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Keto Yogurt: Tips For Choosing & Eating It

Jane Summerfield 8 min read|   Medically reviewed by: Jonadab Ichegbo, M.D
keto yogurt

Whatever your yogurt choice; be it Icelandic, Greek [1] probiotic [2], or soy, most of us know and understand it to be absolutely moreish!

There are probably people that eat it for their breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Yogurt is so versatile and is suitable for babies, children, older adults, and also, for very old people.

But what is yogurt, actually, and is it a dairy product?

Yogurt is to be found in the dairy section at the supermarket. About it being a dairy product, yes, it is a dairy product, because it is made from milk.

Being made from milk; is it ok for people lactose-intolerant people to eat?

If you are lactose-intolerant [3], it is not always out of the question that you have to avoid eating yogurt.

Usually, lactose intolerance occurs in people whose bodies can’t produce enough of the lactase enzyme.

And lactase is responsible for breaking down lactose, which is the sugar found in milk.

Just find out here what you need to know about eating dairy products on the keto diet.

If you do not have a sufficient amount of lactase, lactose molecules can end up in the colon where bacteria start eating them, producing diarrhea and gas [4].

Some yogurts are acceptable for lactose intolerant people, as they include probiotics or live active cultures containing bacteria that feed on lactose and sugar; Greek yogurt comes to mind.

This lessens the amount the body has to break down.

How is yogurt made?

Yogurt is a result of a process of fermenting milk-specific microorganisms.

So raw milk from the farm will arrive at the manufacturer where it will be processed and its composition modified in order to make yogurt.

The fermentation culture is finally added to cultures that consist of two lactic acid bacteria.

These are ‘Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus’, as well as ‘Streptococcus thermophilus;’’ specific ferments of yogurt.

This is what generates its flavor, consistency, aroma, and health benefits. Once the yogurt is cooled, other things like fruit or sugar, etc. will be added.

Finally, the yogurt gets packaged for the grocery stores and other places.

Yogurt will always be stored at refrigeration temperatures of around 40°F or 5° C.

Refrigeration slows down chemical, physical, and microbiological degradation.

You get different types of yogurt so it’s important to know which you should eat on the keto diet.

Actually, natural yogurt is the most suitable if you are following the keto diet.

It is likely to have lower carbs in it compared to the other types.

Whilst you do get variations of the keto diet, the keto diet is all about high levels of fat, very low levels of carbs, and moderate levels of protein. 

Any type of yogurt could well be included in the keto diet.

As long as the total carb intake across the course of the day remains low enough to keep your body in a state of ketosis, that’s the important thing about the keto diet.

Ketosis [5] is when your body uses stored fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates for the body and brain.

Different brands of yogurt will show varying amounts of carb content

On average, a 200 g tub of natural yogurt that contains 3% fat will contain around 10.8 g of carbohydrate.

Compare this with flavored yogurts where you might get 31.2 g of carbs in a 200g tub of 2% fat yogurt. Based on these stats, you can see that natural yogurt might be your best bet when you are following the keto lifestyle.

When you choose a specific yogurt for the keto diet, it might be useful for you to read the Nutrition Information Panel.

You will find it on the product label of the tub.

Then you can compare the number of carbs per 100 g across all the different yogurt types.

What determines the fat content of yogurt?

The type of milk used; be it skimmed, semi-skimmed or whole milk, as well as the addition of cream, will all determine the fat content of yogurt.

As far as drinking yogurts go, here we show you the best keto-friendly ones.

Drinking yogurts have usually undergone homogenization. This further reduces the viscosity.

Then sweeteners, flavorings, and colorings can also be added before the drinking yogurt is poured into bottles.

Once again, the nutrient composition of yogurt is based on the nutrient composition of the milk.

Of course, there’s always the question of whether your milk comes from ‘organic’ cows.

Unfortunately, today, almost 50% of the corn and soybean that cows eat are genetically modified products.

It is in your ultimate best interests to source your food from organically fed animals that they were created to be – natural, grass-fed cattle and free-range chickens – otherwise, you are going to be losing out on the health benefits [6].

Some top brand yogurt names that claim to be natural use genetically modified products for their yogurt making.

What are the health benefits of yogurt?

Yogurt has always been associated with building strong bones and teeth and keeping our guts healthy.

Remember when we were little and had to take antibiotics, we loved the thought of eating yogurt – our parents knew it was good for restoring the damage caused by antibiotics to the microbiota [7].

One nutritional consultant, Brooke Glazer, says, “Frequent consumption of yogurt has been shown to improve risk factors for cardiovascular disease, to lower diabetes risk, and to enhance immune function.”

