Yogurt

"Wheat and barley and flour and roasted grain and bread beans and lentils and parched grain, the honey and butter and sheep and curds of cattle they brought foward for David and the people that were with him to eat." 2 Samuel 17:28-29

Since the earliest days of the Israelites, sour or curdled milk(or curds) was mixed with honey, flavored with dates, raisins, grapes or other fruits or nuts. Those curds, many Bible scholars believe, were what we now call Yougart.

Tradition says an angel promised Abraham that he would live a long life if he ate the biblical version of yogurt. He lived to 175 years old. Today, in parts of Turkey, Armenia and some of the more remote regions of Caucasus Mountains, there is an unusually high number of of very old people. Men and women in these areas often live well beyond 100 years while maintaining healthy,active lifestyles. The reason experts say, is a diet that includes plenty of yogurt, similar to the diet which Mediterranean people have been enjoying for thousands of years.

The longevity theory has never been tested on humans. However, when scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture were researching the effects of yogurt on salmonella infections in mice, they discovered one astonishing side effect: the mice that were fed yogurt did more than beat the infection-they lived much longer than those that were not given yogurt. Yogurt is highly regarded all around the world as a super source of bone-building calcium. It may prevent colds and allergic reactions, fight cancer and strengthen the body's immune system.. It also lowers bad cholesterol levels, prevents dangerous intestinal infections, improves bowel finction and blocks ulcers.

Several years ago, when infants in a New York City hospital came down with severe diarrhea, doctors prescribed up to half a cup of ordinary yogurt as treatment. Amazingly, the recovery rate was twice as fast as with the standard anti-diarrheal drug.

TIP: To get the greatest health benefits out of your yogurt, make sure its ingredients contain "live active cultures." If it does't say so on the label, it may not be the real yogurt.

The pasteurization process can destroy those active cultures that are necessary for yogurt to do its work.


Source: Healing Foods from the Bible
Author: Bernard Ward