They’re part of many children’s everyday diet , but it seems that some organic yogurts may be more unhealthy than realised.
A new study has revealed that many organic yogurts actually contain more sugar than Coca-Cola .
Researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Surrey analysed 921 yogurts available in major UK supermarkets.
Their analysis revealed that across all categories, expect natural, Greek and Greek-style yogurts, the average sugar levels were above five grams of sugar per 100 grams – the threshold to be classed as ‘low sugar’.
In particular, organic yogurts were found to have the highest average sugar content, of 13.1 grams per 100 grams.
In comparison, there are 10.6g of sugar per 100ml of Coca-Cola.
Dr Bernadette Moore, who led the study, said: “While there is good evidence that yogurt can be beneficial to health, products on the market vary widely in nutrient content.
"Items labelled ‘organic’ are often thought of as the ‘healthiest’ option, but they may be an unrecognised source of added sugars in many people’s diet.
“Many of the products that were suggested for children’s lunchboxes were high sugar dessert yogurts, rather than lower sugar options.
“Retailers could play a positive role in promoting health by establishing boundaries for lunchbox recommendations and clearly labelling the amount of added sugar.”
While yogurts do contain their own naturally-occurring sugar, current UK labelling laws don’t require added sugars to be declared on nutrition labels.
The researchers hope their findings will encourage the UK government to more strictly monitor sugar reduction.
Source: Read Full Article