Cheese & Yogurt

As I was doing my shopping couple weeks ago, I was having difficulty trying to find the best yogurt product in the supermarket. It turned out to be quite disappointing as usual, and the only 'better' yogurt product I can find is this one (attached pic). It is the only organic yogurt I can find at numerous supermarkets and groceries stores. The rest of the commercial yogurts are derived from milk of sick cows, and they are contaminated with antibiotics, growth hormones and fed with most likely GM foods. Sometimes I had no choice, but to purchase commercial yogurts once in a while if I couldn't get organic yogurt. Living in Malaysia could proved to be a challenge at times, especially when comes to choosing good organic food products. It is ideal and wise to ensure no chemicals, articial flavours, articial sweeteners, preservatives, emulsifiers as well as 'bad' sugars such as sucrose or fructose in the ingredient list. Also, most of the low fat or non fat yogurts tend to have high amount of sugar in each serving. Most consumers were tricked into buying low fat or non fat yogurts, thinking 'lower fat' content would not make them become fatter? It is all marketing effort by the food companies to boost their product sales. Remember, always look for yogurt product which has the lowest sugar content. 

What is the difference between a typical commercial yogurt  and organic yogurt? Kindly read the comparison below. 

Commercial yogurts:

• Derived mainly from milk of unhealthy cows which usually been given anti-biotics, growth hormones and been fed possibly GM foods.
• Most likely contain food additives, emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners.
• Cheaper
• Widely available in supermarkets and grocery stores

Organic yogurts:

• Derived from milk of healthy free range cows which DO not have treatment of anti-biotics, growth hormones and naturally graze pasture grass.
• Very few products contain preservatives and food additives.
• More expensive
• Very few brands available in supermarkets and grocery stores.

Next, cheese. I was having same problem while trying to find non-commercial unprocessed cheese in supermarkets. Both unprocessed and organic cheese and yogurt do have live cultures 'good bacteria' and is beneficial to the body especially the gut. A good source of 'probiotic' if purchased carefully. But a processed commercial cheese would have almost all of the good bacteria killed and very low in nutritional content. 

While I was searching high and low for the best cheese product I can find, this particular brand (attached pic) looks to be a worthwhile purchase. Yes, it is organic, no growth hormones nor anti-biotics given to the cows, and it is an imported product from Europe. Most organic yogurts and cheese are imported from overseas, and the price is usually 2-5 times more expensive then the commercial ones. 

So, still having doubts on how to choose cheese and yogurt sold in most supermarkets? Gotta go.