Currently, the range of dairy products is quite diverse. Although the main characteristics of almost all are similar, there are still differences: in composition, in the method of manufacture, in taste and in appearance. In order to choose the right product, you need to delve deeper into the nuances of the manufacturing process and the use of products.
Similarities
Yogurt, kefir and fermented baked milk belong to fermented milk products and have a beneficial effect on the human body, improving its general condition and increasing immunity. All three subspecies are made from milk by fermenting it with various microorganisms under regulated production conditions.
Positive characteristics of all natural fermented milk products:
- are sources of vitamins and microelements;
- contribute to the normal functioning of the digestive system, improving metabolism;
- are used in various diets to remove toxins and toxins and contribute to the fight against excess weight.
The established algorithm for the manufacture of all three types of product at industrial enterprises includes the following main points:
- the process of cleaning milk and optimizing the fat content in it;
- dispersion and homogenization of the milk composition;
- carrying out the pasteurization procedure of the liquid and its subsequent cooling;
- implementation of the fermentation process at a certain temperature;
- cooling the composition to 10-12 degrees and subsequent infusion of the product (lasts from 12 hours to a day);
- bringing the liquid to a temperature equal to 4-6 degrees;
- packaging of the finished product.
Used in this process similar production food equipment, consisting of:
- equipment for receiving raw milk;
- a special container for its storage, fermentation and further infusion of fermented milk products;
- heat exchange device;
- unit for mixing and dispersion of raw materials;
- food pumps;
- equipment for homogenization and pasteurization of milk composition;
- a special installation for packaging in containers in which the final product will be sold.
The conditions and terms of storage of all three products are the same, they need to be kept in refrigerators for no more than 5-7 days. We are talking about natural, "live" products.
Ryazhenka is also related to Varenets and Turkic katyk, matsoni and yogurt without additives. Products such as koumiss and ayran are more similar to kefir due to the addition of special fungi.
Varenets
Kumys
What is the difference?
There is a difference in the properties of all these products, which lies in the individual characteristics given below.
Yogurt
Bulgaria is considered the birthplace of yogurt. When fermenting this product, various types of Bulgarian sticks and thermophilic streptococcus are used. The composition of most yogurts implies the presence of milk powder in it, which in itself also has beneficial characteristics and contributes to the survival of the right bacteria during the manufacture and storage of the product.
The sourdough elements that are used in the yogurt making process are most efficient in fermenting lactose. It is for this reason that the product is suitable for use by people whose body does not digest milk well or at all.
And also this fermented milk product is less than others susceptible to the effects of gastric juice, so that beneficial bacteria can survive to enter the human intestinal tract.
If we talk about taste, then natural yogurt is quite neutral, but fruit fillers brighten up this fact. Another difference is the high content of protein, in the same kefir its amount is much less.
Kefir
Homeland is the North Caucasus. This subtype of fermented milk product is obtained by adding a rather complex fungal starter, which is a symbiosis of lactic acid microorganisms and yeast. Kefir is infused a little longer than other products (from one to three days). The product has the property of inconstancy even during use, since fresh kefir tends to have a laxative effect, and three-day - on the contrary.
One of the most useful properties is the content in the composition of bacteria that are able to settle on the walls of the intestine and put in order its microflora, improve the digestion process.
Most often, kefir is made without the use of food fillers, so it has a characteristic sour taste. The product goes well with meat, fish, poultry, eggs and other dishes that contain proteins. Kefir can form clots and gas-forming elements, as a result of which it is not recommended for people with a sensitive gastrointestinal tract.
Ryazhenka
The homeland of the product is Ukraine. The main difference between fermented baked milk is that it is based on baked milk. That is why it has a characteristic creamy hue. The fermentation process of the product is carried out by adding thermophilic lactic streptococci and pure cultures of the Bulgarian stick to the milk.
During the manufacturing procedure, a large amount of water is evaporated from the product, as a result of which the concentration of useful elements in it is higher than in other fermented milk products. But ryazhenka is much more high-calorie and fatter than kefir, as a result of which it is not suitable for dietary nutrition. The product has a delicate and sweet taste. The formation of milk foam is allowed. It goes well with various fruits and berries, as well as bread without yeast.
What is more useful?
