Did you know dahi can boost your immunity? Here are 4 other benefits of yogurt

Yogurt is rich in nutrients and can even boost your immune system. Here are all the benefits of yogurt aka the humble dahi.
Yogurt in a bowl
Yogurt is a good source of vitamin D! Image courtesy: Shutterstcok
Chetna Pattnaik Published: 7 Jul 2020, 17:33 pm IST
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Chances are that dahi or yogurt has been a part of your daily diet. This staple has been around for hundreds of years—and why not? It’s bursting with health benefits that many of us are still not aware of. 

Plain, unsweetened yogurt has multiple health benefits to offer since it contains almost all the nutrients that our body requires. Just one cup of yogurt can suffice for 49% of your daily calcium need, 38% of phosphorous, 12% of magnesium, and 18% for potassium. Phew! 

Yogurt also contains vitamin B12 and riboflavin which may protect you from heart diseases. Not only this, but yogurt also provides you with a great amount of protein, 12 grams for every 200-gram serving. This improves your metabolism by increasing your energy expenditure. 

With such high nutritional values, yogurt comes with multiple health benefits. Let’s take a look at them.

1. It improves your digestive health
Yogurt contains probiotics (or live bacteria) that improves digestive health upon consumption. Bifidobacteria and lactobacillus are the probiotics that help lessen the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome–a common colon disorder—and both of them can be found in yogurt.

amchur health benefits
Yogurt is the best friend that our digestive health always needs. Image Courtesy: Shutterstock

These probiotics are also said to protect from antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and constipation. They are also reported to improve situations of bloating and help regulate stool frequency.

2. It helps in weight loss
Yogurt is rich in both protein and calcium, which when consumed together, increase the level of peptide YY and GLP-1 in the body. These are appetite reducing hormones, which signal fullness and thus ensuring that you end up consuming lesser calories overall.

Yogurt’s fullness-promoting effects are even more prominent in Greek yogurt, which is a very thick variety of curd minus the whey and has more protein.

3. Yogurt can reduce your risk of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by the weakening of bones and is very common in the elderly. Individuals with this condition are more likely to get fractured bones due to low bone density.

preventing osteoporosis
Don’t let falls and fractures disrupt your mum’s life. Rather, help her manage her osteoporosis risk with yogurt. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorous, potassium and vitamin D are very important for bone health—all of which are found in yogurt. So the consumption of yogurt, at least three servings a day, may help you in increasing bone mass and density.

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4. It might just benefit your heart health
Yogurt contains mostly saturated fat and along with it small amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids. Now, recent studies indicate that the intake of saturated fat from whole-milk products increases good or HDL cholesterol in the body, which keeps your heart health in check by reducing bad cholesterol.
Furthermore, dairy products like yogurt have been shown to help reduce high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease.

5. It boosts your immune system
Probiotics found in yogurt are believed to reduce inflammation, which is linked to several health conditions ranging from viral infections to gut disorders.

phalsa sharbat
Want a cool calming thing for your gut? Try yogurt. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

They may also help reduce the incidence, duration, and severity of the common cold. Trace minerals like magnesium, selenium, and zinc also play a role in your immune system’s health and can be found in yogurt.

So make sure you consume your yogurt right and thank your mom for that bowl of dahi she gave you for breakfast or lunch!

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About the Author

Understanding fitness the hard way, Chetna has finally learnt to strike a balance between her protein shake and her beer and making room for her writing desk and her gym at the same time. ...Read More

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