Health Benefits Of Yogurt -10 Reasons Why You Should Eat Yogurt Every Day!

Have you observed that people who consume Yogurt on a daily basis are much more resistant towards diseases and are devoid of digestive disorders? However, the benefits also depend on the type of Yogurt that you buy! Here are 10 amazing health benefits of yogurt and the exact variety that you must choose to reap the maximum benefits of this amazing dairy product.

But Is Yogurt Good For You?

Yogurt doesn’t really cause any serious side effects unless you are allergic to it. People who are intolerance to lactose may not be able to enjoy the nutritional benefits of dairy products.

This is because dairy products contain lactose which is a kind of sugar. Our body requires an enzyme called lactase that is essential to break the sugar into an easily digestible compound.

However, there is no harm in checking out whether you are really intolerant to lactose because you could miss upon some amazing benefits of eating yogurt if you avoid yogurt thinking you may experience the intolerant symptoms.

If you are allergic to milk, you may also experience rashes because the proteins (casein or whey) can be mistook as a harmful substances which is why your body releases antibodies in defense which shows up in the form of rashes and itchiness.

How To Know Whether You Are Intolerant To Lactose?

If you do not observe any symptoms of abdominal bloating, cramps or diarrhoea after half an hour of consuming dairy products, you can start consuming Yogurt on a regular basis to make the maximum benefits of this healthy dairy product.

Here is what happens to your body if you start consuming Yogurt regularly here onwards!

10 Health Benefits Of Yogurt – What Is Yogurt Good For?

Being one of the best sources of proteins, calcium, probiotics and healthy carbs, there is a lot of yogurts can do other than just benefiting your digestion and improving your immune system.

1. Yogurt For A Healthy Weight Loss

Though we have many food options to help us meet our weight loss goals, choosing the healthy ones will keep us consistent in maintaining the ideal weight.

Do you know that people who consumed 3 servings of yogurt per day (one serving is equal to 8 fluid ounces) experienced a better loss of body weight and body fat than those who just aimed to cut down on the calories?

Consuming Yogurt keeps you satiated because of its rich protein content. This reduces your hunger levels.

Also, calcium present in yogurt helps you build strong bones which is a healthy way to lose weight because you are only getting rid of the fat but retaining your bone strength.

Best Time To Eat Yogurt For Weight Loss

Consuming yogurt for breakfast is the best option because it keeps you up for long periods due to its high protein content. You can also consume a fresh cup of Greek yogurt right before going to bed so as to experience easy and healthy digestion.

Ensure that you consume 3 servings of yogurt per day for the desired weight loss and to obtain the best benefits of yogurt in the morning.

2. For A Strong And Healthy Heart

The fact that yogurt helps in an effective weight loss suggests why it is good for heart health because people who are obese are at a higher risk of getting prone to heart diseases.

Also, yogurt helps in reducing the bad cholesterol (LDL) from the body because of the probiotics and raises the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) which is exactly what we require for perfect heart health.

Yogurt consumption can reduce the number of fat cells called triglycerides which are responsible for increasing the risk of heart diseases and strokes.

People who consume yogurt on a regular basis are at a reduced risk of developing hypertension (elevation of blood pressure levels) which may cause a sudden heart attack.

3. Does Yogurt Help Diabetics?

Yogurt is absolutely a low carb food which makes it a perfect choice for people suffering from diabetes. However, you have to choose a nonfat type of yogurt since it contains only 3.6 grams of carbohydrates for every 100 grams.

Less consumption of carbohydrates is essential for diabetics since carbohydrates are easily converted to sugars.

Yogurt contains a low glycemic index of 14 which makes a huge difference. Diabetics have to choose the foods with a low glycemic index because they slow down the absorption of carbohydrates thereby helping in a slow and steady release of sugars into the blood.

You have to choose plain, non-fat yogurt which is not added with any sugars to enjoy the best benefits!

People suffering from diabetes are more likely to put up weight and yogurt as we know makes up to a healthy weight loss food.

4. How Yogurt Benefits Bones?

With abundant amounts of calcium and proteins present in yogurt, there is no doubt in saying that yogurt is one the best bone strengthening foods.

Making a habit of consuming 2 -3 cups of fresh yogurt on a daily basis can prevent the risk of osteoporosis.

Consuming one cup of fresh yogurt which is around 245 grams helps you meet your daily calcium requirement by 49%. Calcium acts as a building block of bones which is why eating calcium deposits the required amounts of the nutrient into the body helping in the development of strong and healthy bones.

In addition to this, proteins help in increasing the mineral density so that bone density increases in order to prevent bone disorders.

Probiotics which is a kind of friendly bacteria also helps in preventing bone loss because they increase the mineral density of bones.

5. Yogurt Enhances Your Digestive Health

With the presence of good and lively bacteria in yogurt, no wonder why we call it “live food.” The bacteria present in yogurt are usually the ones that are naturally found in the human gut.

Our body requires these kinds of good bacteria for reducing the inflammation in the gut so as to reduce the damage of stomach lining.

Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the two types of good bacteria which are naturally found in the gut. Interestingly, you can procure these bacteria by consuming yogurt.

In fact, the preparation of yogurt involves the addition of live cultures to milk which makes it different from curd. Yogurt involves the addition of live cultures which ferments the milk into yogurt whereas curd is prepared by addition of curd again at a temperature of 30-40 degree Celsius.

This causes the lactobacillus bacteria to convert milk into curd. However, both curd and yogurt contain probiotics in them. These can also prevent constipation and help you maintain a clean and healthy gut!

6. Yogurt Boosts Your Immune System

Apart from gaining the individual health benefits of yogurt, you can obtain an overall immune system enhancement through regular consumption of yogurt.

