If you consider superfoods, a couple of most likely come to thoughts first: acai berries (the antioxidant-rich purple fruits finest loved frozen and blended), kale, spinach, and different leafy greens, nuts, avocados, and (blessedly) darkish chocolate. Two extra that deserve a spot on the listing? Kefir and yogurt. They’re generally confused with one another as each are made by fermenting cow’s milk, however there are literally substantial variations between the 2, from consistency to flavour to dietary worth.
All About Yogurt
Yogurt is made out of milk that’s fermented with two micro organism: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Throughout this course of, lactose is remodeled into lactic acid. Yogurt is excessive in calcium, protein, and nutritional vitamins, and common consumption has quite a few advantages, together with:
- Strengthening the immune system.
- Regulating levels of cholesterol within the blood.
- An anti-inflammatory impact on the intestinal mucosa and the regulation of its bacterial microflora.
All About Kefir
With roots within the Caucasus (which spans Japanese Europe and Western Asia), kefir is made by fermenting grains (a.ok.a. colonies of yeast and micro organism, not literal grains) in contemporary milk. The phrase kefir really refers to each the grains used to ferment the milk and the drink that you just’re left with after straining, which is yogurt-like in consistency. Whereas kefir could be made utilizing plant-based milks or water, you’ll want so as to add sugar to kick-start the fermentation course of. With dairy milk, including additional sugar just isn’t needed. Very like yogurt, there are numerous advantages to consuming kefir often:
- As a fermented meals, kefir can assist to take care of a flourishing intestine microbiome that may help a wholesome immune system. This protects not solely the digestive system but in addition your complete physique from irritation.
- Consuming an honest quantity of probiotic-rich meals helps enhance digestive perform, irritation, and the degrees of intestinal permeability (that is when undigested meals particles can move by way of the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream, inflicting irritation).
- Kefir can assist scale back ranges of dangerous ldl cholesterol.
- Kefir has a excessive focus of nutritional vitamins (significantly B nutritional vitamins, together with folic acid, B12, biotin, and riboflavin), in addition to the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.
4 Variations Between Kefir and Yogurt
Consistency and Taste
Yogurt is creamy and has a extra delicate taste, whereas kefir is extra liquid and has a contemporary, barely acidic taste. Kefir additionally has a slight glowing style and a low alcohol content material (1 to 2%), which happens naturally throughout fermentation.
