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Medically reviewed by Sohaib Imtiaz, MD
Key Takeaways
- Eating yogurt with a meal or 30 minutes beforehand can give probiotics a better chance of reaching your intestines, where they can improve your gut health.
- Replacing unhealthy snacks or desserts with yogurt, or eating yogurt before a meal to curb your appetite, can help with weight loss.
- Eating yogurt in general, and in combination with exercise, can improve bone strength.
Yogurt is more than a tasty snack; timing your consumption can boost its benefits for gut health, weight loss, and bone strength. Learn when to eat yogurt for the best results.
1. Best Time for Gut Health
The optimal times to eat yogurt for gut health are:
- Thirty minutes before a meal
- With a meal
Yogurt contains probiotics, helpful bacteria that can improve gut health. In particular, yogurt contains Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium. To benefit your gut health, these probiotics must reach the intestines.
Research has found that Lactobacillus is more likely to survive the stomach’s harsh environment and reach the intestines when taken either with a meal or 30 minutes before a meal, likely because stomach acid is lower when the stomach is empty.
The worst time to eat yogurt for gut health is 30 minutes after a meal.
In the same study, Lactobacillus did not survive in large numbers when consumed 30 minutes after a meal, likely because stomach acid increases during digestion, destroying probiotics before they reach the intestines.
2. Best Time for Weight Loss
Yogurt can aid in weight loss. Ideal times to consume yogurt for this purpose are:
- As a snack
- As an ingredient replacement
- As dessert
- At breakfast
- Before meals
Regular yogurt consumption is associated with maintaining a stable body weight, in part because it replaces less-healthy, sugar-filled, or fatty foods in your diet. Replacing unhealthy snacks, desserts, or ingredients (like mayo) with yogurt may help you cut calories and lose weight.
The high levels of calcium and protein found in yogurt can also regulate your appetite and prevent you from overeating. Eating yogurt before mealtime could prevent overeating or over-serving yourself.
Yogurt at breakfast may also help curb your appetite for the day ahead. The protein in yogurt could help stabilize your blood sugar, stopping cravings that result from blood sugar fluctuations.
Opt for Plain Yogurt
If you’re trying to lose weight, choose plain, unsweetened yogurt. Sugar-sweetened yogurt is a significant source of added sugar and can contribute to weight gain.
3. Best Time for Stronger Bones
For stronger bones, eat yogurt at these times:
- At the same time every day (for example, breakfast), to help build a daily habit
- After exercise
Eating yogurt at any time of day can help build stronger bones. People who eat more yogurt tend to have better bone mineral density. Yogurt contains calcium, which is an essential mineral for bone health. The vitamin D, protein, and probiotics in yogurt can also support bone health.
Experts recommend consuming two to three cups of low-fat dairy daily for optimal bone health. While eating yogurt at any time of day can contribute to stronger bones, some people find that building a habit of eating a food at the same time every day (for example, with breakfast, or as an afternoon snack) helps them remember to eat that food.
Eating yogurt after exercise, in particular, may help with bone health. In one study, high-load, high-impact exercise combined with post-exercise Greek yogurt consumption was associated with improved bone formation.
Regular exercise and yogurt consumption likely helped bone health more than the exact timing.
What Nutrition Does Yogurt Provide?
Yogurt comes in numerous flavors, which affect its nutrition information. Many packaged yogurts are filled with sweeteners and flavorings, which aren’t as good for your health. For the best health benefits, focus on unsweetened, unflavored yogurt.
Different styles of yogurt also have different nutritional information. For example, Greek yogurt contains more protein but less calcium than regular yogurt.
One single-serving container, or 6 ounces (oz), of plain, low-fat yogurt contains:
- Calories: 107
- Protein: 8.92 grams (g)
- Fat: 2.64 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Sugar: 12 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 10.2 milligrams (mg)
- Calcium: 311 mg
Read the original article on Verywell Health
