For decades curd has been consumed by humans. It is a nutritious food that comes with several benefits. So, including them in your diet will prove to highly beneficial to your health. Here we will talk about every benefit of curd and how vital it is for your health. Let us quickly check out how curd benefits weight loss, heart, gut, and health overall! Keep scrolling down to learn everything you need to know about curd!
Table of Contents
How to Make Curd?
People usually confuse themselves with curd and yogurt. Though they are almost the same, they do have a slight difference.
Curd is made by curdling the milk using natural acidic substances. Some of the substances used to curdle milk to make curd are vinegar, lime juice, and leftover curd. Yes! You can use curd to make your homemade curd.
But yogurt is a product that is made commercially by introducing bacteria into the milk. Yogurt is usually made by industries, whereas curd is a homemade product.
Benefit of Curd
Now that you how to make curd and how it is different from yogurt. Let us check out how cur benefits your health overall.
Here is a list of every benefit of curd:
Contains Vital Nutrients
There are hardly any nutrients that curd does not possess that your body requires. Curd is a rich source of calcium that is crucial to keep your bones and teeth in good health.
By consuming one cup of curd, you can provide yourself with almost 49% of the daily recommendation of calcium.
Curd is also rich in all the B vitamins. In particular, it contains riboflavin and vitamin B12. Both the B vitamins are essential to keep yourself away from heart problems and a few kinds of neural tube birth problems.
Apart from these nutrients, curd can also provide you with potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. All these minerals present in curd are essential to keep your blood pressure levels in control and much more.
Rich in Protein
Curd provides you with an adequate amount of protein that is vital for your body’s metabolism. Around seven ounces or 200 grams of curd contains about twelve grams of protein.
Your body requires protein to increase your energy levels. It also helps in restoring the energy that you lose during workouts and other activities.
Your body requires sufficient protein to regulate your appetite and increase your feeling of fullness. So, curd benefits weight loss tremendously.
Keeps Digestive System Healthy
Curd contains probiotics or gut-friendly bacteria. The presence of probiotics keeps your digestive system healthy and improves digestion.
You can keep away from digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome by consuming curd.
The benefit of curd and digestive system is so vast that you can prevent bloating and constipation. You can even treat diarrhea by having curd. So, if you have the slightest problem regarding your gut, be sure to include curd into your diet.
Boosts Immune System
You can enjoy the benefit of curd to boost up your immune system. It contains probiotics that can help you keep your immune system healthy. Curd also helps in staying away from coming in contact with pathogens.
Probiotics can prevent the chances of inflammation. Consequently, you can keep away from numerous health problems like gut problems and viral infections, mainly caused by inflammation.
Several studies show that you can reduce the chances of a common cold by consuming curb. More so, it also helps to reduce the duration of it.
The presence of zinc, magnesium, and selenium is the main reason to keep your immune system healthy.
Prevents the Occurrence of Osteoporosis
You can get the benefit of curd to protect yourself from osteoporosis. Curd supplies you with a lot of phosphorus, calcium, protein, and potassium. All of these nutrients help to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Consequently, you can prevent yourself from weakening your bones that can lead to osteoporosis. It is a condition that is commonly seen in oldies.
People who have a lower density of bones have a higher chance of fractures. So, you can prevent the risk of bone fractures by consuming curd. Consuming curd every day can build bone mass too. So, start including curd into your diet to enjoy all its benefits.
Keeps Heart Healthy
You can make your curd with whole milk to prevent several heart problems. It is seen that when the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol increase in your body, it may lead to heart ailments.
So, when you make curd from whole milk, the levels of good cholesterol increase in your body. All of which can prevent you from having any heart diseases.
More so, curd can help reduce your blood pressure levels that are the primary causes of heart ailments.
Helps in Weight Loss
Curd benefits weight loss for several reasons. It is a rich source of protein and calcium. Both these nutrients help in reducing your appetite hormones such as GLP-1 and peptide YY. Consequently, that keeps you full for longer, helping you to control frequent cravings.
Numerous studies show that if you have curd, waist circumference, body weight, and body fat percentage can reduce.
Also, it is low in calories that can help you lose weight, and yet keeps you full for a long time.
Keeps Skin Hydrated and Beautiful
The benefits of eating curd for skin are immense. It has the capability to moisturize your skin and reduce its dryness.
Many people get acne due to an unhealthy digestive system that leads to several gastrointestinal illnesses. Since curd is a source of gut-friendly bacteria, you can keep your digestive system in good health. Consequently, leading you to have a lower chance of acne.
