I have recently begun to pay much more attention to the yogurt I eat, as I really enjoy yogurt and feel it does have some valuable health benefits.  I always made sure that the yogurt was not heavily processed such as fat-free, or sugar-free or contained any artificial sweeteners or colors. 

However, I became so comfortable with a few brands over the years that I neglected to focus in on their nutritional labels.  And to tell you the truth, I was pretty sure that most yogurts did not have trans fats in it. Well I recently started to re-examine my usual brands and was shocked to find trans fats in them. So I am not sure if I missed this somehow in the past or if the way they make them now, they contain trans fats. I also noticed the saturated fat was way too much for my liking.  So I searched for new alternatives and came across Danone’s Naturalia.

This yogurt is a fairly new product, especially to the Canadian market and I tried the strawberry and the plain varieties. The yogurt in one word is delicious! It is nice and creamy and tastes “very real”. For example I tried other strawberry yogurts before and they were too red and the strawberry taste was like a candy strawberry flavor.  The Naturalia strawberry yogurt also includes some fruit pieces of real strawberries, which I enjoyed. The texture of the yogurt is the typical “runny” yogurt not solidified like Balkan style yogurts, so no necessary stirring to mix in the fruits.

I fell in love instantly with this yogurt because it contains no preservatives, no gelatin, no colors or artificial flavors. The fact that is contains no gelatin is also nice for vegetarians. The saturated fat content is very low and the sugar content is lower compared to other yogurts. The sodium content is in a low and in an acceptable range, it contains very little cholesterol and a good amount of protein.  On top of that it is fortified with a bunch of critical vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients (for strawberry flavor)

• Skim Milk
• Concentrated Skim Milk
• Strawberries
• Cream
• Fructose
• Cane Sugar
• Milk and Whey Protein Concentrates
• Natural Flavor
• Citrus Fruit Pectin
• Locust Bean Gum (natural thickener)
• Active Bacterial Cultures
• Natural Color
• Calcium Lactate

Nutritional Information (per 125g of strawberry flavor)

• 120 Calories
• 2.5 g Fat (1.5g Saturated Fat)
• 6g Protein
• 19g Carbohydrate (18g Sugar)
• 75mg Sodium
• 10mg Cholesterol

Vitamins & Minerals  

• 20% Calcium
• 20% Vitamin B12
• 15% Vitamin B2
• 15% Phosphorus
• 6% Magnesium
• 2% Iron
• 2% Vitamin A

Packaging

You can get the yogurt in 650g plastic tub containers. The plastic is #5, so safe (as far as we know today) for our health and easily recyclable.  You can also purchase the yogurt in multiples of single cups of 4X100g, 8X100g or 12X100g each.

Price (as of this posting)

• Around $4.79 CDN for the  4X100g packs
• Around $3.00 CDN for the 650g tubs

Availability

• In Canada and the United States in local supermarkets, grocery stores and variety stores
• I am not sure if it is available in Europe or other parts of the world

The Good

• Delicious taste
• Great Texture
• No trans fats
• Low saturated fats
• Lower sugar than most other yogurts
• Not overly sweet
• No artificial colors
• No artificial flavors
• No artificial preservatives
• No gelatin
• Ingredients and nutritional information easily found on product label
• Fortified with a great mix of vitamins and minerals
• Fair price
• Good packaging

The Bad

• It is sweetened (not too much, but still)
• It is not organic

UPDATES:

May 17, 2009- Danone’s Naturalia yogurt has since this post been discontinued due most likely to poor sales. Danone is recommending the Stoneyfield Brand of yogurts as a natural and gelatin-free replacement. I am not sure if these are available in Canada, but they are available in the United States. Another natural and organic set of companies that one may want to look into if looking for as natural as possible dairy products are Organic Meadow and Liberte.  Organic Meadow is only available in Canada, while Liberte is widely available in both Canada and the US.

A healthier option to yogurt is actually Kefir, which is dairy made more naturally and thanks to a special fermentation process.  Liberte company makes delicious and all natural, organic Kefir, that come in a variety of flavors. They have no artificial additives and are a richer sources of friendly bacteria.

Personally however, not long after this post I conducted ample research into the affects of dairy on our health and have since stopped eating all dairy.  Unfortunately dairy does not lead to optimal health like we are lead to believe.

WELLNESS RATING: Very Good

8 OUT OF 10

About the author:
Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.