Yoghurt can do wonders for your health, but that's no good it it tastes revolting. So which yoghurts should you pick up and which should you leave on the shelves?

YOGURT is good for you. Ever since the ancient Assyrians 4,000 years ago apparently first discovered the trick of fermenting milk as a way of preserving it, yoghurt has been associated with long life and good health - which is probably why we now spend about £710m a year on the stuff.

As well as containing calcium, potassium and other goodies, the beneficial bacteria in live yoghurt are also thought to stimulate the immune system and do wonders for toxins in the digestive tract.

Tribesmen on the borders of Europe and Asia consume masses of it and apparently live to great ages.

But I don't suppose their yoghurt is crammed full of sugar, additives and bright pink fruit colouring.

We've gone back to basics and have been sampling natural yoghurts.

* Live yoghurt - just about all yoghurt is live, meaning it contains live bacteria. These are good bacteria that fight the baddies in our insides.

* Bio yoghurt - now very popular on the shelves - has different types of bacteria from those normally used. These bifida bacteria are thought to be more effective.

* Greek yoghurt - is more lush and creamy than the rest. Not surprising, as it is usually made with full cream milk or even mixed with cream. Although this often gives it twice as many calories as other yoghurts, it still has only a quarter of the calories of double cream.

OUR FAVOURITES

TOTAL 0% fat Greek strained yoghurt 99p for 150g

Authentic Greek yoghurt - made in Greece, this is the totally fat free version of it. Set yoghurt, with creamy texture, very nice flavour and hardly any calories. Perfect.

MARKS & SPENCER natural bio yoghurt, 49p for 200g

Jolly good with just enough sharpness to give it a bit of edge

LONGLEY FARM BA very low fat yoghurt, 70p for 454g

We think the BA stands for bio active - it has live cultures. and very few calories - 57 per 100g

We liked the taste of this, very smooth but not bland.

SAINSBURYS ORGANIC Low Fat Yoghurt, 31p for 150g

Smooth, good flavour

CO-OP Low Fat Natural Bio, 33p for 150g

Very smooth.

YEO VALLEY, Bio Live Natural Organic Yoghurt, 99p for 500g

Good texture, good flavour.

MORE CALORIES BUT WORTH IT

MARKS & SPENCER Greek-style, 69p for 200g

Thick creamy but with a good flavour. This and the Rachel's Dairy yoghurt, below, were especially good with chopped fruit and when making yoghurt, cucumber and mint side dish for curries.

RACHEL'S ORGANIC, Bio Live Greek style Natural Yoghurt, £1.42 for 450g

Delicious - see above.

SAINSBURYS Greek Style Natural Yoghurt, 55p for 200g

Very moreish.

NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED

MULLER Thick and Creamy, 92p for 500g

Although this was in with the natural yoghurts and is called "smooth original...with a hint of vanilla" it also contains sugar and flavourings. Don't be misled.

ST HELEN'S FARM Bio Goats Milk Yoghurt, 89p for 225g

This divided our testers. Those who don't normally drink goat's milk or eat goat's cheese found it too sharp and strong - probably closer to what they drink on those Asiatic plains. However, some of our testers loved it. And it's a great buy for those with cow's milk allergies.

FINE BUT A BIT BLAND AND FLAVOURLESS

LITTLE SWALLOW Biogrande Plus, 75p for 250g

This had won a gold award somewhere but it wasn't our favourite - a bit too thin somehow.

DANONE ACTIVIA, £1.79 for 500g

Nothing else to add to this one.

ONKEN natural Biopot, 95p for 500g

Made with skimmed milk and bio cultures, but didn't taste of anything much.

OR YOU COULD MAKE YOUR OWN

No, not like back in the sixties when many people made some very peculiar yoghurt on the ginger beer plant principle.

The 21st century version is the MAKEFRESH YOGURT MAKER.

This consists of a large, rather stylish white flask, £9.99 with some containers and three varieties of yoghurt mix - basically milk powder and lactic cultures in fat free, reduced fat and natural varieties, £1.59 each - each one enough to make a big tub of yoghurt,.

You mix the powder with cold water, put it a tub in the flask and then cover it with boiling water and leave for a few hours. Easy peasy.

Only it didn't work. The first time we tried it, instead of a nice pot of creamy yoghurt, we opened the flask to discover a tub full of gloop. Mmmmm.

However, we persevered, tried again and had some very decent results. Very easy, very unmessy and tasted good. We'd still be inclined to buy fresh when we could, but this makes an excellent standby.

They also make fruit sauces which the children loved - especially as the sauce comes in a squeezy bottle so you can make lovely swirly patterns in your yoggie..