Why You Should (or Should Not) Include Yogurt in Your Daily Diet?

Some stats about yogurt:

1. The retail sales of yogurt are about USD 274 million in the US in 2021

2. The growth rate of the dairy industry is 11%

3. The market is expected to grow to USD 12 billion by 2024

4. 35 million gallons of yogurt was produced in the US in 2021

5. Its per capita consumption is 13 pounds per person in the country

6. The per capita consumption of its frozen variant is 1.1 lb. per person

There is a reason that the consumption of such low-fat dairy products is increasing around the world. So many people around the world are looking for ways to include this excellent probiotic in their daily dietary habits- and this blog post will let you know why you too should do the same.

What Is Yogurt?

Yogurt (or yoghurt, yogourt, or yoghourt) is a dairy food produced by the bacterial fermentation of milk.

This popular probiotic is preferred by fitness professionals around the world. It is made using bacteria cultures by fermenting milk. The natural sugar in milk ferments and converts to lactic acid, and the two react with the proteins to give a unique flavor to the yogurt.

One may use the milk from cows, buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, yaks, and some plants to make yogurt. The milk may be homogenized and pasteurized as the need may be. The important thing to remember is that the quality, taste, and nutritious value differ with the type of milk and bacteria culture used. It may also depend on the duration of the fermentation process.

Did you know? The bacteria culture added is Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus bacteria, lactobacilli, and bifidobacteria.

Why Should You Have Yogurt Every Day?

Yogurt is a popular dairy product that is a part of almost everyone’s daily life. It tastes delicious and is good for weight loss because it keeps you full for long, thus keeping chit-chats off the course. It works just as well even if it has been a couple of hours since you last had it.

This dairy product also caters to a growing need for proteins in our bodies. However, it all depends on how you are consuming this superfood that can convert it into a secret calorie bomb instead of making it a weight-loss weapon. Here’s why else you should include this dairy food in your diet:

1. Rich in calcium

2. Rich in vitamin B12, magnesium

3. High in proteins

4. Rich in healthy bacteria

5. Has zinc and selenium

6. Has vitamin D

7. Rich in calcium, potassium

8. Has phosphorous

9.Contains saturated fats

10. Rich in good HDL cholesterol

Regularly consuming this dairy product will boost your digestive system to burn some belly fat faster, and would put you on the road to fitness.

Health benefits of yogurt

Yogurt is an amazing health-centric dairy product that can help you have a higher value of physical and mental health, provided you consume it in moderation. You should eat no more than two cups of it every day, though you may take more if your nutritionist approves of it.

It is rich in several vitamins and minerals, including B12, calcium, phosphorus, amino acids, and riboflavin. One cup of yogurt (245 gm) has about 9 gm of protein and is usually found as whey or casein. It is also a primary source of alpha caseins that maintains blood pressure and helps in weight loss.

Here are some health benefits of yogurt:

1. Helps in strengthening teeth and bones

2. Helps in resisting heart diseases

3. Controls appetite and production of hormones

4. Helps in digestion

5. Prevents gastrointestinal disorders

6. Boosts immunity

7. Helps in resisting seasonal infections

8. Prevents osteoporosis

9. Prevents low density of bones

10. Help prevent heart diseases

11. Helps in weight management

12. Can be had as a healthy snack

This probiotic also offers benefits for the skin, especially for women. Its regular application moisturizes the skin, brightens the skin tone, reduces fine lines and increases elasticity, and reduces blemishes and acne. Since this dairy product is also rich in zinc, it offers antifungal and antibacterial properties to ward off seasonal infections.

Can you add some chia seeds to yogurt?

Chia seeds contain insoluble fiber. This nutrient keeps your metabolism in shape by keeping you satiated for longer and cleaning up the toxins from your digestive system. These seeds are also rich in healthy fats, proteins, iron, calcium, and antioxidants.

If you eat chia seeds mixed in yogurt, you can expect significant health benefits like stronger immunity, improved metabolism, and better hunger and satiation levels. It would also keep you away from munching on less healthy foods that can only cause more harm.

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt’s high nutrition value offers a truckload of health-centric benefits for everyone. You would find it a potent source of your daily dietary requirement of calcium, zinc, potassium, protein, and vitamins B6 and B12. This would lead you to better bone and blood quality over a period of time, in addition to better immunity and fitness.

This dairy product is also a top-notch resource of probiotic bacteria that help in strengthening the digestive system and reduce belly fat. Since it is thicker and creamier, it has these nutrients in a more concentrated form. This probiotic food has a lower lactose content and more than double the protein content as compared to regular yogurt.

Here are the nutritional values for Greek yogurt:

The above values are taken from Wikipedia and are verified by USDA.

Is Greek yogurt a part of the Keto diet?

A natural or homemade variant is the best for the keto diet. You may note that even though this probiotic food contains some carbs, they still do not affect the results.

Is frozen yogurt keto-diet friendly?

Frozen variants may knock you out of your keto diet if they are not homemade (are synthetic) or when you consume them in excess.

Is Greek yogurt good for weight loss?

Yes, Greek yogurt is considered the best variant of yogurt for weight loss. Rich in calcium and phosphorous, it strengthens immunity and muscular structure. This calcium-rich dairy food is a complete health food in itself and is recommended for obese people.

How many calories are in frozen yogurt?

A sweetened and flavored frozen chocolate or vanilla yogurt could contain 159 calories per 100 gm of serving.

What is a fat-free Greek yogurt?

Fat-free yogurt is made of skimmed milk and has little to no fat. It is considered an ideal option for those with heart or thyroid issues or those suffering from diabetes or obesity.

How much protein is there in yogurt?

As can be seen from the nutritional table above, every 100 gm of this probiotic may contain up to 9 gms of proteins.

How to make frozen yogurt at home?

It is mighty simple and easy to make frozen yogurt at home without even using any machine. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Add your favorite fruit and some honey to a bowl

2. Run the mixture in a food processor

3. Blend until smooth

4. Freeze the mixture for some time

Tip: You should use good seasonal fruits and plain yogurt for a creamy texture.

What’s the difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt?

Regular and Greek variants both are good, but it all depends on what your priorities are. Regular yogurt has fewer calories but more calcium while Greek yogurt is thicker and has more protein content but less sugar.

Wellness experts warn of these disadvantages of yogurt too!

Healthy as it may be, this diary delight is not without some health issues, especially if taken in an ill-advised manner. Here are some mistakes that people commit before consuming yogurt:

1.It could be rich in sugar, and you should not take it if you are diabetic

2. If you are lactose intolerant, you should not take it

3. If you are allergic to any of its nutrients, you should not take it

4. Eating too much of it could lower your BP and make you sleepy

5. An excess consumption could also cause indigestion and diarrhea

6. Bad quality yogurt could be made of animal bones and gelatin

7. It may lower lipoproteins, thus affecting your heart

Too much of it can cause stones in the kidney or gallbladder

We thus recommend that you consult a wellness expert to know how much of this healthy probiotic you should take every day. She would also advise you about the foods that you may or may not take with it, especially if you are suffering from any health ailment that we have discussed above.