Dr Oz: Frozen Yogurt Secrets
When you’re trying to make healthier diet decisions, one of the first places you’re likely to start is dessert. But can swapping frozen yogurt for ice cream really make a difference? Dr Oz looked into the truth about frozen yogurt, and he was surprised by what he found out.
Frozen Yogurt shops are popping up everywhere, creating a growing, billion dollar business that people think is a healthier alternative to ice cream. Whatever your motives for enjoying frozen yogurt, you should know the truth about this supposedly healthy dessert option.
You may think it's a healthier dessert option, but do you know the truth about the sugar and calories in your frozen yogurt?
Women at frozen yogurt shops shared various reasons for choosing this dessert over ice cream: the calorie savings mean you can eat more, guilt free, and add extra toppings without gaining weight.
Registered Dietitian Samantha Heller joined Dr Oz to share some eye opening secrets about Frozen Yogurt, which rode its first wave of diet popularity in the 1980s. She noted that it’s been gaining in popularity again since about 2005.
Dr Oz: Truth About Frozen Yogurt
The first shocking fact about Frozen Yogurt is that the calorie count on your favorite flavor may not be telling you the whole truth. That’s because everything from the air content to the serving size is variable at a frozen yogurt shop.
“These yogurt shops, they want to give you a big bang for your buck,” Samantha Heller said. “They don’t really care about portion size. It’s up to you to figure out.”
Dr Oz: How To Cut Frozen Yogurt Calories
Samantha Heller said if you stop filling your frozen yogurt cup when you get to the brim, you’ll save countless calories. “Fill it to the rim to keep you trim,” she said.
Eating with a tasting spoon is another way to save on calories. By eating with a tasting spoon instead of the full size, you’ll eat slower and enjoy more of the taste, which makes the treat more satisfying and longer lasting.
Dr Oz: Frozen Yogurt Sugar Content
A small half cup serving of frozen yogurt could have a whopping 20 grams of sugar, which is another dirty secret the Frozen Yogurt shops don’t want you to know. That’s the equivalent of adding five teaspoons of sugar to your coffee. That’s a whole day’s worth of added sugar, according to American Heart Association guidelines for women.
Here are some snacks that have less sugar than a small serving of Frozen Yogurt:
- Chocolate Covered Donut – 17 grams
- Four Chocolate Chip Cookies – 18 grams
- Cupcake – 19 grams
Classic Frozen Yogurt flavors such as original, plain, or chocolate tend to have less sugar than unique boutique flavors. When it comes to picking out flavors, “be conscious and be thoughtful about your choices,” Samantha Heller said.
Dr Oz: Frozen Yogurt Toppings Calories
Once you’ve picked out your favorite flavors, then you get to the toppings bar. You are piling on secret calories and trans fats in your sprinkles, cereals, gummy bears, and candy bar pieces.
Here are some of the calorie counts for small servings of common Frozen Yogurt toppings:
- Cheesecake Bites – 52 calories
- Gummy Bears – 68 calories
- Cookie pieces – 47 calories
- Toffee candy – 58 calories
Before you know it, you could double or triple the calories in your dessert just by adding favorite toppings. Samantha Heller said you should ask for one teaspoon each of two of your most favorite toppings to finish off your yogurt. You’ll still get the flavor and texture without the added calories.
Dr Oz: Frozen Yogurt Probiotic Benefits
You may think that Frozen Yogurt is doing your digestive system favors thanks to its probiotic content. But did you know that most Frozen Yogurt doesn’t pass muster when it comes to Probiotic health benefits? National Yogurt Association standards for traditional yogurt require 100 million active cultures per gram of Probiotics. But Frozen Yogurts get to skate by with just 10 million.
That means your favorite Frozen Yogurt “is not a significant source of probiotics. It’s not as healthy for your stomach as you think it is,” Samantha Heller said. To get the best benefits, she recommended freezing plain or Greek yogurt, mixing it with fruit, and freezing it in popsicle molds. You can top it in nuts or cereal and still have a healthier treat.
Dr Oz: Probiotic Powder Supplement Review
Samantha Heller also said you can get Probiotic Powder Supplements, which actually measure Probiotics in parts per billion for high Probiotic content in your diet.
Dr Oz: Frozen Yogurt Fat Content
The best news about Frozen Yogurt is that it does have less fat than ice cream; typical Frozen Yogurt has between 0-4% fat, while most ice cream has 10-12% fat.
Dr Oz said that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying Frozen Yogurt, but it’s important to understand the truth about it so you don’t mess up your diet.
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