If you are on a low-carb diet like keto or paleo, you will always find yourselves confused in the grocery aisle, especially when you have to pick yoghurt. Yogurt can be a great source of protein, but because of the lactose, it can contain sugar, and sugar is a carb. So how do you know which is the lesser evil while tossing between several brands and flavours? To make your life simple, we broke it down for you.

Plain Yoghurt or Greek Yoghurt – Which Is Better?

All yogurts certainly aren't created equal when it comes to sugar and carbs. The plain, unsweetened ones contain around 6g of sugar per serving. The whey that’s found in plain yogurt is strained (made up of simple sugar), so Greek yoghurt will have slightly lesser sugar content of about three to four grams. That said, plain unsweetened varieties are the best. The thumb rule is to look at the number of total carbohydrates in the yoghurt. Just stay away from non-fat varieties as they are the ones with added sugar. Read the label and watch out for sneaky words for added sugar, including sucralose, agave, and corn syrup. Here are the best and worst fats to eat for ketosis. 

Are Flavoured Yoghurts Allowed?

Flavoured yoghurt can contain up to 20g of sugar per cup, so it is best to avoid them. Even if the yoghurt is low in sugar, additives, fruit concentrates and flavouring agents can up the calories with 15g in a cup. If you have a sweet tooth, a good idea would be to naturally sweeten your yoghurt with a cup of berries or some mangoes. You can also do your own drizzle of honey and stevia.

What about Dairy-Free, Low-Carb Yoghurt?

The same rule applies even to non-dairy yoghurt varieties. Since there is no lactose in almonds or coconut, it is generally easier to find options on the lower end of the sugar and carb spectrum. So one serving of for plain, unsweetened coconut, almond, or cashew yogurt will contain around five to six grams of sugar per serving. There are the 8 low-carb, high-fat healthy ketogenic snacks on the go!

If you find it difficult to determine the actual carry count, you may just want to make your own yoghurt at home. Just make sure you have some store-bought low-carb yogurt on hand to provide live cultures, and some milk to heat. Put your low-fat milk in a stainless steel pan on the stove and heat over medium heat. Once hot, pour the milk in a jar and let it cool. Once cool, add two tablespoons of store-bought or pre-made yoghurt. Once the culture has been added, it is ready to go into the oven to incubate (with lids on). You want a fairly consistent temperature.So, go forth and enjoy your own home-made yoghurt.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2019 02:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).