The summers are upon us, and so are the many summer troubles like sun burn, acne, and tummy problems. But what if we tell you there is one superfood that can pretty much take care of all your summer woes, at once.
Yogurt is one versatile and nutrient dense dairy product, that could prove to be equally useful for your skin and hair this scorching weather. Including yogurt in your diet and other skin-care uses may prevent you from sunburns, acne, to your disturbed tummy. The cooling curd has been a favorite summer staple in Indian households since time immemorial, and there are plenty of reasons why the fixation makes absolute sense.
Himanshu Chadha, Founder, APS Cosmetoofood, and Nmami Agarwal, Nutritionist and Dietician, have listed the goodness of yogurt:
1. Heal sunburn: Aren't sunburns one of the worst things about summer. Let's not even get to counting the number of times it came in your way from enjoying great day out. Well worry no more. Yogurt with its cooling properties could help treat the nasty and painful sunburns. Spread yogurt on the affected area, leave it for 20-25 minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water. Yogurt is rich in zinc and has anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains probiotics that will help restore your skin's natural barrier.
2. Treat acne: Yogurt has natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, that can help prevent breakout of acne and ensure a glowing and healthy skin. All you need to do is rub a dab of the creamy yogurt onto acne-prone areas. Rinse it off after 30 minutes. A regular beauty regime with a yogurt facial mask will help keep skin cleansed, which will also reduce irritating breakouts.
3. Condition your hair: This has perhaps been of your grandmother's favourite
nuskha. Yogurt is a great ingredient for a hair conditioner. It has moisturising properties that helps repair dry and damaged hair. What would you need to do? Take a cup of yogurt and whip it. Apply it on your scalp, hair and hair ends by massaging it well. Cover your hair with a shower cap and let it rest for 20 minutes, then wash your hair with a mild shampoo.
4. Prevent hair fall: Yogurt can prevemt hairfall and promote hair growth too. Yogurt is profuse with nutrients that are good for your hair, and can help stop hair fall. Due to the presence of vitamin B5 and D, yogurt helps nourish the hair follicles. A mixture of pepper and curd used daily for washing the hair helps in reducing hair fall. Curd and Amla powder can be mixed together to make a paste that can be applied on the scalp and hair to reduce hair loss.
5. Improve immune system: Yogurt makes for an excellent probiotic food, it helps to flourish the healthy bacteria in your gut which can improve the gastro immune system. In addition to this, yogurt also aids in digestion by reducing the side effects of the irritant stomach such as diarrhea, bloating and irritable bowel syndrome. Consuming probiotic yogurt helps reduce inflammation and improve the overall body immune response to counter several viral or gut related infections and illness. Yogurt also helps in increasing the absorption of trace minerals such as magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
6. Strengthen bones: Yogurt is full of calcium and vitamin D. It helps meet the daily calcium requirement for stronger bones as well as for regulating the bone mineral density. By having a diet in a combination with calcium and vitamin D, it can work as a treatment for osteoporosis.
7. For women: Women should especially add yogurt to their diet because it helps in fighting against the yeast infections such as Candida which can be a causing trouble to a lot of women. The bacterium, Lactobacillus acidophilus found in yogurt, kills the yeast infections and improves health in the longer run.
There are many other advantages of adding yogurt to the diet. A research presented at the High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association (AHA) showed that people who ate more non-fat yogurt were 31 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than others. The special proteins in yogurt along with nutrients like potassium and magnesium help in lowering high blood pressure and promoting a healthy heart. It is also helpful in aiding digestion, yogurt is a great probiotic (an ingredient that contains live bacteria). These good and beneficial bacteria are known to improve gut activity, soothe inflamed digestive systems and treat an upset stomach.
Include yogurt to your daily diet and regular skin care regime and see the change for yourself.
(With inputs IANS)