Cottage cheese or yogurt ? Dieticians reveal which one to choose for your health

Both of these dairy products are commonly consumed and are good for your health, but dietitians are also very careful about ;me a preference.

For breakfast, as a snack or for dessert, yogurts and fromage blanc are essential and are popular with young and old alike. They are also good sources of vitamin D and calcium, making them a perfect part of a balanced diet. Although they look similar, they are not prepared in the same way. Yogurt is made with milk seeded with two very specific lactic acid bacteria: lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus. White cheese is prepared from a mixture of lactic ferments and milk, which will then curdle. It is then filtered and beaten.

Which of the two is healthier then?? For yogurt, it is already better to choose a plain yogurt rather than a fruit yogurt. “Prefer plain products to fruit or flavored yogurts, less processed and less sweet”, recommends Lucia Radessi, dietician nutritionist, at Femme actuelle.

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Furthermore, due to its texture, one might think that fromage blanc is fattier. In reality, the difference is quite small. Its average fat content is around 3% compared to 1 to 2% for plain yogurt. While it should not be consumed in excessive quantities, fat is also “one of those key nutrients that tells our brain that we have eaten and we feel full,” says Whitney Linsenmeyer, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, TODAY. 

But while it contains slightly more fat, fromage blanc has one major advantage over plain yogurt: it is rich in protein, almost twice as much as its competitor, with 7 to 8g per 100g. It is often recommended for this property during diets in order to avoid snacking. However, plain yogurt contains more calcium: 138mg versus 113mg per 100g.

So ultimately which one should you choose? According to nutritionists, the best is plain yogurt. “A plain yogurt contains only 5 to 6g of carbohydrates and only lactose (milk sugar)," emphasizes Raphaël Gruman, nutritionist, at Top Santé, to justify this choice. Not to mention that, in addition to its nutritional benefits, this yogurt aids digestion.

While plain yogurt can be considered too bland, it is preferable to add a little honey rather than sugar, as dietician Alexandra Murcier explains: Top Santé : “I recommend choosing a plain yogurt, even if it means adding a little honey to it, so as to control the quantity added sugar.