The credit again goes to probiotics present in yogurt that can fight against the allergies, giving your immune system a perfect boost!

Our immune system works efficiently on the basis of protein synthesis which is why getting too little amounts of proteins can actually lower our immunity and make us susceptible to diseases.

Adult men and women require 46-56 grams of proteins per day and just one cup of yogurt helps you meet 28% of your daily protein requirement.

You can meet your daily protein requirement by consuming 2 cups of fresh yogurt per day and include other protein-rich sources into your diet.

One main reason why you require proteins for the healthy functioning of the immune system is that the antibodies or the immunoglobulins that we find in the blood are nothing but glycoprotein molecules that can ward off the pathogens like bacteria and virus.

7. Health Benefits Of Yogurt For Mental Wellbeing

The intake of probiotics is related to mental health and this was proved through an experiment that was conducted on mice.

The experiment showed that the intake of probiotics reduced stress levels. This can prevent some serious mental health issues like depression, anxiety and also Alzheimer’s.

Also, your mental state can be disturbed when you suffer from serious stomach disorders like Chron’s disorder and Irritable bowel syndrome.

You can choose to prevent these stomach disorders from negatively impacting your mental health by consuming yogurt on a regular basis.

Probiotics keep your gut happy which in turn gives you a great mind relaxation! You can make the best benefits of yogurt for both mental and physical health so as to enhance your overall health.

8. Yogurt For Lowering The Blood Pressure Levels

Yogurt is an excellent source of reducing blood pressure because just one cup of yogurt contains 626 mg of potassium which can reduce the levels of sodium thereby helping in a decrease of blood pressure against your arteries.

There were various studies that proved that the intake of yogurt (five servings per week) helped in reducing the risk of developing Hypertension.

However, consuming just yogurt without making an attempt to lose weight may not reduce your blood pressure levels because people suffering from obesity require their heart to function much harder in order to pump the blood which in turn increases the blood pressure.

Therefore, you may not attain the benefits of eating yogurt for lowering the blood pressure levels unless you strive hard to lose weight.

9. Benefits Of Yogurt Of Skin

You can make use of this nutritional ingredient to prepare a healthy face mask because the probiotics present in yogurt can reduce the inflammation and lactic acid can eliminate dead cells from the skin.

Yogurt is a great anti-aging ingredient because it can tighten your skin pores and also help in removing the wrinkles and lines present on your face.

To prepare a perfect yogurt face mask, you will need the following ingredients.

Ingredients required

• Yogurt – One tablespoon
• Honey – One teaspoon
• Lime juice – One teaspoon

How To Prepare?

Add honey and lime juice into yogurt and mix them well. Apply the mixture all over your face and neck using your forefingers or a brush.

Make sure that you apply the face pack evenly such that it gets deeply embedded into your skin pores.

Let it remain on your face for about half an hour and let it become dry. Wash it off with lukewarm water and nourish it using a good homemade moisturizer.

10. Yogurt For Smooth And Healthy Hair

Yogurt acts as an excellent moisturizing agent that nourishes your scalp and hair. It works the best for people with frizzy hair because it acts as a great conditioner that makes your hair smooth and soft.

Yogurt can also reduce excessive hair fall because it can clog your hair follicles and it can also produce good levels of sebum.

How To Prepare A Yogurt Hair Mask?

Ingredients Required

• Ripe banana – Half or one (depending on the length of your hair)
• Yogurt – One tablespoon
• Honey – 2-3 tablespoons
• Lime juice –  One tablespoon

How To Apply?

Mash the ripe banana to form a smooth paste. Add honey, yogurt and lime juice to this paste and mix well until you obtain a smooth paste.

Apply the mixture all over your hair and scalp right from the tip to the root of the hair and massage well using your forefingers.

Let it remain on your hair for one hour after which you can rinse it off using a mild shampoo and apply a good conditioner.

Make sure that you use honey in little quantities because honey can whiten your hair!

Which Type Of Yogurt To Choose?

Yogurt that is prepared from skim milk is the best because it does not contain fats. Contrary to this, yogurt prepared from whole milk is full of fat which can increase the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol).

Choose the ones which are plain because these are not added with sugars. Flavoured yogurts may increase the calories because they are added with additional sweetening agents.

Also, keep in mind that you must choose live cultured brands of yogurt because these contain a good number of probiotics that will fetch you the best yogurt benefits!

Yogurt Nutrition

Apart from being rich in probiotics (which are good bacteria), proteins and healthy carbs, one cup of fresh and plain yogurt which is around 245 grams (prepared from skim milk) contains the following nutrients.

Vitamins	Grams	%DV (Percentage of daily requirement that it meets)
Vitamin A	17.2 IU	0
Vitamin C	2.2 mg	4%
Vitamin K	0.5 mcg	1%
Thiamin	0.1 mg	8%
Riboflavain	0.6 mg	34%
Niacin	0.3 mg	2%
Vitamin B6	0.1 mg	6%
Folate	29.4 mcg	7%
Vitamin B12	1.5 mcg	25%
Pantothenic acid	1.6 mg	16%
Choline	37.2 mg
Minerals	Grams	%DV (Percentage of daily requirement that it meets)
Calcium	488 mg	49%
Iron	0.2 mg	1%
Magnesium	46.5 mg	12%
Phosphorous	385 mg	38%
Potassium	625 mg	18%
Sodium	189 mg	8%
Zinc	2.4 mg	16%
Selenium	8.8 mcg	13%
Flouride	29.4 mcg
Other elements	Grams	%DV (Percentage of daily requirement that it meets)
Carbohydrates	18.8 grams	6%
Proteins	14.0 grams	28%
Fats	0.4 grams	1%