Saturday 24 May 2014

Milk Vs. Yogurt: Which is Healthier?

Since centuries it has been said that a person should have a glass of milk everyday. Health experts say that milk has many important nutrients which are good for growth and maintenance of the body. However, many people today have lactose intolerance, such people simply can't have milk and milk products. But, there is one milk product which seems healthier and easier to digest than milk itself. This product doesn't give a stomach upset to people with lactose intolerance. 

Here is a comparison between milk benefits and yogurt benefits:

Easier to digest than milk: Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. 



Contributes to colon health: There's a medical truism that states: "You're only as healthy as your colon." When eating yogurt, you care for your colon in two ways. First, yogurt contains lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. Secondly, yogurt is a rich source of calcium - a mineral that contributes to colon health and decreases the risk of colon cancer. Calcium discourages excess growth of the cells lining the colon



Improves the bio-availability of other nutrients: Culturing of yogurt increases the absorption of calcium and B-vitamins. The lactic acid in the yogurt aids in the digestion of the milk calcium, making it easier to absorb. 


Boost immunity: Researchers who studied 68 people who ate two cups of live-culture yogurt daily for three months found that these persons produced higher levels of immunity boosting interferon.

Aids healing after intestinal infections: Some viral and allergic gastrointestinal disorders injure the lining of the intestines, especially the cells that produce lactose.  

Decrease yeast infections: Research has shown that eating eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures daily reduces the amount of yeast colonies in the vagina and decreases the incidence of vaginal yeast infections. 

Rich source of calcium: An 8-ounce serving of most yogurts provides 450 mg. of calcium, one-half of a child's RDA and 30 to 40 percent of the adult RDA for calcium. Because the live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium, an 8-ounce serving of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the same volume of milk can.  

Excellent source of protein: Plain yogurt contains around ten to fourteen grams of protein per eight ounces, which amounts to twenty percent of the daily protein requirement for most persons. 



Lowers cholesterol: There are a few studies that have shown that yogurt can reduce the blood cholesterol. This may be because the live cultures in yogurt can assimilate the cholesterol or because yogurt binds bile acids, (which has also been shown to lower cholesterol), or both.

Yogurt is a "grow food.": Two nutritional properties of yogurt may help children with intestinal absorption problems grow: the easier digestibility of the proteins and the fact that the lactic acid in yogurt increases the absorption of minerals.

Yogurt & Curd
There is a lot of confusion about yogurt and curd. These two milk items might seem similar, but are not. They are produced by two different methods. Curd is liquid milk, which gets transformed into solid form by adding an acidic substance to it like, lemon juice or vinegar. While yogurt is produced by adding live bacteria to milk and the lactose part gets metabolized. Also, yogurt is more liquid form, compared to curd.

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