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Journalism of Courage
HOW many times have you treated an upset stomach with khichdi dahi or thayir sadam curd rice? With great colonic bacterial wars being fought in your stomach, on their outcome depends your state of digestion. Obviously, we8217;d all like to empower the good bacteria8230; and an ally in this effort is the good old dahi.
Curd, yogurt, yahourt, yakult8230; Around the world, fermented milk goes by many names, but all owe their creation to a variety of bacteria, usually from a large family called lactobacillus. Folklore as well as scientific investigations find that dahi contains plenty of knock-8217;em-dead antibiotics. Emphasising its prowess was Nobel Prize-winning 19th century scientist Dr Metchnikoff, a close friend of Louis Pasteur. His pioneering work in immunology in general and on yogurt in particular is what makes me his fan.
There are two seemingly opposite functions that yogurt performs: relieve diarrhoea and act as a laxative. It reinstates a normal microbial balance, helps cure gastro disturbances caused by food poisoning, and works against ulcers to protect the stomach lining. Even more exciting are research findings which reveal yogurt8217;s natural antibiotic powers. They are found to squelch common bacteria that cause salmonella and other diseases. It8217;s not just our Indian daadis and naanis who believe in dahi8217;s powers 8212; yogurt is regarded as a prophylactic for intestinal distress in Japan, in the US and in Russia, where it has been found to cure infant and traveller8217;s diarrhoea. It really is a wondrous, pharmacologically-potent weapon! Agree?