All fermented milk products have a positive effect on the body, improve metabolism. It is impossible to say exactly which product is better and healthier: yogurt, fermented baked milk or kefir. It all depends on individual preferences and needs. For example:
- for diet food, natural yogurt or kefir is more suitable due to its low calorie and fat content;
- kefir is not recommended for people who suffer from diseases of the stomach or intestines due to the content of gas-forming elements;
- kefir has a high calcium content, which is well absorbed and promotes the absorption of other foods, rich in other trace elements (fluorine, iodine, copper);
- the microorganisms contained in kefir can stop the reproduction of harmful microbes and remove toxins;
- as part of fermented baked milk, the concentration of nutrients is higher due to the evaporation of a large amount of water during heat treatment, it contains vitamins and other useful elements, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur and iron;
- ryazhenka can be consumed even by people with high acidity of the stomach;
- natural yogurt has the ability to rid the human body of streptococci, typhoid bacilli and staphylococci;
- yogurt without unnecessary additives has a large amount of vitamins, organic and saturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, micro- and macroelements.
Special recommendations for the use of these products in childhood are also available. So, kefir can be given even to small children, but after the introduction of cereals and various baby purees. Infants up to 8-9 months are still not recommended for use because of their composition. For example, casein (milk protein) can cause an allergic reaction, and the intestines of a very young child simply cannot cope with it.
The use of such a product implies an increased burden on the kidneys and digestive system. Premature introduction of a fermented milk product into a child's diet can contribute to the development of diarrhea and anemia.
Give children yogurt start with a daily dose of 20-30 ml, gradually increasing it to a volume of 200 ml. You should not buy an ordinary product, but a children's one, the composition of which is adapted to only a developing organism. Natural yogurt without unnecessary additives and preservatives can be given to children in its natural form or fruit (berry) puree can be added. The recommended daily dose for a child aged 8-9 months is 100-150 ml.
Here are some important tips for purchasing and using fermented milk products.
- A one-day yogurt will relieve constipation, and a three-day one is suitable for people suffering from gastritis with low acidity and chronic colitis (accompanied by diarrhea).
- You should buy all fermented milk products only with a shelf life of no more than 5-7 days, since beneficial microorganisms live very little.
- It is necessary to replace yoghurts with dyes, preservatives and various flavors with natural ones with the addition of fresh fruits, since only such a product will bring proper benefits.
- It is possible to freeze kefir at home to obtain natural cottage cheese when defrosted, since at negative temperatures milk protein coagulation begins to occur. The curd is soft and fluffy.
- All fermented milk products are recommended to be consumed during intensive antibiotic treatment. This will help several times reduce the negative impact on the body of strong medicines and support the vital activity of beneficial microorganisms.
- In case of poisoning with heavy metals, it is also necessary to use dairy and sour-milk products to remove toxic substances.
- All products can be prepared at home if you purchase a special composition for fermentation at the pharmacy. Such products will be even more useful.
Thus, all fermented milk products will be useful, but individual intolerance to the body and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract should be taken into account. When choosing a product, you need to pay attention to the shelf life and composition, which should not contain unnecessary components.
About what fermented milk product should always be in your refrigerator, see below.
Even children know that absolutely all fermented milk products are very good for health. They have a beneficial effect on digestion, and also stimulate the production of B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. However, if kefir, fermented baked milk and curdled milk are equally useful, what is the difference between them?
curdled milk
Yogurt is not just sour milk, it is a product consciously fermented with the help of lactic acid streptococci. However, this product is not in vain called curdled milk. Making it at home is not at all difficult. The milk is filtered and simply left warm for 9-10 hours, and then the dishes with the future curdled milk are transferred to a cool place for 3-4 hours. Unlike yogurt, whose fat content can reach 1.5%, yogurt cannot have a fat content lower than 3.2%. Yogurt is easily absorbed by the body. In order for it to be completely absorbed into the intestines, only one hour is enough.
Yogurt
Yogurt is a fermented milk product fermented with various types of Bulgarian sticks, as well as thermophilic streptococcus. Almost any yogurt has milk powder in its composition, but this does not in any way reduce its beneficial properties. On the contrary, in high-quality milk powder there are much more useful substances than in ordinary milk. In addition, it is precisely due to the increased content of solids that the percentage of survival of the correct bacteria in yogurt increases significantly. Yoghurt starter is much more efficient than other starter cultures in fermenting lactose. Therefore, yogurt can be eaten even by those whose body does not digest milk. Also, yogurt is one of the few fermented milk products that is highly resistant to gastric juice. Thanks to this, beneficial microorganisms can easily reach even the intestines.
