Do you want to lead a healthy lifestyle? Check out our tips for improving your nutrition with dairy products!

 

H1: 4 Dairy Products to Include in Your Diet

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            The key to good health at any age is not only to stay off junk foods but also eat a healthy and varied diet. It is important to bear in mind that the cornerstone of any nutritious and health-boosting meal is fermented milk products. But even the most wholesome dairy product can’t help you write the essays for college. So, you should always seek writing help from only the best academic services!

Dairy products are made from milk or its derivatives (e.g., cream, skimmed milk, and whey) via fermentation (by introducing lactic acid bacteria or yeast).

Dairy products are divided into two groups:

1)   Lactic fermentation ones (cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt). In this case, bacteria break down the milk sugar and form lactic acid, thus significantly increasing the digestibility of a product.

2)   Mixed fermentation ones (lactic acid, and alcohol (buttermilk, acidophilus-yeast milk)). In this case, in addition to lactic acid, alcohol, carbon dioxide, and volatile acids are formed, which also increase the digestibility of food products.

H2: 1. The Use of Dairy Products

• Being a complete protein and calcium source, dairy products provide our cardiovascular, bone, and nervous systems with all the essential things they need to function properly, while their optimal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio makes them easily absorbable.
• Dairy products are digested much better than milk. Lactic and bifidobacteria contained in them help our body break down the milk protein more effectively. Only 32% of milk is absorbed during the digestion process, whereas in the case of fermented milk products that figure exceeds 90%.
• Dairy products are ideal for individuals suffering from lactose intolerance (milk sugar). That is explained by the fact that lactic acid bacteria produce substances that allow for easier absorption of milk sugar and hard-to-digest proteins.
• Lactic acid promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria which protect intestinal walls from different infections. For that reason, dairy products can normalize the gut microbiota that has been disrupted by dysbiosis, constipation, colitis, or antibiotics.
• By helping reduce the formation of gases, fermented milk products normalize the motor function of the gastrointestinal tract.
• B, E, D, and A vitamins, calcium salts, magnesium, phosphorus, and amino acids contained in fermented milk products greatly improve metabolism.
• Fermented milk products are rich in calcium, which is why they help strengthen bones.

H2: 2. Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance is the body’s inability to digest and absorb milk sugar.

The main symptoms of lactose intolerance include flatulence (bloating), abdominal pain, diarrhea, and, in rare cases, vomiting.

Some people with lactose intolerance can still tolerate products of lactic acid fermentation (e.g., cheese, buttermilk, cottage cheese, and yogurt), i.e., the ones in which milk sugar is converted into lactic acid by bacteria. In particularly severe cases, doctors recommend using special dairy products, such as lactose-free milk. It is also possible to take pills containing the lactase enzyme together with dairy products.

Completely avoiding dairy products is not recommended because they contain essential amino acids and calcium.

H2: 3. Casein Allergy

Casein, the main protein contained in dairy products, can cause strong allergic reactions. Because it has a complex structure, our body often has trouble breaking it down, and thus it starts to produce antibodies against it. This, in turn, results in an allergic reaction of which the most common symptoms are indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, and skin rash.

H2: 4. The Healthiest Dairy Products

H3: 1. Yogurt

According to dairy companies’ ads, eating a jar of yogurt a day can not only normalize our metabolism but also help us become more beautiful, younger, and slimmer. Actually, that is only partly true, and if you really wish to be all that, you’ll need to choose your yogurt wisely.

It’s always a good idea to read what it says on the label: the list of ingredients, caloric value, expiration date, preservatives, etc. The real yogurt, aka Greek yogurt, should contain milk and live bacteria and be stored no more than a week.

In countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, this fermented dairy product is traditionally made from sheep or goat milk. However, the modern dairy industry mostly uses cow milk for making yogurt. It helps normalize digestion, improve the functioning of the kidneys, strengthen joints, improve the immune system, and speed up metabolism. Another beneficial effect of eating Greek yogurt is that it can be used as a dressing instead of mayonnaise or butter.

All in all, eating this dairy product can significantly reduce calories and make digesting food a lot easier. If you just can’t help eating sweet yogurts, then you can add some jam, syrup, honey, or pieces of fresh fruit in your Greek yogurt.

H3: 2. Cheese

Cheese contains quite a few essential nutrients, such as minerals, proteins, B and D vitamins, and calcium. It also helps normalize digestion and speed up metabolic processes. However, despite all the benefits it has, cheese is not as harmless as it may seem.

This is a calorie-rich product, and if you eat too much of it, you can quickly gain weight. To prevent that from happening, you shouldn’t have more than 50 grams of it per day (cheese with a fat content of 45–50%). With low-calorie cheeses, i.e., the ones in which fat content doesn’t exceed 35%, you can eat a bit more than that.

H3: 3. Milk

Just like yogurt, not all milk is equally useful. There are some who believe that milk is harmful because it is only digestible until a certain age and can, therefore, remove calcium from our bones.

Milk advocates cite a large number of vitamins and trace elements it is rich in, as well as its soothing and healing properties. In fact, 15% of the population of our planet are not recommended to drink milk at all because they have lactose intolerance.

Before buying a carton of milk, you should check the expiration date on it. The shelf life of natural milk is 5-7 days, so if it is stored longer than that it ceases to be beneficial for human health.

H3: 4. Buttermilk

This drink can improve your gut microbiota and help you lose weight. Buttermilk is a unique product which contains bacteria and fungi no other dairy product does.

Due to this, it can prevent pathogens from developing in the gastrointestinal tract. It also helps improve food digestion and remove toxins from the body. If you do not know which kind of buttermilk to choose, we recommend you stick with one that has a fat content of 3.2%.