What Are the Health Benefits of Kefir?
Hypotensive peptides
The fermentation of the proteins in milk by lactic-acid bacteria may result in the release of tripeptides with blood pressure lowing activities!
Antimicrobial activity
Many bioactive polypeptides have been identified in encrypted form in milk proteins, which are released during fermentation and/or during digestion of these proteins by the hastric and pancreatic enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract. These peptides called caseicidins, isracidins, and lactoferrin, have the ability to lyse pathogenic bacteria including Streptococcus mutans, E.coli O157:H7 and Enterobacter zakazakii !
Gastrointestinal and urogenital health
There have been numerous studies conducted in order to determine the effect of fermented milk, more specifically goat milk, on the inhibition of various intestinal and urogenital pathogens. These studies confirm that fermented goat milk offer greater inhibitory effects!
Antioxidative and anticarcinogenic effects
Studies confirmed that the consumption of fermented goat’s milk improve anti-atherogenicity in healthy folks, prolonged resistance of lipoprotein fraction to oxidation, lowered levels of peroxidized lipoproteins, oxidized LDL, and glutathione ratio, and enhanced total antioxidative activity. Altered prevalence and proportion of lactic acid bacteria species in the gut microflora has also been observed.
Allergy management
A number of studies have shown the relationship between allergic conditions and the composition of the gut microbiota. The levels of bifidobacteria in stools from allergic infants, particularly those with atopic eczema, are significant lower than those in healthy infants. It has been proposed that the intake of fermented products containing lactic acid bacteria could be used to achieve hemeostasis of the gut microbiota and thereby decrease the symptomatology in infants at risk for allergies!
