Kefir has only been on shelves for a few years. But it’s certainly not new. The history of the fermented drink dates back centuries I grew up in the CaucasusIt is a mountainous region in northeastern Türkiye. Bedouin mountain people added masses of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts to their milk. These kefir grains ferment the milk and make it last longer. Useful if you are on the road a lot.
Over time, speculation has emerged about the positive health effects of fermented milk drinks. But is it really a miracle cure? We now know that there is no convincing evidence for 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,” Lutgerink says. Nice, those nutrients. But there is more. Completed in 2015 Health Council It is possible that dairy consumption is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer. Eating yogurt will also reduce the risk of diabetes. Lütgerink: “It is therefore recommended to eat several portions of dairy products daily, including milk or yoghurt.”
But kefir has a little more to offer than simple yogurt, right? “Different health effects have already been attributed to kefir, but there is still not enough scientific evidence for this,” says Lütgerink.
Can you lose weight with kefir?
maybe. in 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 products daily. The dairy group received two additional servings of skimmed milk products. The kefir group got two glasses of kefir instead. What happened? 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 bacteria in kefir? Well, like other probiotic drinks, these microorganisms won’t do much of anything useful. Unless many good bacteria disappear from the intestines, for example after taking antibiotics. Hence, a drink full of bacteria can give you a boost. Are you healthy yet? Then it probably won’t make you healthier.
Unfortunately, kefir is not a miracle cure. But these things don’t exist either, Lütgerink knows: “How nice it would be if there was one product that would help you solve all your problems or guarantee you good health.” But unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, we need more than one product to achieve this.
You can also eat a bowl of yogurt for health benefits. Keeps something in the wallet.
It is also interesting: Some people call kefir a superfood. But when can you give food that title?
