1 week Ago By [email protected] (Emma Mackenzie, William Morgan)
Many of us strive to maintain a healthy diet, but it's not always as straightforward as we'd like. A top health expert has issued a stark warning about a hugely popular product, often touted as a healthy choice, which may not be as beneficial as its many consumers believe. Professor Tim Spector OBE, a medical doctor, genetics professor and author specialising in nutrition and gut health, raised concerns about a common food product consumed by many across the nation - low-fat yoghurt - during an appearance on the ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast.
The episode featured Professor Spector discussing with Dr Chris Van Tulleken the potential risks associated with low-fat yoghurt, categorised as an ultra-processed food. Podcast host Jonathon Wolf kicked off the conversation by pointing out that this type of yoghurt, marketed as a healthy alternative, often displays a long list of ingredients on its packaging, despite the assumption that a plain yoghurt would "basically have milk in it" and little else. READ MORE: One food increases your risk of dying more than any other — we all eat it He said: "And it's right next to the one that only has milk in it and it's impossible to tell.
There's nothing on the...
you know until you actually go and look into the ingredients, they look the same," the host added. Purchasing a low fat yoghurt might mean consuming more added ingredients to make it low fat, which might not actually be yoghurt, reports the Mirror . Professor Spector clarified, "It says low fat, you're more likely to have fake yoghurt than if it's full fat.
" Dr Van Tulleken replied, "That's completely right and if you consider...
one of the things, the illusions of our sort of food supply system, is that it exists to supply food to us and that isn't the way it works. It exists to extract money from us and so low-fat yoghurt, the genius of low-fat yoghurt, is you can sell your yoghurt at a premium price because it doesn't have fat in it." He further delved into the topic, revealing that many producers of low-fat yoghurt add substances such as modified maize starch or xanthan gum to mimic the taste and consistency of regular full-fat yoghurt.
Consequently, more ingredients end up in the product, classifying it as an ultra-processed food (UPF). "None of it's done with an eye on our health," he added..
