HEALTHIER FROZEN YOGURT

People are saying "yo" to frozen yogurt again, and shops are springing up all over the country.


Frozen yogurt, like Lean Cuisine and Jenny Craig, got its start in the 1980s when Americans embraced it as a low-fat alternative to ice cream. But like leg warmers and Jane Fonda workouts, the frozen yogurt fad waned over the years.

Now the creamy treat is riding the probiotics popularity wave, touting a hip, healthy vibe and, in many cases, self-service. The resurgence has prompted the 30-year-old TCBY (a.k.a. "The Country's Best Yogurt") to give itself a makeover. The Salt Lake City-based company says you can lose the guilt and gain some health benefits with its "Super Fro-Yo" frozen dessert announced this week. A serving is touted to contain: 

·   A minimum of three grams of fiber

·   A minimum of four grams of protein

·   A minimum of seven types of probiotics

·   A minimum of 20% daily value of vitamin D

·   A minimum of 20% daily value of calcium

·   A minimum of 20 billion live and active cultures per serving at manufacturing

It's about 120 calories per serving with one gram of fat. 

Probiotics is a nutrition buzzword, as the "live and active cultures" in yogurt are thought to  help digestion and boost the immune system. Yogurt gets its tart taste from lactic acid, a result of the microorganisms fermenting milk.

But not all products actually contain the live healthy microorganisms. Some frozen-yogurt makers use heat-treated yogurt, which kills the live and active cultures, or they may simply add in cultures to the mix along with acidifiers, and skip the fermentation step all together, according to the National Yogurt Association. The NYA offers a "Live & Active Cultures" seal to products containing at least 100 million living lactobacillus and streptococcus bacteria per gram. Consumers can look for the seal in signs or packaging when they stop in at their neighborhood yogurt shop.

Of course, all that goodness is probably mitigated if you bury it in crushed candy bars and fudge sauce.