Why froyo is better

However, textures may differ slightly. Frozen yogurt is typically tangier and a bit harder, while ice cream is generally sweeter and fluffier. Ice cream and frozen yogurt are both delicious ways to treat yourself. However, if you eat either, you should do so in moderation. Both will contribute calcium and protein to your diet. However, they also contain added sugar, which may harm your health.

Makers of frozen yogurt use active bacterial cultures to ferment the milk. These probiotics may benefit your gut bacteria 3 , Studies have shown that probiotic yogurt may also improve your health by helping reduce your total and LDL bad cholesterol. It may also help reduce anxiety and depression 17 , These are just some of the potential health benefits of probiotics. The fermentation process of frozen yogurt may reduce the amount of lactose in the final product.

For this reason, people with lactose intolerance may digest frozen yogurt better than ice cream Frozen yogurt may have a lower lactose content than ice cream and contain probiotics.

Since ice cream and frozen yogurt contain protein and calcium, they may be a healthier treat choice than candy, chips, or other empty-calorie foods. Frozen yogurt, more than ice cream, tends to be sold as a self-serve product with a full toppings bar. This might make it more difficult to gauge the size of your portion.

The average self-serve, soft frozen yogurt container holds 16—24 ounces of the creamy treat, so be careful to limit your portion size. Asking for a child-sized serving container can be a good way to do this. Furthermore, toppings bars include many high sugar, low nutrient options like candies and syrups.

These toppings will add to the overall calorie and added sugar contents. Instead of adding these, try adding fresh fruit and nuts to make your frozen yogurt more nutritious. Ice cream and yogurt both contain added sugar and calories, especially if you include toppings like candy and syrup. Instead, try topping your frozen treat with fruit and nuts to make it more nutritious. Whether ice cream or frozen yogurt is healthier depends largely on how each is made and what ingredients they contain.

Considering the number of froyo joints has risen by 18 percent over the last five years, the obsession hasn't exactly slowed down. According to Geerts, a half-cup serving of frozen yogurt has about calories, three grams of fat, and 17 grams of carbohydrates depending on brand and flavor, of course.

It all depends on how much you down—and what you eat it with. Both frozen yogurt and ice cream are milk-based products, so they tend to contain about the same amount of protein and sugar before you consider flavors and other add-ins , says Geerts.

However, ice cream is typically made with cream or milk fat , which contributes to its higher fat and saturated fat content. The FDA actually requires the frozen treat to contain at least 10 percent milk fat to qualify as ice cream.

Frozen yogurt, on the other hand, is made of milk fermented with yogurt cultures , so it has about as much fat as a standard glass of low-fat milk. The downside: As with many lower-fat products, brands often add extra sugar to froyo to compensate for its less-creamy taste.

Anywho, here's what you'll get in your average half-cup serving of vanilla frozen yogurt, according to the USDA Nutrient Database :. In addition to calories and fat, there's another difference between frozen yogurt and ice cream you're probably wondering about: probiotics. But is heading to your nearest froyo joint as gut-healthy as eating a serving of actual yogurt? Yes and no. Dan Nguyen, RD, dietitian at HelloFresh , suggests reading a froyo's label and ingredient list to confirm the presence of "live and active cultures.

Still, if gut health is top priority, you're probably better off opting for a regular, lower-sugar yogurt , he says. It typically contains more probiotics and less added sugar.

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