Activia yogurt is one of the most popular yogurt brands in the US, though it was first introduced in France in 1987. As a functional food, Activia is known to boost digestive health and is one of the best probiotics snacks you can give your body. But what if you have celiac disease or are otherwise gluten intolerant; is Activia gluten-free, and therefore appropriate for your diet?
Yes, Activia is considered gluten-free. The majority of Activia yogurt flavors don’t contain any gluten or gluten-based ingredients. However, there are a couple of yogurt flavors that do have gluten-based ingredients, which you’ll need to avoid. The best gluten-free alternatives to Activia are NuturMe Organic Yogurt Alternative, Siggi’s Iceland Yogurt, and Cocoyo Living Coconut Yogurt.
Although most Activia yogurt is gluten-free, it can be tough to know which flavors you should buy the next time you go to the grocery store. Let us dispel the confusion and break down which Activia yogurts are gluten-free and suggest some other alternatives, if Activia isn’t quite your cup of tea (or yogurt, in this case!).
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Does Yogurt Normally Have Gluten?
No, not normally.
You see, most yogurt is made from milk and cheese along with their bacterial colonies. These make yogurt a naturally probiotic food. Gluten is not normally found in milk and cheese; the same is true of most other dairy ingredients like whey protein.
Gluten is a protein only found naturally in various grains like rye, barley, and wheat, or any combination of those grains. Yogurt doesn’t usually need a grain product for its texture or its nutritional ingredients, so gluten is a rarity with this product category overall.
That said, some yogurt may be better for folks with gluten sensitivity than others. That’s because some yogurt is made in shared environments, so the possibility for cross-contamination is higher than average.
Is yogurt good for folks with gluten sensitivity?
Yes. In fact, yogurt is good for just about everyone, although vegans sometimes have to look for alternatives. That’s because yogurt is a probiotic food that bolsters the gut microbiome and prevents harmful bacteria from setting up shop in your intestines. Probiotics can also help you maintain a better diet, improve your immune system, and much more.
If you have gluten sensitivity, yogurt could help to settle your stomach and ensure that you digest your other foods efficiently and fully.
Which Activia Yogurt Flavors Include Gluten?
According to Activia, only two of the yogurt types in their product catalog have gluten:
- Activia Breakfast Pots (include grains at the top cap)
- Activia Grains and Nuts
However, Activia’s Fiber line of yogurt cups includes several potentially problematic ingredients, including white wheat flakes and red wheat bran. Neither of these is appropriate for folks with gluten sensitivity. Because of this, we recommend staying away from the Fiber yogurt cups just to be safe. Activia might not simply have updated its website to reflect the ingredients in this yogurt line quite yet.
Aside from these three yogurt lines, you never need to worry about Activia hiding gluten or gluten-based ingredients in their products. The law requires them to clearly label any allergens on their products. So you’ll notice a warning if a given yogurt has gluten in it well before you make your purchase.
Additionally, Activia’s website has information about which products contain gluten or wheat-based ingredients.
Activia Ingredients
As noted above, most of Activia’s yogurt flavors are gluten-free. So let’s take a closer look at the active ingredients in Activia yogurt so you know exactly what you’re putting in your body.
Below are four lines of Activia probiotic yogurt products. Each is available in multiple flavors; the only differences between individual flavors are flavoring agents, so their ingredients are essentially the same from cup to cup.
Activia Probiotic Yogurt with Fruit
Probiotic Yogurt is Fruit is Activia’s main yogurt line. It includes helpful colonies of probiotic bacteria plus pieces of fruit to add interesting texture and flavor to each cup. It’s available in strawberry, mango, peach, black cherry, blueberry, mixed berry, prune, strawberry banana, and vanilla flavors.
Its ingredients are:
- Cultured Grade A reduced-fat milk
- Cane sugar
- Strawberries
- Water
- Modified food starch
- Milk protein concentrate
- Kosher gelatin
- Agar-agar
- Natural flavors
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Fruit and vegetable juice
- Calcium lactate
- Carrageenan
- Lactic acid
- Milk calcium
- Vitamin D3
Nutrition Facts:
- 90 cal per serving
- 5 g fat or 2% DV
- 5 mg cholesterol or 2% DV
- 55 mg sodium or 2% DV
- 15 g carbohydrate or 5% DV
- 12 g sugar or 16% DV
- 4 g protein or 8% DV
- 6 mcg vitamin D or 8% DV
- 140 mg calcium or 10% DV
- 170 mg potassium or 4% DV
- 1 mg iron
Activia 60 Calories Yogurt
Activia’s 60 Calories Yogurt line is excellent for folks on a diet. As noted by Activia itself, it’s also completely gluten-free. This yogurt is available in strawberry, blueberry, peach, and vanilla flavors.
Its ingredients are:
- Cultured Grade A nonfat milk
- Strawberries
- Water
- Modified food starch
- Modified cornstarch
- Acacia gum
- Kosher gelatin
- Pectin
- Malic acid
- Carmine
- Natural flavor
- Sucralose
- Xanthan gum
- Calcium lactate
- Acesulfame potassium
Nutrition Facts:
- 60 cal per serving
- <5 mg cholesterol or 1% DV
- 65 mg sodium or 3% DV
- 10 g carbohydrate or 4% DV
- 2 g fiber or 7% DV
- 7 g sugar
- 4 g protein or 8% DV
- 160 mg calcium or 10% DV
- 2 mg iron
- 210 mg potassium or 4% DV
Activia Greek Yogurt
Activia’s Greek Yogurt is the perfect choice if you prefer your yogurt to be a little more bitter and have a little less of an overly sweet flavor. It’s available in strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla flavors.
