 You would not believe the number of questions people asked me about Yogurt of all things. You know, I knew it was popular But I guess I didn't realize quite how popular or quite how many people would really miss it So today I want to get to the bottom of one of my Surprising most popular questions. What's the story about yogurt? I think a lot of the confusion stems from the same thing Yogurt is a fermented food and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are great for you, right? They're loaded with healthy probiotic bacteria after all plus fermentation knocks out lectins So by that logic yogurt should be a superfood and you should be eating it every day, right? Wrong Especially if you're buying yogurt here in the United States and yes Even if it says Greek yogurt or has some Greek sounding name If it's regular Greek yogurt found on the shelves here in the United States, I've got news for you It's not Greek. No, it's made from American milk It's just designed to mimic the texture and flavor of Greek yogurt So why is yogurt even Greek yogurt on my no list? Well, if you read the list carefully You'll see yogurt on both sides of the list because there's some yogurt you can't eat And I'll tell you more about that in a minute But first let's talk about most of the yogurt on the grocery store shelves First of all if it's flavored sweetened or mixed with fruit or candy It's a no-go. It may surprise you to learn that some of the yogurt out there has as much sugar as ice cream In fact, this particular little package of yogurt, and I'm not naming names, has 27 grams of sugar. There are 4 grams of sugar in every teaspoon So there are over 6 teaspoons of sugar in this tiny little package Which means it's feeding your bad gut bacteria with every healthy bite Not great. Even plain yogurt may not be the superfood the food companies want you to think it is First of all while it's technically a fermented milk product Not all yogurt has live active cultures And that means it doesn't have all the healthy bacteria that make fermented food so good for you So you might not be feeding your gut bugs at all Kind of defeats the purpose of fermented food, doesn't it? Plus there's a 99% chance that the yogurt you're eating is made from milk containing the protein a1 beta casein No, that's not an attitude It's a naturally occurring protein found in milk from the Americas as well as northern Europe And it turns out a lot of people who think their lactose intolerant are actually having trouble digesting casein a1 Much like lectins, this little protein spells big trouble for your gut Leading to things like gas, bloating, surprise bathroom trips and more Not what you want if you reach for a yogurt And yes, even that fancy yogurt designed to help your digestion is made from a1 milk Not helpful at all if you ask me So if you want cow's milk yogurt, what are your options? Well go to southern european dairy It exclusively features casein a2 Making it a safer option for your gut If you're good in the kitchen, you could even buy a quart of a2 milk They sell it at most grocery stores now and make your own yogurt There are plenty of recipes online And if you use the instant pot for pressure cooking It's even easier because it's also got its own yogurt setting and app You can also look for alternative yogurts like goat's milk, sheep milk, or even coconut milk yogurt Just make sure no matter which alternative yogurt you pick that it's plain Unsweetened yogurt and that it contains live active cultures That way you're loading your system with plenty of good bacteria And not loading the bad bacteria with sugar Now if plain yogurt is just too tangy for you, there are a few things you can try Maybe mix in a quarter cup of chopped in season fruit or a splash of vanilla extract and a little stevia You can also try folding in some melted bittersweet chocolate 70 kakao or above please And if you've got a juicer go ahead and reverse juice to flavor your yogurt Throw your favorite fruits in the juicer Throw away the juice. That's right throw away the juice and fold the pulp into the yogurt for fruit flavored yogurt That's only got the good stuff fiber and polyphenols What I do with my juicer and season is I take that pulp put it in ice cube trays And freeze them that way I take my yogurt take one out and I've actually got almost an ice cream Full of polyphenols without any of the harm So you can still enjoy yogurt just the right kind of yogurt Because I'm dr. Gendry and I'm always looking out for you Even if the big food companies are not