Harsh Truths About Curd |
Curd is the essential key for your health because it contains all the nutrients needed for the body. It is one of the best food that helps in maintaining a healthy life. Curd has many health benefits, but do you know there are some mistakes that people make while consuming curd.
Table Of Contents
Why Is Curd So Healthy?
The answer to your question is quite simple. In addition to being a tasty food item, the curd is also recognized as a probiotic (good bacteria) food. It helps in improving digestion owing to its rich content of live bacteria and enzymes. Curd helps in maintaining a healthy digestive system by getting rid of toxins from the body and preventing constipation. The good bacteria in curd boosts your immunity, which prevents you from falling sick easily.
Curd contains lactic acid bacteria, which are beneficial for our health and can be considered as one of the reasons why curd is healthy. Lactic acid bacteria or lactobacillus help in curing ulcers and other intestinal problems by maintaining the pH level in the gut. These bacteria have antibacterial properties that protect you from diseases such as diarrhea and constipation.
Curd is highly nutritious, as it contains calcium, protein, phosphorus, and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) in high amounts. Calcium consumption keeps bones strong and healthy. Regular intake of curd can reduce weight, as it has less fat than butter or cheese.
Some studies show that eating yogurt with probiotics can reduce levels of total cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol, which is linked to a higher risk for heart disease.
Curd Should Not Be Combined With These Foods
Curd is a wonderful food, rich in nutrients and probiotics that are very good for our system. It also has great cooling properties for the body and makes for a perfect summer snack option.
However, according to Ayurveda, curd should not be eaten with certain other foods as it can prove to be toxic. Here are the list of foods you should never combine with curd:
1. Fruits
Curd is acidic which does not go well with most fruits. It is best to have curd alone or with vegetables but avoid mixing it with fruit salad. Some of these fruits include bananas, melons, and sour fruits
Melons
Melons, especially watermelon, should not be mixed with curd as they are considered incompatible according to Ayurveda. Watermelon is a cold fruit and so is curd and when these two come together they lead to mucus formation in the body which could lead to coughs, colds, and even allergic reactions.
Banana
Bananas are a rich source of potassium. Carbs in bananas are digested quickly while fats are digested at a slow pace. The lactic acid present in curd comes from milk which is a protein-rich food. When both foods come together, they tend to form toxins in the body which is bad for the stomach and intestines.
Mango
This combination is considered by Ayurveda to be one of the worst combinations because both mangoes and curd are acidic. Both have different digestion times, hence this combination when eaten together can lead to various digestive problems like bloating and indigestion.
2. Cucumber
Cucumbers have a cooling effect on the body too and when combined with curd it leads to a heavy feeling in the stomach which slows down digestion. This could lead to malnourishment of the body as the nutrients from both these foods do not get absorbed by our system properly due to their incompatibility.
3. Honey
While we might love our curd with honey as a dessert, health experts do not recommend having them together. Honey contains sugar that produces heat and curd can cause acidity when mixed with honey.
4. Oil-rich foods
As per Ayurveda, the combination of oil and curd is extremely heavy on the stomach and leads to indigestion or heaviness in the stomach. So avoid eating oily food like fried items or deep-fried snacks right after you eat curd.
5. Milk
Milk and curd are both dairy products but they don't go well together according to Ayurveda diet experts. Milk is a heavy food item and increases mucus production when combined with curd. This leads to the formation of phlegm, which is bad for your respiratory system.
6. Onion
Onion Curd Raita is one of the popular side dishes in India. The bad news is that curd is not recommended to take with onion.
Curd is a dairy product rich in calcium and protein. Onion is enriched with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Both the food items offer many health benefits. But the combination of onion with curd is bad for your digestive system.
A combination of these two foods can cause fainting, heartburn, and other digestion issues. The reason behind this is that curd contains lactobacillus bacteria which reduces the problem of acidity and also boosts your immune system. But onion has antibiotics properties that kill all the good bacteria like curd which makes it a bad combination.
7. Fish And Meat
Fish and meat should never be had with curd. According to Ayurveda experts, fish and meat have hot potency and when combined with curd, it leads to toxins in the body which causes indigestion.
Curd Should Not Be Consumed Daily
Curd is extremely nutritious for your body. It contains a high amount of vitamin D, beneficial bacteria, and calcium. Curd helps in digestion and boosts immunity. However, it should not be consumed daily.
According to Ayurveda, the curd is heavy to digest and should be consumed only in small quantities. Eating curd at night can also cause weight gain as it takes a long time to digest.
However, if you consume curd daily, then make sure that you do not eat it at night or before going to bed. The ideal time to consume curd is during breakfast or lunch.
Curd Should Never Be Consumed At Night
Curd contains a type of acid that can increase stomach acid levels, which can cause indigestion and other issues.
If you consume curd before going to bed, it can affect your sleep, as well.
Curd is mostly consumed during the day, as a part of people's diets. Curd contains a type of acid that can increase stomach acid levels, which can cause indigestion and other issues. One should avoid consuming curd at night. It is also suggested to not eat curd in the evening time. Eating curd before sleeping could even lead to weight gain due to its high-calorie content. If one still wishes to have curd at night then they must have curd made from skimmed milk or buttermilk so that there is no fat accumulation in the body and it does not affect the sleep cycle either.
Can Curd Be Heated?
When you think of curd, the first thing that comes to your mind is ‘cool’. It’s cool and soothing nature makes it a perfect drink in summer. It helps in digestion and is considered a healthy snack. Curd is made by adding curd starter to milk. It contains lactic acid bacteria which helps in keeping our body healthy. But have you ever thought that heating curd can destroy its properties? Yes! Heating curd can indeed destroy its properties.
According to several studies, heating curd leads to a loss of calcium. Calcium carbonate present in curd undergoes hydrolysis when heated and thus decreases the amount of calcium available for absorption by our body. In addition, the protein content also decreases upon heating curd.
Curd contains good bacteria which are known as probiotics. Probiotics help in maintaining a healthy digestive system and boost immunity levels. Heating curd destroys these bacteria and leads to upset stomach, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, etc. Even cooling curd reduces the number of these helpful bacteria and hence should be avoided at all costs.
By now you must be wondering how to keep curd fresh without refrigeration?
It is possible to make curd without the use of a refrigerator. Traditional Indian homes still do not have refrigerators and curd continues to be made there.
To make such curd, you need to get a few things right:
1. The milk should be fresh and clean. You can leave it at room temperature for about 24 hours before making curd out of it so that it attains room temperature. Do not heat the milk before making curd.
2. The vessel used for making curd should be very clean. Any utensil used in this process should be clean and preferably non-metallic.
3. The entire process must be carried out at a relatively warm temperature (room temperature).
Take Away
This article sheds some light on the matter and tells us about some foods that should never be consumed with curd. The combination is surprising but true. The best way to consume curd is by having it early in the morning. Never heat curd while consuming because heating may kill the living micro-organisms inside the curd. Never keep it in a refrigerator for more than 1-2 days. Hope you like the post. Stay tuned with us for more such reader-friendly articles.
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Wow so much info about curd 😊 interesting
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