We know that yogurts contain plenty of vitamins, potassium, and magnesium.

Yogurt is a fermented food, similar to kombucha, kimchi, or sauerkraut. It contains a lot of healthy bacteria that are great for balancing out the bad and good bacteria in your gut.

Yogurt also contains probiotics well-known to help general digestive health.

Is Greek Yogurt Keto?

Most people love yogurt and some will not eat any other yogurt than Greek yogurt.

So is Greek yogurt keto?

Well, it will depend on a couple of factors. One thing is sure and that is that Greek yogurt is packed with protein and probiotics.

Some Greek yogurt will brim over with healthy fats whilst some will be lean.

You can be sure that keto-friendly Greek yogurt will be made with whole milk

Real keto Greek yogurt will be made from at least 8% of milk fat.

It might not be that easy for you to find a yogurt such as this. In the end, you might end up making it yourself by adding some heavy cream to it.

Actually, traditional Greek yogurt used to be made exclusively from sheep and goat’s milk. This yogurt had more nutrients too.

How does the keto diet relate to Greek Yogurt?

A ketogenic diet consists of high-fat, low-carb, and just moderate protein food.

When choosing your Greek yogurt for keto, you need to ensure that you choose unsweetened varieties that are made with full-fat milk. Remember this applies to all yogurts you want to eat on the keto diet.

What’s the difference between Greek yogurt and regular-type yogurt?

Greek yogurt gets strained three times. A lot of the whey remains in the milk.

The bacteria are removed, leaving the Greek yogurt nice and thick.

Greek yogurt is actually very concentrated yogurt, so it usually has more protein in it. Often, when the whey is drained, the yogurt is lower in carbs, and also most of the lactose is removed.

Lactose is the source of carbs found in yogurt.

Check these carbs out because the keto diet is about low carbs

You certainly can eat yogurt on the keto diet, as long as you stick to plain, lower-carb varieties. That means you need to keep an eye out for your daily carb count.

The keto diet is usually about eating between 20-50 g of carbs per day.

That’s not leaving a whole lot of room for carbs. If you still adore your yogurt, you will have to opt for the ones with the lower carbs in them.

Are there specific keto yogurt brands?

Yes, and we are going to list them here for you, per serving.

  • Peak Triple Cream Plain Yogurt: Contains 24g fat, 4g net carbs, 8g protein, 270 calories
  • Siggi’s Plain Whole Milk Yogurt: Contains 7g fat, 8g net carbs, 18g protein, 170 calories
  • YQ by Yoplait Plain Yogurt: Contains 3g fat, 2g net carbs, 17g protein, 100 calories
  • Chobani Whole Milk Plain Greek Yogurt: Contains 9g fat, 7g net carbs, 16g protein, 170 calories
  • Forager Plain Cashewmilk Yogurt: Contains 7g fat, 8g net carbs, 3g protein, 100 calories
  • So Delicious Plain Coconut milk Yogurt: Contains, 6g fat, 7g net carbs, <1g protein, 90 calories

Some tips for choosing and eating keto yogurt

The best tip and advice for someone on the keto diet is to choose unflavored, whole, Greek yogurt.

Why so, you are asking?

Because apart from the whole straining process that we mentioned above, Greek yogurt is less likely to have milk powder added to it, or other additives, other than low-fat or nonfat alternatives.

Here are some tips for choosing your keto yogurt.

  • Always keep it natural
  • Ensure it is whole fat to make it more keto
  • Keep it plain. Remember even ‘naturally sweet’ yogurts have real fruit in them with naturally sweet fructose in them. Really low-carb fruit to add to your yogurt are raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries
  • Only have small serving sizes
  • Try at all times to ensure your yogurt has active cultures in it. The friendly bacteria consume lactose (which is the carbs and sugar). For extra sweetness, you can add stevia or other low-carb sweeteners

Don’t worry about a thing – here we have a fantastic recipe you will love, to get you started. And it’s keto!

Conclusion

Yes, you can eat yogurt while on keto.

Just remember to stick to the whole fat, preferably plain yogurt types.

The low-fat and flavored varieties usually have extra carbs and sugar. And if you want to spruce your yogurt up with low-carb fruit, then we have given you a fantastic keto yogurt recipe.

Real yogurt has an excellent balance of protein and fat, and it comes with many health benefits that cannot be ignored.

Check out the nutrition labels.

Remember the labels don’t call out the net carbs so here is how you can calculate them for yourself.

Soon you will know just which yogurts suit your needs, your lifestyle, and your diet without needing to cry over the spilled milk!

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