Need some advice on Dairy/Greek Yogurt

So I'm consuming Greek Yogurt as part of my daily regimen. I like the stuff a lot and use it in smoothies or just eat it plain.

My question is most of the offerings I see in the store are 2% or low fat. I'm assuming the same principle applies to yogurt that applies to milk and that the skim/reduced fat type is bad. Am I right to think that? Should I avoid the reduced fat?

I've been getting the full fat version at Trader Joe's but it's tough to find. They stock way more of the reduced fat. Just want to make sure I'm on the right track avoiding the reduced fat offerings.

I don't have access to raw dairy in my area without it costing a fortune. Just have the usual Trader Joe's/Whole Foods/Fairway type places to shop. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Full fat is good and I eat the same Trader Joe's greek yogurt as you do every day with a little fruit. It tastes good and is less expensive than the other brands - at my TJ it's $2 for the full fat and $2.50 for the reduced and fat free. I'll take the healthy, better-tasting stuff for less thanks!

sdguy wrote:Full fat is good and I eat the same Trader Joe's greek yogurt as you do every day with a little fruit. It tastes good and is less expensive than the other brands - at my TJ it's $2 for the full fat and $2.50 for the reduced and fat free. I'll take the healthy, better-tasting stuff for less thanks!

Thanks SDguy. I don't know if it's the same where you are as it is here in NY, but they stock about double the amount of the reduced fat kind vs. the full fat. It's tough to get my hands on. I think I'm seeing some very positive changes from making it part of my daily diet.

Always go for full fat if possible, though honestly, dairy causes mucous formation so I try to avoid even the healthier forms of it out there. Eating yogurt of any sort results in practically instant yogurt formation, though I recently tried Stonybrook Organic Soy Yogurt, and it didn't occur there since it's not dairy.

I'm in complete agreement with Master Herbalist Djehuty on dairy:

http://www.dherbs.com/articles/dangerous-dairy-238.html

nidhogge wrote:Always go for full fat if possible, though honestly, dairy causes mucous formation so I try to avoid even the healthier forms of it out there. Eating yogurt of any sort results in practically instant yogurt formation, though I recently tried Stonybrook Organic Soy Yogurt, and it didn't occur there since it's not dairy.

I'm in complete agreement with Master Herbalist Djehuty on dairy:

http://www.dherbs.com/articles/dangerous-dairy-238.html

That's just about the most scientific article I've read this year.

"Personally, cheese smells like doo doo (poop) to me."

This statement goes over my head b/c I'm not familiar with the complex biology terms. I'll have to read up some more.

I hesitated to post that article just because of the fact that Djetuhy likes to interject a lot of his personality into his articles, but if you take the time to read his stuff, it just all boils down to common sense.

Is it really natural for man and woman to be drinking what nature designs for cow infants? Not only that, but to have it processed en masse by factories and packaged and sold on shelves?

How does your body treat foreign substances that it does not recognize? Inflammation for starters...

I have to disagree with this article. I don't see any real science in it at all. I would suggest seeing how you feel on dairy, everyone is different. Personally, I can drink gallons of raw milk and feel no ill effects, but if its pasteurized my stomach gets upset.

Yogurt breaks down the lactose in milk and depending on how long it is fermented can break down some of the casein, which causes problems for some. I say eat away if you feel ok.

Like nid said always go full fat, especially when it comes to dairy products. The beneficial vitamins such as a and d are fat soluble. Take away the fat and the vitamins have nothing to cling to and won't be absorbed by your body

This is an interesting topic...

I mean, for those who aren't lactose intolerant, is milk or yogurt a 'health-friendly' option? (regarding hair, etc)

What about making kefir out of milk? Would that still be not-so-great?

I honestly have to say I feel good on dairy products. They don't cause inflammation that I can tell.

Sugar is what causes my inflammation. Not natural sugar in fruits/veggies, but the processed food kind. I also think wheat is a problem for me. That said, I can eat brown rice and feel no ill effects from it. Potatoes, sweet potatoes don't bother me either.

I really like the Greek Yogurt. I like it better w/o the fruit added in. I'll throw in blueberries with mine and it's a good snack/meal. I also think the probiotics in it are helping my gut issues significantly. I know it's not the raw/ideal form, but for what I can get my hands on w/o going broke, it works for me diet wise.

What ticks me off is all they are peddling en masse is the non fat/reduced fat versions. We just got back from Costco and they had 2 cases full of Greek Yogurt all nonfat. It's hard to find the full fat version.

I couldn't find the full fat Yogurt anywhere at the major chain stores or small health shops in the area. I just happened upon a yogurt maker at a garage sale and pick it up for $5 and I started making my own out of raw milk. I don't know why I never bothered to make it before, it's very easy to make.

tonyj wrote:I couldn't find the full fat Yogurt anywhere at the major chain stores or small health shops in the area. I just happened upon a yogurt maker at a garage sale and pick it up for $5 and I started making my own out of raw milk. I don't know why I never bothered to make it before, it's very easy to make.

