As you all know, buttermilk is very famous all around India. The health benefits of buttermilk are fantastic to know, and it acts as a soothing summer drink. In most of the northern parts of India, it is known as "Chaas". Buttermilk is mainly consumed as a summer drink, but in some cases, you can also cook buttermilk and use it in different recipes.
It may sound like a high-fat drink, but actually, it's the opposite; it's healthy, delicious and lightweight on your stomach. According to Ayurvedic texts, it is recommended to drink a glass of buttermilk regularly because of the fantastic health benefits it provides to your body.
What is buttermilk?
Buttermilk gets its name from its making process. In traditional days, buttermilk was made from the leftover liquid of the whole milk that was churned into butter. It may sound like a high-fat drink, but actually, it is low in fat and high in nutrients.
Buttermilk is basically fermented milk with lactic bacteria. Nowadays, it is a very common process, as they add bacterial structure to milk and ferment the lactose in milk, which then generates lactic acid. The tangy taste you feel in buttermilk is actually because of lactic acid.
Buttermilk also works as a probiotic, which helps you digest food properly. Probiotics actually help you improve your digestive health, as probiotics functions are to repopulate your stomach with bacteria that help in digestion. It also works as a natural way of detoxification of your body.
Consuming buttermilk on a daily basis helps improve your immune system and removes deadly toxic substances from your body.
Buttermilk is actually thicker than regular cow milk. As buttermilk has lactic acid in it, the pH level of buttermilk reduces, and the casein (the primary protein in cow milk) also solidifies. Due to low pH levels, buttermilk becomes thicker and curdles.
Because of the low pH level, the acidic properties of buttermilk increase, which helps prevent unwanted bacterial growth. At the same time, the pH level of cow milk is higher than the pH level of buttermilk, as cow milk's pH is (6.7-6.9) and the pH level of buttermilk milk is (4.4-4.8).
Nutritional Value of Buttermilk
As we talk about buttermilk, we are also talking about the nutrient values present in buttermilk, it is a powerhouse of essential nutrients packed in creamy, tang beverage. Buttermilk have a good amount of probiotic, that helps with digestion.
Buttermilk helps in lowering high blood pressure as well as it helps in maintaining triglyceride level. It is also very helpful in lowering cholesterol level. Buttermilk is a rich source of protein and calcium, and the protein in it helps with healthy muscles, bones, and skin.
At the same time, the calcium in buttermilk helps with strong teeth and bones. Buttermilk also contains fewer calories than milk due to the removal of cream from milk and then the butter churning process. Valuable parts of the buttermilk nutrient are calcium and protein. It also has potassium, sodium, vitamins, and a trace of phosphorus, which help maintain good health.
Consuming buttermilk on a daily basis can help keep your body cool, strengthen the body, and help you stay energetic throughout the day.
10 Health Benefits of Buttermilk
1. Bone health booster
Buttermilk is an amazing source of calcium and phosphorus. Your teeth, bones, and blood include a significant amount of calcium, making calcium the most common mineral present in your body.
Buttermilk, on the other hand, has a great amount of calcium in it, which helps in making your bones and teeth stronger, whereas people who are lactose intolerant can also consume buttermilk for the natural calcium source as we all know that healthy bone needs regular calcium, as well as other minerals too to stay healthy and what better than buttermilk.
2. Buttermilk contributes to healthy immunity
Drinking buttermilk daily will boost your immune system and help protect you from a variety of infections. As buttermilk is packed with lots of nutrients and lactic acid, it has the potential to boost antibody synthesis, which helps boost healthy immunity and helps guard the body against infections and illnesses positively. Also, the probiotics in buttermilk help with gut health and the immune system.
3. Natural coolant for the body
Buttermilk is an amazingly refreshing drink, and it also helps in cooling your body's internal temperature. The cooling properties of buttermilk have a soothing effect, too. Buttermilk can become an alternative to chemical-laden cold drinks, as it cools your body, keeps you energetic and has amazing health benefits.
