Interesting Facts About Buttermilk and Gut Health

Buttermilk is a misnomer as many confuse it as being buttery, high-fat milk. It has lower fat content than sweet milk and there is no butter, perse, in buttermilk. Buttermilk is what you get when making butter from milk. It is a much healthier drink than some other drinks in the market. 

Today, buttermilk is much more than a by-product of churning as dairies inject fresh, pasteurized milk with cultures that convert it into the buttermilk that you get in stores. Buttermilk today is used in both savoury and sweet recipes, in cooked dishes and baked goods.

Buttermilk is a delicious and healthy beverage because it is a powerful source of active cultures of probiotics found in natural yogurt and other fermented foods that help in digestion and encourage gut health. A glass of buttermilk can soothe your tummies and the tattered nerves of late-night revellers. 

Commercially Made Buttermilk

Today, how buttermilk is made has little to do with making butter. A bacteria culture is mixed with pasteurized whole milk or nonfit milk with specks of butter. After adding bacteria, the milk is left to ferment for half a day at a low temperature. Sugar, stabilizers, and salt may also be added to the buttermilk. When the buttermilk is processed this way, it is typically called "cultured buttermilk." Cultured buttermilk is thicker, acidic and has a tangier taste than traditional buttermilk. 

Nutritional Information

Buttermilk has less fat and calories per serving than whole milk. A cup of buttermilk comprises 2.2 grams of fat and 100 calories whereas whole milk comprises about 8 grams of fat and 150 calories. Buttermilk also comprises a whole range of minerals and vitamins including phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc, sodium, and potassium.

One major benefit of buttermilk is that it can be stored longer than other dairy products and it has innumerable uses, so it is easy to consume. After buttermilk is kept in the refrigerator for a few days, it separates into whey and solids, but if it comes back together when shaken, it can be consumed, even if it is a few days beyond the freshness date. 

What are the Benefits of Buttermilk?

Buttermilk has several health benefits and a recent study showed that it reduced the growth of colon cancer cells. Another study found that consuming buttermilk for short periods can lower blood pressure in some people. The probiotic bacteria in buttermilk has been found to have numerous health benefits, such as helping with irritable bowel syndrome and aiding digestion.

Buttermilk is a great source of calcium and other nutritional elements without any additional fats or calories. Hypertension and high blood pressure are major causes of cardiovascular diseases and research shows that drinking buttermilk lowers mean arterial blood pressure and systolic blood pressure. This benefit is due to the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) found in buttermilk.

Since buttermilk is a dairy product, it contains lactose, but, due to fermentation, the level of lactose is much lower. People who are lactose intolerant could experiment with drinking buttermilk and see how it affects their system.

You can buy buttermilk online on Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, and several other e-commerce websites. People in India, especially in the south are habituated to having buttermilk with their meals, and the market for buttermilk is growing fast with several companies introducing it in the market in tetra packs and pouches. Cavin’s spiced buttermilk is among the leaders in this category. It is a reasonably priced natural refreshment without any added sugar and tastes best when served chilled. 

Stay connect with here............

Facebook and Twitter