Why I Avoid Most Store-Bought Yogurt

Key Insight

Even popular "natural" brands like Chobani often contain hidden ingredients that don’t align with an ancestral or anti-inflammatory diet. For someone focused on mitochondrial health, gut integrity, and long-term resilience, the ingredient list, not the label claims, determines if a food is truly health-supportive.

Personal Reflection

For years, because my company provides them, I used to grab these "only natural ingredients" yogurt cups. However, when I started analyzing the labels with a more critical lens, watching for sugar, seed oils, gums, synthetic vitamins, and industrial sweeteners, I realized they weren’t doing me any favors. 

These days, I ferment my own kefir with A2 milk, which is low in sugar and high in fat and packed with real probiotic power.

Evolutionary Rationale

For the last ~10,000 years of post-agricultural history, fermented dairy (when consumed) came from goats or sheep, not Holstein cows. It was full-fat, raw, and made in small batches. Industrial yogurts, by contrast, are a modern invention, low-fat, high in sugar, stabilized with additives, and typically made from A1 milk, which may trigger inflammation in those of Northern European ancestry. Add to that the preservatives, stabilizers, gums, concentrates, pasturizing, and you have a mismatch that your gut microbes don’t recognize.

Practical Advice

• Check the label: Avoid nonfat yogurts with sugar, “natural flavors,” pectin, or preservatives.

• Look for A2 or sheep/goat milk if you tolerate dairy.

• Ferment your own: I use raw or low-heat pasteurized A2 milk with kefir grains. 24-hour fermentation yields powerful probiotics.

• Avoid sweetened varieties: Even fruit-on-the-bottom options like my favorite "Black Cherry" often contain added sugar or thickeners. If you want a touch of sweetness, add a teaspoon of raw honey—preferably post-exercise or in winter, when carbs were traditionally more available.

• Pair with fat, not sugar: If you must eat dairy on the go, add olive oil, walnuts, or pistachios to slow glucose absorption.

• Use monk fruit cautiously: For strict low-carb phases, a drop or two of monk fruit extract can sweeten without spiking glucose, but it’s not ancestral, and I use it sparingly.

Contrarian Viewpoint

Just because it’s Greek yogurt doesn’t mean it’s healthy. The “Greek” label is marketing; what matters is the sourcing, the dairy genetics (A2, not A1), and what else they’ve added. Many of these products are better classified as ultra-processed than ancestral.

Closing Note

If it has more than three ingredients and requires a plastic cup, it probably doesn't belong in my fridge. If our ancestors didn’t eat it, I consider it a pass.

 #health

#paleo #epigenetics #ancestral #longevity