Tonyj - How do you make your own?

Yea, I'm not saying I don't eat dairy...but just personally, at least with the processed sort like typical yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. -- mucous-formation is there. Raw Milk is usually a different story, but tonyj has the right idea! Make your own yogurt out of full fat milk.

I disagree with Djetuhy about Kefir as well...I think that if you were to culture Kefir yogurt out of raw milk, you'd have the holy grail of probiotics right there and for dirt cheap.

I tend to limit both dairy AND fat, but I'm aware there are many views on this stuff

Sometimes I have probiotic yogurts. Just wanted to throw in my approach to balance out the arguments and stuff a bit more and present an alternative view!

I think the body is happier with higher carbs and less fat, and I am uncomfortable consuming dairy regularly. But again, we're all different!

nidhogge wrote:I think that if you were to culture Kefir yogurt out of raw milk, you'd have the holy grail of probiotics right there and for dirt cheap.

Good stuff then! I've been doing this for a little while with my mother culture. Kefir grains happen to be fairly inexpensive as well to purchase. The problem on my end is the illegality in purchasing raw milk in Canada!!

hadrion Today at 12:59 pm

tonyj wrote:I couldn't find the full fat Yogurt anywhere at the major chain stores or small health shops in the area. I just happened upon a yogurt maker at a garage sale and pick it up for $5 and I started making my own out of raw milk. I don't know why I never bothered to make it before, it's very easy to make.



Tonyj - How do you make your own?

The yogurt maker I got looks like the one below.
For this unit, I just use a quart of milk, bring up to 85 C for a couple of minutes, then let it cool off. I usually put into the freezer to cool. Your supposed to stir frequently if you let the milk cool in the freezer (to around 43 C), but I never did. I just stir once or twice when I take the milk out of the freezer.
You can buy a yogurt starter, but I've been using the plain yogurt as a starter (Low fat, zero fat, doesn't matter). 6 ounces of plain yogurt mixed with a about or over a cup of cooled milk. The idea is to make the mixture smooth so that when you add to the rest of the milk you won't have chunks of yogurt sediment sitting at the bottom of your mixture. Then pour the mixture into the small glass jars and turn on the device (The container has a constant temp of about 43 C) and let it sit for 8 to 12 hours.

I started making my yogurt because I thought I was going to find that Lactocillibus Paracasei invented by Nestles. Littlefighter was able to track down the L.P. in Nestles product for toddlers Nido +1 but I could never find it in the U.S.

Hoppipolla wrote:I tend to limit both dairy AND fat, but I'm aware there are many views on this stuff

Sometimes I have probiotic yogurts. Just wanted to throw in my approach to balance out the arguments and stuff a bit more and present an alternative view!

I think the body is happier with higher carbs and less fat, and I am uncomfortable consuming dairy regularly. But again, we're all different!

I don't mean to be rude but this thread wasn't about your approach. There was no argument to be balanced out. We all get it. You've gone raw vegan this month. I'm sure it will be something different next month.

The point here was if you consume dairy and specifically yogurt, should you avoid reduced fat varieties. I wanted some clarification for myself and maybe a few others who don't quite know what to pick up off the shelf in regards to this product.

You have a habit of sidetracking threads that have a point with your stream of consciousness style. Please refrain doing it to this one as we'd all like to keep these readable/understandable. You want to post about your new love of raw veganism? Create a new one (although you probably already have) or post in one of the many threads that already deal with it. Just trying to keep this forum readable and on point. This was a specific question.

tonyj wrote:

hadrion Today at 12:59 pm

tonyj wrote:I couldn't find the full fat Yogurt anywhere at the major chain stores or small health shops in the area. I just happened upon a yogurt maker at a garage sale and pick it up for $5 and I started making my own out of raw milk. I don't know why I never bothered to make it before, it's very easy to make.



Tonyj - How do you make your own?

The yogurt maker I got looks like the one below.
For this unit, I just use a quart of milk, bring up to 85 C for a couple of minutes, then let it cool off. I usually put into the freezer to cool. Your supposed to stir frequently if you let the milk cool in the freezer (to around 43 C), but I never did. I just stir once or twice when I take the milk out of the freezer.
You can buy a yogurt starter, but I've been using the plain yogurt as a starter (Low fat, zero fat, doesn't matter). 6 ounces of plain yogurt mixed with a about or over a cup of cooled milk. The idea is to make the mixture smooth so that when you add to the rest of the milk you won't have chunks of yogurt sediment sitting at the bottom of your mixture. Then pour the mixture into the small glass jars and turn on the device (The container has a constant temp of about 43 C) and let it sit for 8 to 12 hours.

I started making my yogurt because I thought I was going to find that Lactocillibus Paracasei invented by Nestles. Littlefighter was able to track down the L.P. in Nestles product for toddlers Nido +1 but I could never find it in the U.S.

Thanks for all the info tonyj - I think I'll look into making my own down the road.