Are You Eating Your Yogurt Right? 6 Life-Changing Yogurt Benefits
Yogurt has always been my comfort food and I also enjoy making a variety of healthy delicious breakfast with yogurt too. Along the process, I have tried yogurt bought from the store and also homemade yogurt with a yogurt machine. You will be surprised by how easy you can make healthy homemade yogurt with the machine. By having the machine, you can enjoy better yogurt which is less sweet and not filled with stabilizer as most of the commercial yogurt from the store, and get all yogurt benefits. Here, we have shortlisted some best yogurt makers available at the market.
We have known that yogurt is good for our body, but in fact, how well do you know about the benefits of the yogurt? During this peak flu season worldwide, do you know that you can minimize your risk of infecting the viruses, including the Wuhan Coronavirus if you have a yogurt a day? Here, you are going to learn more surprising yogurt benefits that you wish you’d know earlier through some general questions we have about yogurt.
Can yogurt boost up our immune system to fight against viruses?
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Along with the global panic of the recent Wuhan Coronavirus, we seriously need to be concerned of how we can protect ourselves or boost up our immune system. Statistics have shown that many of those who have passed away are those who were already in poor health. People with respiratory or immune problems are more likely to be infected by the coronavirus.
Facing such critical flu season, we need to make sure that our immune system is strong enough to resist such virus besides other preventive measures such as wearing masks and washing hands with soaps and sanitizers. One of the easiest ways is certainly having yogurt as part of your daily meals. Yogurt is proven to have immune boosting effects by making your infection-fighting cells (T-cells) stronger and more active. You will be less likely to get flu, which is the initial symptom of the coronavirus.
When we have yogurt in our daily meal, our body will produce more antibodies, and the white blood cell will be more active too. This will surely boost up our immune system and protect us from the viruses. When you eat a lot of yogurt, you will also have more good bacteria in your intestines too. This is we can improve or restore these bacteria, the gut flora, with yogurt which contains probiotics. And when you gut is happy, you will be happy too as you will have a stronger immune system to fight against the viruses.
Can yogurt help those who suffer digestive problems?
Generally, there are almost 400 trillion bacteria in our body, and most of them are living in our intestines. This is why we need a healthy amount of good bacteria living in our digestive system. So, how can we make these good bacteria thrive in our digestive tract? The answer is simple, by eating yogurt regularly. This is because yogurt contains probiotics that can replace the good bacteria when you lose them in your body. Lactobacillus, the common probiotics found in yogurt, is effective in treating digestive problems such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and infectious diarrhea caused by antibiotic. So, yogurt is surely a good remedy for those who have digestive problems. To ensure that you are eating the right yogurt that contains probiotics, you need to choose those with “live and active cultures” on the label.
How about those are intolerant to lactose? Worry not, homemade yogurt fits you as it only contains low lactose content. You can start with a small amount of yogurt to see how your body reacts. By eating yogurt, you can gain good bacteria that help you in your digestion and more calcium in which you cannot obtain from other dairy products due to lactose intolerance. However, those who have milk allergy will not benefit from eating yogurt.
How about those who have problem with their stomachs, especially with chronic gastritis? You can only have yogurt after at least one hour having a full meal. We are concerned that the massive stomach acid might affect your digestive health. As for normal individuals, you can eat yogurt on an empty stomach as the probiotics in the yogurt should arrive in the large intestines lively to maintain digestion. The bacteria might not as active and effective as it is if you eat yogurt after your meals.
Can yogurt help me to have stronger bones?
After the age of 40, our body does not replace the bone tissue as quickly as we lose it. So, we need other ways to prevent bone thinning. What our bones need is calcium and Vitamin D. Guess what, we can get them in homemade yogurt. Yogurt does not only provide key nutrients like calcium, protein, potassium, phosphorus and Vitamin D to maintain bone strength, it also contains probiotics and prebiotics to prevent bone loss. This is because probiotics and prebiotics regulate our gut flora and our body can absorb calcium quicker.
So, yogurt is an absolutely ‘Yes” if you wish to build stronger bones and prevent osteoporosis.
Can yogurt prevent me from getting cancer?
Since yogurt can improve our digestive and bone health, you might wonder how far yogurt can thrive to improve your health. Indeed, yogurt can protect you from cancer such colon, breast, ulcer, and stomach. You did not read it wrong; yogurt can PROTECT you from cancer. Yogurt is a protective food against breast and colon cancers as it is rich in conjugated linoleic acid. You can prevent peptic ulcer and stomach cancer too because when you eat yogurt, you can prevent helicobacter pylori infection.
Can yogurt help me to lose weight?
Most of the individuals have myth that starving or eating less is the best way to lose weight. However, research shows that diet with high calcium and protein can help to loss fat effectively. High calcium food increase body fat breakdown and reduce belly fat along with the reduced calorie diet. You should also focus on high protein food that can promote fullness and also provide you energy to carry out your daily activities. Yogurt is a perfect food because it is a low-fat food with high calcium and protein. Study has shown those who ate yogurt lost 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than those who just cut calories and did not include calcium in their diet. Besides, you can certainly choose yogurt as your snack as yogurt increases the level of hormones that promote fullness. You will not need to sacrifice your snack while losing your weight.
How to Enjoy Your Yogurt The Right Way
For your maximal health boost, you need to consider certain factors in choosing the right yogurt. Generally, you should choose plain and unsweetened yogurt. You should also choose yogurt with live or active cultures to improve the good bacteria in your gut. To make sure you enjoy your yogurt the right way, we have a great source from WebMD for you as a reference.
So, don’t just read about yogurt. Get yourself a good yogurt maker and let yogurt make the magic in your body.
How to use a Yogurt Maker
Here are some simple steps on how you can make homemade yogurt at home with the E Euro Cuisine YM80 Yogurt Maker.
Step 1: Heat the milk to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. This can create a thicker yogurt base.
(Photo credit to Jessica Harlan, Pinterest)
Step 2: Cool the milk to 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the instant read thermometer to know the milk is cooled to 112 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Photo credit to Jessica Harlan, Pinterest)
Step 3: Pour out one cup of warm milk and add the yogurt starter. You can look for lactic acid forming bacteria for a good starter. Then, stir the rest of the milk with the yogurt starter.
(Photo credit to Jessica Harlan, Pinterest)
Step 4: Place jars into the yogurt maker and pout the milk into the jars.
(Photo credit to Jessica Harlan,Pinterest)
Step 5: Set the timer of the yogurt maker around 7-9 hours. You will get tasty and creamy yogurt after 7-9 hours.
Step 6: Place the jars in the fridge for cooling. After the cooling, the yogurt will become thicker and you can eat it plain, add it into your smoothie and even eat it with fresh fruits.
(Photo credit to Riou/Getty, Pinterest)
References
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Madison
Thanks for stopping at my blog. I'm Madison, a mother and a wife who loves to cook. I've also worked as a professional sous chef at Florida Grill. The concept of this blog is to share the best kitchen and cooking accessories without any bias. I wish my reviews and guide will help you to make a good decision in picking your ideal kitchenware.