Its ingredients are:
- Cultured Grade A nonfat milk
- Sugar
- Water
- Strawberries
- Modified food starch
- Black carrot juice and annatto extract
- Carrageenan
- Natural flavors
- Vitamin D3
- Sodium citrate
- Malic acid
Nutrition Facts:
- 120 cal per serving
- <5 mg cholesterol or 1% DV
- 55 mg sodium or 2% DV
- 17 g carbohydrate or 6% DV
- 16 g sugar or 22% DV
- 12 g protein or 24% DV
- 6 mcg vitamin D or 8% DV
- 150 mg calcium or 10% DV
- 200 mg potassium or 4% DV
Activia Dairy-Free Yogurt
This line of yogurt is explicitly designed for folks who don’t process gluten well and who don’t want to eat dairy with their yogurt. It’s made with almond milk to get around this limitation and it’s available in blueberry açai, raspberry pomegranate, vanilla cinnamon, and peach hibiscus flavors.
Its ingredients are:
- Almond milk
- Cane sugar
- Tapioca starch
- Fava bean protein blueberries
- Acacia gum
- Açai purée
- Tapioca dextrose
- Natural flavors
- Pectin
- Fruit and vegetable juice concentrate
- Citric acid
- Sodium citrate
Nutrition Facts:
- 120 cal per serving
- 4 g fat or 5% DV
- 25 mg sodium or 1% DV
- 18 g carbohydrate or 7% DV
- 3 g fiber or 11% DV
- 8 g sugar or 16% DV
- 5 g protein or 5% DV
- 50 mg calcium or 4% DV
- 6 mg iron
- 160 mg potassium or 4% DV
Healthy Gluten-Free Alternatives to Activia
Activia may have plenty of gluten-free yogurts to check out, but maybe you want to try a different brand. Good news; there are plenty of other gluten-free yogurt varieties available. Let’s take a look at some of these now.
NuturMe Organic Yogurt Alternative
NuturMe’s yogurt alternative is completely dairy-free and is made from unique ingredients like sweet potatoes, mango, and guava.
Its ingredients are:
- Organic sweet potato purée
- Organic mango purée
- Organic guava purée
- Organic quinoa milk
- Organic locust bean gum
- Pectin
- Organic coconut cream
- Organic pea protein
- Vitamin C
Nutrition Facts:
- 80 cal per serving
- 5 g fat or 4% DV
- 10 mg sodium or 1% DV
- 14 g, hydrate or 9% DV
- 2 g fiber or 14% DV
- 3 g protein
- 15 mg vitamin C
- 16 mg calcium or 2% DV
Siggi’s Nonfat Icelandic Yogurt
Siggi’s line of nonfat yogurts comes in several flavors like strawberry, blueberry, and more. Most importantly, these are relatively healthy yogurt cups made in the Icelandic tradition, with extra protein, so you feel fuller for longer.
Its ingredients are:
- Pasteurized skim milk
- Berries
- Cane sugar
- Fruit pectin
- Live active cultures
Nutrition Facts:
- 120 cal per serving
- 10 mg cholesterol or 3% DV
- 50 mg sodium or 2% DV
- 14 g carbohydrate or 5% DV
- 11 g sugar
- 15 g protein or 30% DV
- 15% DV of calcium
Cocoyo Living Coconut Yogurt
This unique yogurt alternative is made with live coconut cultures, offering billions of probiotics and an easy to digest snack.
Its ingredients are:
- Raw young coconut
- Raw young coconut probiotic cultures
Nutrition Facts:
- 100 cal per serving
- 6 g fat or 2% DV
- 15 mg sodium or 1% DV
- 8 g carbohydrate or 3% DV
- 1 g protein
Final Thoughts
All in all, Activia is a great snack if you have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant to any degree. It’s healthy, boosts digestive health, and is pretty flavorful without being overly sugary. Just be sure not to pick up either of the three Activia yogurt types that do have gluten-based ingredients and you’ll be good to go.
Related Questions
Is Activia vegan-friendly?
Unfortunately, no, just like most yogurt products. Yogurt by definition includes dairy products like milk and cheese, so vegans have to generally rely on other probiotic products to bolster their gut health.
However, Activia and other brands occasionally have non-dairy yogurt available, as indicated by their non-dairy line broken down above.
Are all Activia yogurts probiotic foods?
Yes. Yogurt always has live bacteria, and yogurt manufacturers ensure that the bacterial colonies in a given yogurt product are helpful to the gut microbiome rather than potentially harmful or even neutral.
Do I have to eat Activia for probiotic properties?
You don’t necessarily have to eat Activia yogurts specifically to boost your gut health. Almost any type of yogurt will do, though you want to make sure you don’t consume yogurt that’s overly sugary or fatty if you want to be healthy.