Kefir
Kefir is produced using a special fungal starter, which is a kind of symbiosis of lactic acid organisms and yeast. Therefore, kefir is not as easy to prepare as yogurt. And it is necessary to insist this drink longer - from 1 to 3 days. Kefir is a very capricious and unstable product, and this is expressed not only in the process of its preparation, but also in use. For example, fresh kefir has a laxative effect, and standing for more than 3 days acts quite the opposite. Properly prepared kefir has a spicy taste and smells like vinegar.
Ryazhenka
Ryazhenka is made from baked milk, which is why it has such a creamy hue. Ryazhenka is a product with more calories than kefir, so those who want to lose weight should not include this drink in their diet. However, many doctors consider ryazhenka more useful than the same kefir. The fact is that due to the fact that during the cooking process most of the water evaporates from fermented baked milk, the concentration of nutrients in it increases.
acidophilus
Acidophilus is obtained by fermenting milk with an acidophilus bacillus. Acidophilus contributes to the restoration of normal microflora throughout the body, from the gastrointestinal tract to the female organs. Acidophilus is able to synthesize antibiotics in the body that destroy various harmful microorganisms. This drink is low in calories and promotes the rapid breakdown of fats, which is why nutritionists recommend it to overweight people.
snowball
To make snowballs, manufacturers use sourdough, which includes Bulgarian bacillus and lactic streptococci. This snowball is very similar to yogurt. However, unlike yogurt, sugar is always added to the snowball. Despite this, the most popular snowball among the people has a very low fat content - 2.5%. Thanks to this, this drink can be consumed even by people on a diet.
The power of yogurt - in Urgant
Every day, Vanya Urgant assures Russians from the TV screen of the benefits of a certain lactic acid product. So once my grandmother persuaded me, a little one, to eat half a glass of curdled milk. And although she did not dress up as Batman, her compliment to sour milk absolutely coincided with the TV advertisement: "The best protection for the body!" So I got excited: why is grandmother's curdled milk worse - or better? - advertised drink?
More than alive
Some of my acquaintances completely deny the healing effect of the "old generation" fermented milk products. Like, in classic kefir, acidophilus or yogurt, there are no noble living microorganisms at all. But in the advertised drinks, which are produced, as a rule, with the participation of foreign capital, there is a living microflora.
The explanation is simple: they say, the unscrupulous domestic business ruins useful invisibles either in the process of illiterate preparation of the product, or on the way to the store, without providing a low storage temperature. Whereas foreign business is responsible, and its product is appropriate.
Delusion of pure water. I bought - at random - the goods of six different manufacturers: kefir, yogurt, acidophilus, yogurt and a couple of TV-advertised products. And she took them to the St. Petersburg Institute of Experimental Medicine. There, in the laboratory of genetics of pathogenic microorganisms, experts checked them for the presence of the living microflora declared on the label.
And what? Every single product met the international quality standard - each jar contained a trillion live microorganisms per gram of yummy.
Nevertheless, classic products are pushed into the corner of the window, while their fashionable counterparts have occupied all the advertising space and two-thirds of Russia's sour-milk production. Why?
The strain is not a friend of the strain
"Because the bacteria are different," the manufacturers of the advertised jars will answer. "The lactic acid microflora contained in our products works in the intestines much more efficiently than the microorganisms from classic drinks."
There are two reasons. First, special strains of bacteria are used to make fashion products. Those that are tested by researchers "for durability". Indeed, on the way to the intestines, most living bacteria die - from body temperature, from stomach acid and bile. And only the most "persistent soldiers" can walk alive to the immediate place of the battle with intestinal enemies.
Actually, with the discovery of these "persistent soldiers" - special strains of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli - rivers of bifidokefir, bifidok, bifilife, bifidoyogurt flowed. Even biotsoni (from matsoni) has already appeared!
Reason two: bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are not only found in milk, but are also natural inhabitants of the human intestine from the first days of life. And if so, then they certainly have an advantage over bacteria that do not settle in the intestines. That is, they can not only destroy the pathogens that caused dysbacteriosis, but take their place on the intestinal lining, thereby ensuring a stable order.
These reasons are beneficial for the sour-milk business - the volume of sales is growing. However, scientists are skeptical: evidence based on medicine is not enough! It is extremely difficult to cause a stable change in the intestinal microflora. And to populate the intestines with bacteria from the outside is completely doubtful. If industrial strains from yoghurts get there, then only in the role of tenants.
