Full Fat Is Back!

We bring you many trends at Womanista, but this one might be our most delicious yet: full fat yogurt is back, and it tastes better than ever.

Thick, creamy and nutritious, Greek yogurt made with whole milk is the latest trend since frozen yogurt, and it's much more nutritious at that. Rich in calcium and potassium and proven to aid in weight loss, full fat yogurt is rapidly gaining popularity for good reason.

In the wake of a frozen yogurt sales decline around the country, there's been a 50% increase in full fat Greek yogurt sales over the last couple of years. In fact, the TODAY Show recently reported that Noosa, a brand of farm-fresh whole milk yogurt, has actually doubled their sales in the last eighteen months.

If you've trained yourself to always reach for the skim milk or the non-fat yogurt on the grocery shelves, you might be robbing your body of beneficial ingredients -- especially when it comes to weight loss.

A recent review published in The European Journal of Nutrition found that participants who consumed more high-fat dairy products either weighed less or gained less weight over time than their counterparts who didn't consume fat-laden dairy. Furthermore, the study found people who eat full-fat dairy are no more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes than people who stick to low-fat dairy.

Lauren Minchen, a New York-based registered dietician, told the popular health food site Eat This, Not That her reasoning behind the new phenomenon. "I believe that when the body gets nutrients from whole, unaltered foods like full-fat yogurt, it will be less likely to hold on to excess calories and store them fat. Further, sugar and fat substitutes, found in some low-fat yogurts, may diminish weight loss efforts, while whole food fat sources boost satiety, helping people eat less overall throughout the day."

To put it simply, nutrient-rich foods that pack a lot of micronutrients into every calorie are proven to be healthier.

Want more proof? A 2013 study in the Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care tracked the dairy intake and obesity rates of more than 1,500 middle-aged adults. Those who frequently ate full-fat butter, milk and cream had lower obesity rates than those who shunned dairy fat.

Cities like New York, Seattle and San Francisco have all jumped on board the full-fat train.

Greecologies, an authentic grass-fed Greek yogurt store in New York City, offers eclectic toppings such as sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, cherries and even rose petals.

The Chobani Café in New York City's Soho neighborhood offers sweet yogurt creations like pistachio, chocolate, sliced orange and clover honey, more savory combinations like hummus, lemon zest and sea salt, and everything in between like their mango, avocado and jalapeno option.

Ellenos in Seattle's Pike Place Market features a ginger raspberry rhubarb flavor, along with a lemon curd and lemon cheesecake.

And just when we thought Greek yogurt couldn't get any better, Souvla in San Francisco serves their full-fat yogurt frozen, with flaky sea salt and baklava crumbles.