Is Noosa Yogurt Healthy? An Ingredient Analysis

Is Noosa Yogurt Healthy? An Ingredient Analysis


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Noosa Yogurt is a popular Australian yogurt brand that’s available both in-store and online in the US. The company makes yogurt from whole milk, and describes their product line as “Full On Tasty.”

But what ingredients are actually in Noosa Yogurt beyond milk, and is it healthy? Are there any questionable additive ingredients? Is whole milk healthier than skim milk? And how do real users rate the taste and effects of Noosa Yogurt?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Noosa Yogurt based on research studies to give our take on whether or not the brand is healthy.

We’ll share our thoughts on whole milk versus skim milk, and feature unsponsored Noosa Yogurt user reviews.

Ingredient Analysis

Noosa Strawberry Yogurt ingredients

The ingredients in Noosa Strawberry Yoghurt are shown above.

Whole milk is the first-listed ingredient, and we like the use of whole milk over skim milk.

The popular notion that dietary fat causes obesity is misguided. Consuming excess calories over baseline causes obesity regardless of the calorie source.

A 2018 clinical trial found that whole milk consumption did not have worse effects on cholesterol, glucose or insulin in otherwise healthy adults, and whole milk is nutritionally richer than skim milk because the fat contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

However, there is no mention on Noosa’s website about whether their milk is sourced from grass-fed or conventionally-raised animals. 

As we documented in our Fairlife Protein Shake reviews article, milk from grass-fed animals has been shown to be richer in omega-3 fatty acids than milk from conventionally-raised animals, and grass-fed milk tends to be higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which can have cardiovascular benefits.

Cane sugar is listed twice on the ingredient list, with 18 grams (g) of added sugar in this flavor, which equals 36% of the Daily Value (DV).

Added sugar in excess can cause inflammation in the body according to a medical review published in the Frontiers in Immunology journal, and many Americans already consume too much added sugar from their diet. 

Natural flavors is listed as an ingredient, and we recommend that consumers be wary of natural flavors for reasons described in a 2017 medical review:

"In reality, ‘natural flavors’ are a far cry from what consumers might expect, as they can contain both artificial and synthetic chemicals (often used as processing aids).” 

Live and active cultures refers to beneficial bacterial strains, and this ingredient is one of the reasons that yogurt is considered to be healthy.

A medical review published in the Foods journal found that yogurt consumption can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and promote gut health.

Overall, we consider Noosa Yogurt to be somewhat healthy. The benefits likely outweigh the drawbacks given the considerable research backing for probiotics, but we don’t currently recommend this yogurt brand.

We would prefer a yogurt brand that sourced milk from grass-fed animals and uses only fruits to sweeten the yogurt instead of added sugar.

But how do real users rate and describe the taste and effects of Noosa? We’ll feature some unsponsored user reviews in the next section of this article.

Real People Try Noosa

A YouTube creator named Sharleen Sunny Williams reviewed various flavors of Noosa yogurt:

A YouTube creator named Nick Arnot who reviews a number of different yogurt brands on his channel has a review of Noosa:

Can Yogurt Cause Weight Loss?

A YouTube video from a channel called "motivationaldoc" cites research studies to discuss whether or not yogurt consumption can cause weight loss:

Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

Noosa has more benefits than drawbacks from a health perspective, because of the strong research backing for yogurt's health benefits.

However, we don't currently recommend this brand because it contains a significant amount of sugar and also contains flavoring additives.

Further, the brand fails to clearly publish whether their milk is sourced from grass-fed cows or conventionally-raised cows, which leads us to assume the latter.

Both of the unsponsored user reviews of Noosa that we featured in this article were favorable.

We recommend that consumers look for a yogurt brand (whether in-store or online) that uses whole milk, sources from grass-fed animals and contains no added sugar.