This processed product is good for your health

Processed foods are those that are industrially processed, so that the original food is modified by adding fat, salt, sugar, additives, or other components. Generally they warn us that abusing these foods is not highly recommended for health due to the amount of additives they contain.

Processed foods involve additional processing techniques such as cooking, non-alcoholic fermentation, and smoking. The truth is that most of the foods we eat are processed in one way or another, and that does not mean that they are all bad. In fact, some of them may represent a good option to complement a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables. This is the case, for example, of fresh bread, cheese and flavored yogurt.

In general, yogurts provide us with benefits and are recommended in most diets. However, before launching into eating any yogurt, you have to know that it depends on the type it is, it can be more or less processed or even ultra-processed. That is why it is important to find out about the type of yogurt that we are going to consume, for example by consulting its composition on the label.

It can be tricky to tell if a food is minimally processed, processed, or ultra-processed. The important thing to keep in mind is that ultra-processed foods are not all created equal and are not necessarily unhealthy.

Properties of yogurt

According to the Spanish Nutrition Federation, natural yogurt is a coagulated milk product obtained by lactic fermentation through the action of two types of bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. high-quality protein, plus calcium and phosphorus.

In this sense, yogurt is a good example of a food that remains nutritious despite its level of processing. However, keep in mind that plain yogurt is minimally processed, making it the healthiest option. Yogurt becomes ultra-processed when flavors, whether natural or not, are added to it.

You have to be careful, for example, with yoghurts with “bifidus”, to which benefits for the intestinal flora have been attributed but have not been fully demonstrated. Other types of yogurt, such as Greek, may contain cream, while others, such as kefir, include other types of bacteria.

What we have to do is look at the label to see what the yogurt contains in addition to milk and ferments. If it contains added sugars, dyes or stabilizers and preservatives, it is an ultra-processed yogurt.

In addition, on the label, the ingredients are listed based on the quantities. If the sugar is one of the first, it is because that yogurt has a lot of sugar, so it is better to avoid it.

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