A glass of buttermilk topped with ice cubes, cumin seeds, mints, and salt can give you instant calm from heat and cool your body heat. Buttermilk also gives relief to post-menopausal women who face hot flashes.
4. Prevent dehydration
Buttermilk is actually made from water and curd in most places, as ninety per cent of buttermilk contains water and electrolytes like potassium, so it is a perfect drink to keep your body hydrated on hot summer days as it is a natural source of electrolytes and has cooling properties to it.
5. Lactose intolerant friendly
People with lactose intolerance can consume buttermilk without any worry, as it has lactic acid, which helps in the easy digestion of lactose. Making of buttermilk involves adding bacteria which breaks down the lactose present in the milk, then those bacteria convert lactose into lactic acid and make it easy to digest for people who are lactose intolerant.
6. Helps in detoxification
Buttermilk contains riboflavin, which helps the body convert food into energy, which helps the body perform various functions. It also helps the body to secret several hormones that improve the functionality of the liver and facilitate detoxification; the liver is the main organ that detoxes the body, and buttermilk just helps that function a little. Consuming buttermilk on a daily basis can help remove toxins from the body.
7. Good for gut health
Buttermilk has healthy bacteria and lactic acid that helps the body with digestion. It also helps improve your metabolism and consuming buttermilk in a healthy amount will help maintain bowel movement and reduce constipation. Buttermilk also helps prevent stomach infections and several other diseases.
8. Helps in lowering blood pressure
Buttermilk helps in lowering high blood pressure as it has bioactive protein that has cholesterol-reducing properties. Buttermilk also has the potential to benefit patients with hypertension and heart diseases.
Meanwhile, buttermilk is recommended for high blood pressure patients. Buttermilk has a good amount of potassium, which also helps with blood pressure; consumption of an adequate amount of buttermilk is always healthy for you.
9. Reduce acidity
One of the top benefits of buttermilk is that it is a yoghurt-based refreshing drink that also helps reduce acidity. Food that is spicy and oily can result in heartburn symptoms and acid reflux. A glass of buttermilk after food can relieve you from all the digestion-related issues.
Lactic acid present in buttermilk is the key to helping with acidity, irritation in the stomach, and other stomach-related problems. Adding salt, coriander and cumin seed into buttermilk and topping it up with ice cubes can instantly ease symptoms of acidity. Adding some condiments, such as pepper or dried ginger, can increase taste and improve its properties.
10. It helps in keeping cholesterol levels healthy
Consuming buttermilk regularly can help in managing your body's cholesterol levels. Having buttermilk with water, cumin seeds, salt and ice cubes gives your body immanence health benefits, refreshment and one is managing triglycerides and cholesterol level.
Some other amazing health benefits of buttermilk are:-
Consuming buttermilk at night: Having buttermilk at night can help you sleep well as it contains tryptophan and amino acids that promote sound sleep and relax the mind.
On the other hand, it also helps with muscle recovery and digestion as drinking buttermilk before bed can give you a feeling of fullness, whereas the calming and soothing properties of buttermilk can give a calm effect to the nervous system, which also adds stress reduction and better sleep.
Consuming buttermilk on an empty stomach: Having buttermilk on an empty stomach as a probiotic for helps with better digestion all over the day, on the other hand, it will give you refreshing feeling at the start of the day. Due to high amount of water content in buttermilk it hydrates your body.
How to make buttermilk at home?
- You can get buttermilk by churning Full-fat cream milk; after the butter comes on top, the leftover liquid is buttermilk.
- You can take curd in a glass, add an equal amount of water to it, and mix it well. You can add salt, cumin seeds, coriander, and mint to it to add a moving flavour to buttermilk.
Conclusion
Buttermilk is a popular refreshing drink in dairy products; it has many health benefits due to the presence of nutrients and minerals. Consuming buttermilk daily can help you in maintaining healthy body weight and blood pressure. It is a popular drink across India, most people consume it with meal or take it as a replacement of energy drink.