The use of lactic acid bacteria is necessary for a TEMPORARY replacement of the functions of their own normal inhabitants of the intestine, which are out of order, - says Alexander Suvorov, MD, a specialist in the genetics of microorganisms. - Thus, the microorganisms introduced from the outside will contribute to the restoration of the intestinal microbiocenosis that was characteristic of a person before the onset of the disease.
Everyone has their own benefit
So, fashion products have their trump cards. What about the good old "classics"? Alas, its microflora cannot boast of high resistance to digestive juices and claims to colonize the intestines.
Kefir microorganisms, for example, do not live long in the gastrointestinal tract. And the Bulgarian stick, which is part of the starter of yogurt and yogurt, also dies en masse and does not settle in the intestines. It turns out that traditional products are pushed into the shadows for good reason?
Not at all. They just have different healing properties.
Let the kefir starter perish within us. But she did a good job at the stage of milk fermentation - she synthesized enzymes and antibacterial substances that are relevant for intestinal health. And in the composition of kefir sourdough - about two dozen types of microorganisms! This means that the range of biologically active substances produced by them is wide.
Acidophilus contains lactobacilli of the acidophilic group, which develop at a temperature of 36-42 degrees. And this means that the microflora of acidophilus inside us actually comes to life and begins its sanitary activity. At the same time, acidophilus bacillus - hello to fashionable products! - is also a native inhabitant of the intestine.
What about curdled milk and yogurt? Yes, the Bulgarian stick, fermenting milk into these different in name, but essentially homogeneous products, does not settle in the intestines. But it kills dysentery bacillus, staphylococcus aureus and promotes better absorption and utilization of nutrients.
What about sour cream? Employees of the St. Petersburg Institute of Experimental Medicine isolated a lactic acid bacterium from the usual factory sour cream sourdough, which has a survivability that surpasses Western strains, as well as a great lethal force in relation to pathogens.
Urgant effect
So, do not "go in cycles" in any one product. Let a variety of lactic acid bacteria enter the body. After all, different parts of the intestine have different microflora.
And then, if people suffer from dysbacteriosis, then everyone has his own, with a specific set of pathogens. And to determine which bacteria will better cope with your or my violations, science has not yet been given.
And further. All lactic acid is good in moderation. If there are many bacteria - even the best ones - they will begin to establish their own rules in the intestines. After all, the love of "good" bacteria for us is as much a myth as the hatred of "evil" microbes. In the intestinal community, as in politics, there are no friends, but there are state (strain) interests.
Product advertising is a good thing. The bad thing is that the "Urgant effect" can work - consumers will give themselves up to advertising and decide that these jars are good for everyone. Not for everyone at all! Everyone must find for themselves "their" bacteria, "their" products. How? Science doesn't know. But our body knows for sure. Let's listen to him!
What microorganism
Today, doctors cannot say which types of lactic acid bacteria are most effective and what is the real mechanism of their action. Nevertheless, in some bacteria, the therapeutic effect is considered proven. The name of such microorganisms is probiotics. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are among them.
The list of probiotics is growing slowly. Scientists first need to recognize the most effective stealth, and then prove its strength. It is difficult and long. After all, there are hundreds of types of lactic acid bacteria, and each type has varieties - strains.
There are about 400 types of bacteria in the human intestine, of which modern clinics can detect no more than 20.
Another problem is where to look for probiotics. Lactic acid bacteria are not exclusive to milk. These ancient microorganisms appeared at a time when there was no milk on Earth yet. Their primary habitat is plants, the extract of which they feed on. And they got their "milk" name because they were first isolated from milk.
Ode to sauerkraut
As a prudent, economical hostess, I always remember about alternative sources of lactic acid bacteria. Today, for example, I will not spend money on live yogurt, as I brought a piece of hard cheese, oranges and cabbage from the store.
In cheese - especially if it is well ripened - there are beneficial bacteria themselves, and the results of their activity: enzymes, vitamins. Just do not take processed cheese - when melted, all living things die.
What about fruits and vegetables? They also have the right bacteria. As well as in salted - but not sterilized! - cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms.
But sauerkraut is the best. In sauerkraut, you can find 8 types of lactobacilli and the same number of other beneficial microorganisms, probiotics in fact.
And another thought. It is useless to spend money on lactic acid bacteria if you are not feeding the inhabitants of your intestines correctly. Intestinal microflora "likes" to eat boiled vegetables, oatmeal, buckwheat, coarse bread. But meat is more to the taste of putrefactive microbes. Although proteins, if consumed in moderation, do not affect the number and diversity of lactic acid bacteria. But excess fat and alcohol is harmful.
