Buttermilk Diet: Can I Lose Weight with It?

The buttermilk diet is designed to help us lose weight in a healthy way. How the method works and whether it brings any benefits is explained here.

What is the buttermilk diet?

There are different variants of the buttermilk diet, but they all have one thing in common: by increasing the consumption of buttermilk, one should be able to lose weight. Depending on which method of dieting you follow, you either add buttermilk to every meal, replace a meal with the drink completely or even consume only buttermilk.

Why should buttermilk help you lose weight?

The background to the diet is that buttermilk is considered to be very healthy: it contains a lot of protein, calcium and minerals, but does not contain much fat and calories. 100 milliliters of buttermilk only contain about 35 kilocalories. The proteins contained in buttermilk are satiating for a long time, calcium also activates various hormones and enzymes that are involved in regulating weight. And: buttermilk contains a lot of zinc, which can improve insulin secretion and thus keep the blood sugar level constant. This prevents ravenous appetite. By the way: contrary to what you might think, buttermilk contains no butter at all – it is only a by-product of butter production.

How does the buttermilk diet work?

Depending on which variant of the buttermilk diet you are on, there are different things to consider:

• Buttermilk as a supplement: In this concept, buttermilk is only used as a supplement to an otherwise already healthy diet. Buttermilk can either be drunk separately with each meal or incorporated into it – for example by enriching your muesli with buttermilk or making a dressing for your salad. For a healthy diet that helps you lose weight, products with fibre (e.g. in wholemeal pasta or bread) should be on the menu, as should eggs, fish, lean meat, lots of fruit and vegetables and healthy fats (e.g. in olive oil or nuts). As far as possible, sugar, convenience products and alcohol should be avoided. With this form of buttermilk diet you can lose weight slowly but sustainably.
• Buttermilk as a meal replacement: Another method is to replace one of three meals per day with 500 millilitres of buttermilk. On the one hand, this increases the intake of proteins that accelerate muscle building and keep you full for a long time, and on the other hand, the intake of carbohydrates is automatically limited. Otherwise, just as with the first concept, healthy food should be taken into account. This method lets the kilos fall a little faster than the first one, but also requires a little more discipline.

In general, both concepts with buttermilk are moderate, deficiency symptoms are rather unlikely if one takes care to supply the body with all important nutrients during meals. In these forms, the buttermilk diet can help to make a lasting change in diet. The situation is different with the last method:

• Drink only buttermilk: The strictest form of buttermilk diet is to actually eat only buttermilk. This variant is rather not recommended: One takes in too few carbohydrates, calories, fat and minerals and the body can slip into an undersupply. Although you will lose weight so quickly, the risk of the yo-yo effect is high because the diet itself is not changed in the long term. Moreover, like any crash diet, the concept is difficult to maintain anyway.

Conclusion of the buttermilk diet

The milk is undoubtedly healthy and fits well into a healthy diet. The two moderate variants also support weight loss – slowly but effectively. Anyone who likes buttermilk anyway could therefore give the buttermilk diet a chance. Only the strict variant is strongly advised against – the risks of deficiency symptoms and the yo-yo effect are simply too great if you only drink buttermilk.