be your medicine—provided you choose the healthiest foods.

Now that you understand how The Healthy Diet is designed and you’ve had some time to follow the STAT Plan, I’ll tell you about the next phase of my eating program: the RESTORE Plan.