Curd can work as a potent substitute for several high-end face packs. The lactic acid present in curd can remove the dead cells and will work as an exfoliator for your skin. So, consuming and applying curd both can be beneficial for you.
Helps to control high blood pressure
You can get the benefit of curd to control your high blood pressure levels. The presence of magnesium and potassium helps reduce blood pressure. So, you can be sure to keep your blood pressure levels in check by consuming curd.
Studies show that you can even prevent the chances of developing high blood pressure when you consume curd. So, start including curd into your diet and avail all its benefits.
Prevents you from Vaginal Infections
You can get the benefit of curd to reduce any vaginal infections in women. It happens because curd helps to prevent the growth of yeast that leads to infections. The presence of the bacteria – lactobacillus acidophilus helps to control infection growth in your body. More so, it has the capability to kill the yeast as it produces hydrogen peroxide.
Reduces dandruff
You will notice the benefits of eating curd for hair to be immense. It helps to reduce dandruff and further keeps your hair healthy.
You can also apply curd onto your scalp to reduce dandruff. The anti-fungal properties present in curd helps in reducing dandruff from your hair. More so, it has the ability to strengthen your roots and makes them soft and silky.
Helps to maintain the PH level
If you keep your pH level in control, you can keep your vagina in good health. So, by consuming curd regularly, women can stay away from infections and improve their vaginal health.
Helps to Keep a Healthy Mental State
The benefit of curd in keeping your mental state healthy is immense. You can reduce your stress levels and anxiety by consuming curd. Several researches show that you can rely on curd to improve your mental health. So, if you keep your stress and anxiety levels low, you are bound to have an improved mental state. Further, you can keep your brain healthy.
Side Effects of Curd
Though every benefit of curd is significant, it may not be an ideal choice for many. It becomes crucial for you to check if your body can consume curd and does not leave any adverse effects.
So, let us check out the possible side effects of curd:
Lactose Intolerant
You are considered lactose intolerant when the body does not possess the enzyme lactase to break the lactose. So, consuming milk or its by-products may lead to indigestion, diarrhea, adnominal pain, and more.
As a result, if you happen to be lactose intolerant, try to avoid curd.
In certain conditions, people may be able to digest curd and yet be lactose intolerant. You will see this happen because while producing curd, some of the lactose is broken down. So, the probiotics help in digestion for lactose-intolerant people.
It becomes vital for you to check whether yogurt suits your body or not.
Milk Allergies
Some people can be allergic to whey and casein that is present in the by-products of milk. In such a condition, milk may react with your body that can lead to several allergies. It can start from hives, rashes, and swelling that might aggravate and can turn fatal. So, it is always best to know if you are allergic to milk and then keep away from it and its by-products.
Added Sugar Can Be Harmful
If you buy the yogurt from the store, then it may contain huge contents of added sugar. The content of added sugar is in particular present in the low-fat yogurts.
If you consume high amounts of sugar, it may lead to various health ailments. Some of them include obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. Thus, it is always best you make your curd at home or buy the ones that are low in sugar.
How to Select the Best Yogurt?
Now you know every potential benefit of curd and some of its possible side effects. So, if you don’t have much time to make curd at home and have to purchase it from the store, let us check out the best one that is good for your health.
Here are some quick tips that will help you select the best yogurt:
Read what the Label Says
When you decide to buy curd from the store, always keep in mind to read what the label says. It will have a mention of all the possible ingredients. In this way, you will be aware of what you are consuming. Here are the following things to check on the label:
Check the Ingredients List
Some yogurts are plain. But they do have preservatives, dyes, artificial flavors, sugar, and stabilizers.
So, always try to choose the ones with the least amount of ingredients present in the curd.
Check out the Nutrition Facts
Nutrition facts present in the label will contain the most information that is essential for you to know.
It will tell you the amount of protein, fat, carbs, sugar, and more present in the curd. So, always check the one that suits your health.
Avoid Added Sugar
One of the main things you need to keep in mind is the amount of added sugar.
Having large amounts of added sugar may lead to metabolic dysfunctionality, type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart problems, and liver diseases.
You may find some sugar traces present in the curd that contain natural sugar present in milk. But if it contains added sugar, keep the pack on the shelf.
The plain curd contains around 15 grams of carbs. But if you go for the sweetened and flavored curd, it will have more than 30 grams of carbs.
Final Thoughts
Curd is a nutritious product and can provide you with several health benefits. So, eat curd and provide your health with all the nutrients it possesses. But always remember to check if you are allergic to milk or lactose intolerant. Only then will you enjoy all its benefits.
If you are short of time and want to purchase curd from the grocery store, keep in mind the tips mentioned above.
