Are you someone who loves to have that cold bowl of curd every day? But are you avoiding that creamy, tangy deliciousness because it scares you? Well, you are not alone. Most of our population considers curd a fattening food item and attempts to stay away from it. But is that a healthy approach? Should the calories in curd scare you?

In today’s society, where food as an element has been reduced to solely the calories it provides, the popular fear of curd is not unfound. But, when we compare food items and their quantities to limit our calorie intake, we often forget that food is not just calories. There are way more elements in the food apart from calories; it is important to keep this in mind while curating your diet.

What is Curd?

Before diving into the specifics of curd, let’s look at the basics of curd. Curd or Dahi is a fermented milk product that originated in India. It is usually prepared by making the cow’s, buffalo’s, or goat’s milk undergo bacterial fermentation. This is the process by which the lactose in milk is converted into lactic acid. The process is done by several probiotic microorganisms. Now that we have a basic understanding of curd let’s look at the number of calories in curd.

Calories in Curd

Unlike popular opinion, the curd is not a food that is extremely high in calories. Yeah, it isn’t. Curd calories are not high enough to declare it an unhealthy option. Still sceptical? Ok, want to check how many calories are in 100 gm. of curd. 100 gm. of plain unflavored whole milk curd has approximately 61 calories in it. But these calories in curd will differ with your cup of curd. For example, a cup of homemade curd will have approximately 142 calories. Yup, the calories in curd differ with the type of curd you use. But even so, it cannot be termed as an unhealthy food option because of the vast amount of nutritional benefits it contains.

The nutritional benefits of curd

As I stated before, calories are not the only factor in food that determines whether or not it is healthy for you. So, the calorie in curd cannot solely determine whether it is good or not. In order to arrive at that decision, you will have to examine several properties of curd in depth. So let’s look at the various nutrients embedded in curd besides the calories in curd.

Protein

Curd is a food that is significantly high in protein. A normal bowl of curd contains 10 to 12 grams of protein per cup. Well, just like the calories in curd, the protein content in curd, too, can vary with the type of curd you are consuming. The milk protein called Casein or Whey in the curd will help your body absorb the mineral and maintain blood pressure. Further, the branched-chain-amino acids present in curd, namely valine, leucine and isoleucine, will help your weight loss journey.

Vitamins

The vitamin content in curd, like the calories in curd, depends upon the type of milk used for curd preparation. Whole-fat milk is the best kind that can be used to get a healthy amount of vitamins. Let’s look at what all vitamins curd provides to your body.

Vitamin B12

Curd is an excellent source of B12, especially for vegetarians. Why? B12 is a nutrient usually obtained from fish, meat and poultry. So that makes curd the only natural source for vegetarians to access this nutrient. It is the vitamin that keeps your nerves and blood cells healthy. It also helps you to prevent contracting megaloblastic anaemia. As a result, irrespective of the calories in curd, it is a very good source of Vitamin B12.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that accelerates the cellular communication of our body. It also helps to improve our vision, reproduction and boost our immunity. We can find this highly beneficial element in curd. To be exact, almost 2% of curd consists of Vitamin A.

Vitamin C

Yup, curd is an excellent source of Vitamin C. That means having curd will contribute towards helping your immune system and encourage collagen formation. Yes, that is why our older generation uses it as a mask on both hair and face.

Minerals

Curd is also a healthy source of numerous minerals that benefit your well-being. Want to know which they are?

Calcium

Curd is an excellent source of Calcium that can be easily accessed by our body. As an element that contributes to strengthening your bones and teeth, it is an essential nutrient for our body’s well-being. Furthermore, it will help us clot and contract blood and muscle, making it all the more important.

Potassium

Potassium is a mineral that will help your nervous system to function properly. Just like Calcium, it also aids in muscle contractions. Potassium is also important because it helps transport nutrients to cells. Furthermore, it also aids in the removal of toxins from our body cells.

Zinc

Zinc is another essential mineral that our bodies can’t produce. That means we have to supplement sufficient quantities of Zinc daily, through our food, for the proper functioning of our body. Even though not a lot, curd contains small amounts of Zinc. As a mineral that improves our immune system, aids in our growth and helps in our DNA synthesis, it is a mineral we can’t afford to avoid.

Phosphorous

Phosphorous is a mineral that is highly beneficial in numerous biological processes. The most important of them are the growth, repair and maintenance of our body cells and tissues.

Riboflavin

Now let’s move on to other nutrients. Riboflavin is a nutrient that aids our body in breaking down carbohydrates, fats and proteins to produce energy. It also helps in the maintenance of our overall health and well-being.

Lactic Acid

Lactic acid is one of the essential components in milk. The milk will convert to curd when you add acid to it. That is because when you add acid to milk, two different bacteria, lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles, act on the fats and proteins in the milk and break them down. Moreover, during this process, the lactose in milk is converted to lactic acid, a more digestible form.

Monosaturated fatty acids

Curd contains there types of fatty acids within it. They are Oleic acid, Stearic acid and Palmitic Curd. These fatty acids don’t just add calories to curd. That also makes it a lot more healthy and beneficial.

Probiotics

Now comes the major reason why you shouldn’t judge curd solely based on the calories in curd. Curd is essentially a highly beneficial probiotic food. That means curd contains several live and good bacteria in it. Some of them are Lactic acid and bifidobacteria. Are you wondering why it is such an important thing?

Probiotic bacteria are extremely beneficial in having smooth digestion and stomach ailment. It will also help you lower your cholesterol levels and chances of getting diarrhoea. Some of the main bacterial cultures in Curd are Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles. So, in short, curd is a very good source of numerous essential nutrients that are irreplaceable for the smooth functioning of our body.

Should the calories in curd scare you?

I hope the answer to that question is evident to you guys by now. No, the calories in curd shouldn’t scare you but encourage you to make it a part of your daily diet. As we saw earlier, the major portion of fat included in curd comes from monosaturated fatty acids, which are highly beneficial for our body. So, if consumed in moderate quantities, curd can benefit your well-being in many ways.

Yes, some of us will not be able to have curd, even after all these persuasions. The unfortunate souls among us who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk have no way to access the goodness of probiotics, right? Or is there a way?

Nutriplus GutHealth

This product can single-handedly save all milk-hating, milk-allergic, lactose-intolerant people from maintaining their health. Nutriplus GutHealth is a probiotic supplement that will help you maintain your gut flora or, in other words, your gut health. Are you wondering how?

This product contains five species of beneficial bacteria. They are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus bulgaricus , Bifidobacterium longum and Streptococcus thermophiles. They will create a healthy gut environment. This will, in turn, improve the process of absorption and utilization of nutrients. Moreover, the probiotic in the Nutriplus GutHealth will also improve your bowel movements.

Finally, I must say that don’t just count the calories in curd or any food. Always keep in mind that food is always much more than simple calories. And for those few who cannot access the goodness of curd, make sure you supplement your body with essential nutrients using Nutriplus GutHealth. Remember, your health is more important than anything else. So don’t ever compromise with it.