Kefir has only been on the shelves for a few years. But it is certainly not new. The fermented drink dates back centuries originated in the Caucasus, a mountainous area northeast of Turkey. Nomadic mountain dwellers added clumps of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts to their milk. These kefir grains fermented the milk and made it last longer. Handy if you’re on the road a lot.
Over time, speculation arose about the positive health effects of the fermented milk brew. But is it really such a miracle cure? We now know that there is no convincing evidence for the well-known bacterial drinks such as Yakult and Activia. Does this also apply to kefir? We ask Anne Lutgerink from the Nutrition Center.
What does kefir do to your body?
‘Kefir is a milk product. We know that it provides protein, calcium, vitamin B2 and B12,” says Lutgerink. Nice, those nutrients. But there’s more. Concluded in 2015 the Health Council that it is likely that dairy consumption is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer. Eating yogurt would also reduce the risk of diabetes. Lutgerink: ‘It is therefore recommended to consume several portions of dairy per day, including milk or yoghurt.’
But kefir has a bit more to offer than a simple yogurt, right? ‘Various health effects are indeed attributed to kefir, but there is still insufficient scientific substantiation for this,’ says Lutgerink.
Can you lose weight with kefir?
Maybe. In a research from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Iran), overweight women were put on a dairy-rich diet for eight weeks. The control group received two servings of dairy per day. The dairy group received an additional two portions of skimmed milk products. And the kefir group got two glasses of kefir instead. What turned out? Both the milk and kefir groups lost more weight than the control group. But the researchers saw no difference between the two.
Sometimes a boost
And the bacteria in kefir? Well, like other probiotic drinks, these microbeings won’t do much of anything useful. Unless many good bacteria have disappeared from your intestines, for example after a course of antibiotics. Then a drink full of bacteria can give you a boost. Are you healthy yet? Then it probably won’t make you any healthier.
Unfortunately, kefir is not a miracle cure. But those don’t exist either, Lutgerink knows: ‘How nice it would be if there was one product that helped you with all your problems or guaranteed good health. But unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we need more than one product for that.’
You can also eat a bowl of yogurt for health benefits. Saves something in the wallet.
Also interesting: Some people call kefir a superfood. But when can you give food that title?
2024-02-15 10:18:41
#healthy #kefir
