Buttermilk is also called as chaas is common drink in most Indian households. Made of by adding water to curd and spices like jeera, ginger, pepper, kadi patta, coriander leaves, salt and green chillies, this drink is most commonly had right after the meal. But this is not the only time you can enjoy it. Drinking it right after the long hot day in the sun is a great way to fight dehydration and exhaustion. The thought of the digestive.
Helps to calm stomach after a spicy meal:
Made with cool, watered down curd, this drink is perfect to soothe a stomach. As you drink it the cool butter milk tends to wash down spices and calms an irritable stomach lining. By the way a study found that the milk and milk products were the best remedies for a short period of extra spicy foods, as milk is the only agent that can wash down the chemicals that cause the feeling of spiciness. Apart from that the pepper, jeera, kadi patta and other condiments help to soothe the stomach and ease it of any irritation it may have suffered due to spicy foods.
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10 health benefits of buttermilk
Cuts down fats:
Had a heavy meal? If you feel like a stranded whole or simply have eaten too much then drink the little bit of buttermilk. The ginger, pepper and other spices in chaas help to improve the digestion and make you feel less uncomfortable. Apart from that buttermilk is very effective in washing down the fat, oil or ghee that normally coats inner walls of your food pipe and stomach making you feel instantaneously lighter.
Help in digestion:
Ginger, pepper and jeera all make an excellent digestive agents. Known for their carmative properties individually together in the tall glass of buttermilk, they make best natural digestive out there. So, If you feel an attack of indigestion coming on try sipping on some chaas for immediate relief. Are you suffering from the indigestion? Try mint to quiet your digestion trouble
A great tool against dehydration:
It has salt, water, curd, and spices; all mixed into it make a delicious drink. Packed with an electrolytes and lots of water, buttermilk is the best thing you can give your body to fight dehydration. With summer sun beating down on us, invest in the glass of buttermilk now and then for some much-needed relief from punish weather.
Gives you calcium without the fat:
Lactose intolerant people those who cannot have milk miss out on loading up on natural calcium. This is where buttermilk comes to the release. Buttermilk helps to give lactose fanatical people their dose of calcium without causing an unfavorable reaction. But apart from that, it is also a perfect way to get your fix of the calcium lacking the fat normally found in milk making it perfect for your diet.
B complex and other vitamins:
Buttermilk is an excellent source of vitamins like vitamin B complex, proteins and potassium. Vitamin B, particularly riboflavin is essential for the conversion of food to energy, secretion of hormones and digestion making buttermilk is an important method to beat diseases due to vitamin deficiency.
Reduces the blood pressure:
Buttermilk is rich in unique bioactive protein that has cholesterol, lowering, antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer properties. Drinking buttermilk significantly lowered the blood pressure, if had on a daily basis. Do you know about various natural alternatives for high blood pressure medication?
Also Read:- 10 Reasons why Lord Krishna’s favourite Butter is Healthy.
Brings about the drop in cholesterol:
Suffering from the high cholesterol and want to lower it naturally? Try having buttermilk. Components in chaas or buttermilk are very effectual in keeping one’s cholesterol levels under the check. According to Ayurveda practitioners drinking a tall glass of buttermilk once a day is the best way to keep your cholesterol levels in check. Read about how to reduce cholesterol levels naturally?
High in Bone-Building Calcium
One of the major health advantages connected with the buttermilk is its calcium content. You require 1,000 milligrams of calcium every day, and each cup of low-fat buttermilk brings you 284 milligrams, or 28 %, closer to this goal. That is just slightly less than normal low-fat 1 % milk, which contains 305 milligrams per cup. Getting sufficient calcium in the diet helps slow bone loss as your age, helps hold up new bone growth and staves off osteoporosis. Buttermilk’s calcium content offers other benefits as well, counting support for cell communication and muscle contraction.
Rich in Riboflavin
Add buttermilk to the diet and you will also get more riboflavin or vitamin B-2. The body uses riboflavin to make active enzymes in the cells, which helps to force energy production. Riboflavin also supports liver function — which helps to detoxify the body — and helps you make uric acid, a strong antioxidant. Each cup of buttermilk boasts 377 micrograms of riboflavin. This corresponds to 29 % of the daily riboflavin requires for men and 34 % for women. It falls a little short of the riboflavin content of low-fat milk, which provides 451 micrograms.
Protein-Packed
Buttermilk also enhances the protein intake. Every cell in your body contains protein, and all of your tissues rely on protein to repair and uphold themselves. Protein is particularly very important for strong bones, muscles and skin. A single cup of buttermilk supplies 8.1 grams of protein — approximately the same amount as usual low-fat milk — which makes up 15 and 17 % of the protein requires for men and women, respectively, according to dietary intake guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Drawbacks and Considerations
Watch out for 2 potential pitfalls — fat and sodium — when adding buttermilk to your diet. Even low-fat buttermilk contains 2.2 grams of total fat per serving, with 60 % of that made up of harmful saturated fat. In addition, buttermilk contains a surprising amount of sodium — 466 milligrams, or 20 percent of your daily limit. That’s much higher than the sodium count for regular low-fat milk, which contains just 107 milligrams per cup. Both saturated fat and sodium can threaten your cardiovascular health — sodium boosts blood pressure, which increases the strain on your blood vessels and heart, while saturated fat increases your cholesterol. Consume buttermilk in moderation, as part of a healthy balanced diet, to minimize your risk.
Acidity:
A powerful tool to fight acidity, a butterfly has an essential condiment like pepper and ginger that help to beat the burning sensation you feel during a short period of acidity. Moreover the buttermilk cools the stomach and reduces the irritation in the stomach lining due to acid reflux, giving you relief from the discomfort.
Steps to make buttermilk:
Ingredients:
- Fresh curd : half a glass
- Cold water : One glass
- Salt : to taste
- Pepper : two pods
- Jeera : one small spoon
- Ginger : one-inch piece
- Kadi patta or curry leaves : two to three leaves
- Dhania patta : a small bunch of the leaves only
- Green chilies : one small chily finely chopped
Method:
Take the pepper, jeera, kadi patta, dhania patta, a ginger piece in a mortar and pestles and grind them well. Now take the curd and add the water to it. Mix it well so it forms a homogeneous solution. Now add the salt and the paste to the mixture. Stir well and serve cold.
This drink has many more health benefits. Here are the 10 reasons you should drink chaas or buttermilk on the regular basis.