Cow Curd or Yogurt (Dadhi)

Cow Curd or Yogurt (Dadhi):

Curd or yogurt is    made by boiling milk and then adding yeast or a little curd when the boiled milk cools down to luke warm temperature and leaving it for a few hours undisturbed. Some of the benefits of cow yogurt are:

  • Nidra:janakam – sleep inducing,
  • Cow Curd has usna veerya or hot in potency, i.e., curd is heat-producing and has heating effect on the body and is therefore good in winter season to keepup body heat though not so good for spring, summer and autumn;
  • Cow Curd has binding quality (grahi) because of which it is used as a supporting medicine in diarrhea and dysentery to create a constipating effect.
  • Yogurt made from skimmed milk is good for intestinal disorders like sprue, indigestion, and flatulence.
  • Cow Curd increases blood and reproductive fluids (dha:tus) in the body,
  • Cow Curd decreases vata dosha (va:tahara), and increases kapha and pitta dosha:s and is therefore good for people with high vata dosha;
  • Cow Curd produces medas (marrow/fat/lymph), zukra(brightness/light-colored), bala (stamina/power/strength), zlesma(mucus/phlegm), pitta (bile), rakta (blood), and agni (digestive fire of the stomach); helps for good taste and so ideal in aruci(dislike/aversion/lack of appetite), zi:taka (feeling of cold/sluggishness/laziness/feverishness), visamajvara (irregular fever) preceeded by rigors, pi:nasa (cold) and mutrakrchhra (painful discharge of urine); after removing its fat, it is useful in disorders of grahani, an organ between stomach and intestines.
  • Cow Curd increases adipose tissue, semen, strength, digestive fire.

    Some of the above mentioned properties and benefits of cow curd are mentioned in the following verse from Ayurvedic text “Ashtanga Samgraha” by Maharshi Vagbhata