What that liquid on top of your yoghurt is - and why you shouldn't tip it out.

I know what you’re thinking. You’ve read this headline, squirmed a little, and done a swift 180 turn away from your screen.

I don’t blame you. Because the liquid that habitually forms on your Greek yoghurt, all watery and highly questionable-looking, is the last thing you’d EVER consider smelling, let alone eating.

It turns out this liquid does, in fact, have a name — it’s called whey. And, as much as you don’t want to hear this, it’s actually pretty good for your insides.

Left behind after milk has been curdled and strained, whey contains stuff far too good to tip down the drain, says the author of Belly Fat Diet For Dummies, Erin Palinski.

“Otherwise, you run the risk of pouring off nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, or even probiotics," she told Glamour magazine.

Listen: Here's what health writer Sarah Wilson can't live without. (Post continues after audio.)

According to the European Journal of Nutrition, whey is important for a healthy immune system, and is packed with vitamin B12, proteins and phosphorous, as well as immunoglobulins and the amino acid glutamine.

Aside from the nutritional benefits, it’s also meant to be in there to give your yoghurt a creamier texture. Just like you’re meant to swap out ice cream for a dollop of yoghurt and fruit.

If you hadn’t decided to rudely take the yoghurt off the temperature-controlled supermarket shelf and put it in your trolley, you wouldn’t even know the whey was there.

So rather than making things more awkward than they need to be, just stir it in and go about your day. Your gut will thank you for it.