31 January, 2013

Oikos Ain't

Gullibility + Laziness = Ignorance

Ignorance pisses me off.

So does the fact that so much of our choice in food is not just unhealthy, but by ratio of ingredients barely constitutes food at all. (Take a look at nutritional label of popular foods; many of the ingredients aren't just difficult to pronounce, they're damn near impossible to digest.) But, what really concerns me (and pisses me off) is everyone knows this, though few seem to mind. How many of you jump on a food-craze wagon because you saw an advertisement market it as healthy? Be honest. Have a cup of Greek yogurt in the fridge? Well, maybe you do, but maybe you don't, despite what the label says. 

Indeed, Greek yogurt is the vogue health food right now. What's not in vogue is learning why it's healthy. And dare not ask if it's actually healthier than regular yogurt. 

http://twentytweets.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/greek-yogurt-yay-or-nay/

The good news: by and large, Greek Yogurt is healthier (Phew!). 
The bad news: you're not sure why (Hmmm, he's right...). 
Many of those four-ounce tubs of what you're told is Greek yogurt (Oooh, it's so exotic! I think I'll pay way too much for it...) are really just standard yogurt, with a little sumtin'-sumtin' thrown in. I say sumtin'-sumptin' because I'm not exactly sure what it is. And, chances are, neither do you.

Let's go over what Greek yogurt is:

1. It doesn't have to be Greek to be Greek.
Firstly, traditional Greek yogurt comes from sheep or goat milk. Mostly all of the "Greek" yogurt you've sampled comes from Moo Cows, baby. Goat and sheep milk are typically healthier than cow milk (more protein, fewer calories, less fat, more vitamins and minerals), but not as accessible. Secondly, from Mexico to the Middle East, Greece in the south and Denmark in the north of Europe, all the way to Asia, many countries are home to strained yogurt, traditionally produced in the way modern Western cultures would consider "Greek". 

2. What makes it good is how it's made.
What the markets consider Greek yogurt is yogurt produced via a straining process, which can be costly (hence the price inflation at the supermarket). Straining the milk removes a lot of the water, and with it the whey and much of the carbohydrates and lactose (i.e.: sugar), leaving a creamy, tart substance somewhere thicker than regular yogurt, somewhere softer than cheese. Additionally, protein is retained in the strained product; and there's up to three times the amount than regular yogurt. (An ostensible plus for vegetarians, though the proteins are incomplete without the whey, needing a few more essential amino acids to be effective.) Many of the brands you see on store shelves take regular ol' yogurt, shovel in a bunch of milk protein concentrates (MPCs), whey protein concentrates (WPCs) and other protein enhancers, thicken the batch with 'really good stuff' like gelatin and modified cornstarch, and slap on a bigger price tag. Yummy. 

Yoplait Greek Yogurt is a great example of Not-Greek Yogurt, and is complimented by plenty of the above additives (a bad word in dietary milieus). Thus, what you've been led to believe is healthy Greek yogurt is really just expensive. Nothing more. 

A good rule of thumb to shop by, not just for Greek yogurt, but for everything: the fewer the ingredients, the better. Real Greek yogurt has two ingredients only: pasteurised milk and active bacteria cultures (though, the cultures can be numerous). Also, go for the plain yogurt to avoid additives. You can add natural flavours once you get home.

The new name for these phonies is Greek-Style yogurt. Check out Nutritionella's post comparing the leading brands of Greek and Greek-Style yogurts. 

3. Oy! Get it right!
I'm a bit of a pedant, if haven't picked up. Doing my part to reduce ignorance levels within me and those around me, I thought I'd let you know Oikos is pronounced Ee-kos. Not Oy-kos

This is perhaps the most applicable rule (which is partly why it's towards the end of the post). Go ahead, test it out in your circle of friends. You'll be the smart one.


I learned all this from reading all this:

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