Imagine a bowl of plain homemade curd. How refreshing it is! Eating a large helping of curd after a hearty meal almost completes your meal. Curd is a healing food. It increases friendly bacteria in your gut. Those on antibiotic medication should definitely eat some curd daily because antibiotics kill the friendly bacteria in your digestive system. Curd helps to balance them.
However, everybody talks of the benefits of curd. What about the side effects? Are there any side effect of eating curd?
Yes.
According to doctors, you must be careful with how much curd you eat every day. If you have a weak digestive system, you must not eat too much curd. It can cause constipation. Please note that this problem occurs only when you eat too much curd.
A small bowl of plain homemade curd every day is usually harmless.
Who should not eat curd?
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People with arthritis should not eat curd daily. Curd is a sour food and sour foods are known to accelerate joint pains.
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People with weak digestive system should not eat curd at night. If you often have acidity, indigestion, or acid reflux problems, you must not eat curd when your digestion is sluggish, which is usually at night.
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It is found that lactose intolerant people can digest curd, but not milk. However, you may still want to go easy on your curd intake. Give gaps in eating curd.
Should you eat curd at night? Ayurveda explains
According to Ayurveda, every person is made of five elements, which are the building blocks of prakriti or nature: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space/Wind. Health is the balance of these five elements. When any of the elements goes haywire, disease happens.
However, not every element is the same in degree in each person. The balance varies and it is this unique balance that one should consider when eating foods. The balance of elements is called dosha.
Ayurveda classifies three main doshas:
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Vata
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Pitta
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Kapha
Curd features sweet and sour properties. It increases kapha dosha. Somebody who already has a dominant kapha may be harmed by eating too much curd. It can lead to excess mucus development.
That’s the very reason Ayurveda advises against eating curd at night. Our body is in the sleep mode at night and nights are cooler than days. So, eating kapha-inducing food can lead to the body developing more mucus.
Moreover, there are hot and cold foods as per Ayurveda and curd is a hot food in nature. Surprised, aren’t you? Curd is made by the multiplication of bacteria inside and this produces heat. That’s why it is perfectly fine to eat curd during winter.
People who are prone to asthma, cough and cold, and other respiratory diseases should not eat curd at night due to its mucus-encouraging property. Eat curd during the day, preferably in the afternoon when the sun is at the highest in the sky.
And remember to eat curd as plain as possible. Adding sugar to it makes it unhealthy because you are unnecessarily eating white sugar with every bowl. You can add a few fruit pieces (not citrus ones) or dry fruits or honey to add to the flavor.
(Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as medical advice)