And further. I have a dacha, and there was no case that I threw out weeds from the garden. Every last blade of grass I dig deeper into the ground with my miserly hand. What for? And then, what do I know about the discovery of scientists from the Institute of Nutrition. They discovered in lactic acid bacteria an amazing ability - to break down pesticides. But these pesticides for pest control poisoned all the gardens! And they don't decompose for centuries. Only lactic acid bacteria can decompose them into non-toxic components.
That's why I arrange free ecological cleaning of the soil. After all, plants, especially succulent ones, are a favorite place for the settlement of lactic acid bacteria.
Tatyana Maksimova
The store shelves of modern supermarkets are lined with various fermented milk products. What is more useful - kefir, yogurt or fermented baked milk? Or perhaps some other drink? Every time buyers face a difficult choice. They have heard a lot about the beneficial qualities of all fermented milk products. But it is important to know the criteria for evaluating their effect on health. Let's try to make the right choice and consider what is more useful - kefir or yogurt. Let's pay attention to the ryazhenka.
How did kefir get to Russia?
Kefir was first learned to be made in North Ossetia. In one of the local legends, it is said that the prophet Mohammed himself conveyed to the highlanders a long time ago. The recipe for the preparation of the drink was kept by the inhabitants of the Caucasus in strict secrecy. The scientific community learned about him only in 1876.
The sourdough was brought to Russia only in 1906. Today, kefir is produced in many countries of the world; for a real drink, only live sourdough is used, the one that comes from those fungi once brought to the country. Further in the article you will find out which is more useful - kefir or yogurt.
History of yogurt
Hot Turkey is considered the birthplace of yogurt. From Turkish, the word itself is translated as "condensed". Once upon a time, nomads, traveling through the steppes, took with them leather skins with milk to satisfy their hunger and thirst. On the inside of the wineskins, special bacteria formed, which, mixed with sour milk, made up a life-giving and non-perishable drink.
Yogurt bacteria was brought to Europe by the physician of the French King Louis XI. For many years, they were sold in pharmacies as a drug. But yogurt was widely used by Europeans at the beginning of the 20th century. It was released as a marketing strategy by a food company.
What is ryazhenka?
Ryazhenka is obtained from fatty baked milk. In the fight against excess weight, this is not a very suitable product. The very lowest fat content of fermented baked milk is 4%, which is much higher than that of yogurt. To bring the figure in order, it is better to give preference to kefir or unsweetened yogurt.
But fermented baked milk is the most purified fermented milk product, because it is obtained at a temperature of 40-45 ° C. It is very suitable for people with high stomach acidity, unlike kefir. People with gastritis prefer fermented baked milk.
What is the difference between kefir and yogurt, which is preferable?
How can healthy kefir be obtained from ordinary milk? All this thanks to the usual kefir fungus. This is a kind of synthesis of several bacteria (lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, streptococci). Milk for kefir is fermented in two ways - sour-milk and alcoholic fermentation. One-day kefir contains 0.06% ethyl alcohol. With an increase in the shelf life, the percentage of alcohol in the drink only increases. Due to carbon dioxide and acidity, kefir has tonic properties and invigorating spicy taste.
Yoghurt sourdough has a less complex formula and consists of only two types of bacteria - thermophilic streptococcus and Bulgarian sticks (Lactobacillus bulgaricus). It was in Bulgaria that this stick was first described. The Bulgarians spread the culture of yogurt nationally. An ancient legend tells of the Bulgarians who were the first to make yogurt from sheep's milk. In the process of fermentation of this drink, unlike kefir, yeast fungi do not participate, so there is no alcohol in it.
It is important to note that both kefir and yogurt contain live probiotics. They help the human colon to function well. Therefore, you need to buy only those drinks, on the packages of which it is written that there are living lactic acid organisms. Be sure to indicate the number of these bacteria on the package.
So, in kefir and yogurt there is a protein that is so necessary for the body. Kefir also includes lactic acid, carbon dioxide, B vitamins, micro and macro elements, polysaccharides. in yogurt it also produces vitamins and amino acids.
What is better - kefir or yogurt for the intestines and stomach?
Thanks to kefir, its diverse living bacteria, the native environment of the gastrointestinal tract normally exists and functions. Kefir bacteria eliminate pathogens in the stomach. Sometimes kefir bacteria replace the dead or injured intestinal or stomach microflora. Yeast fungi stabilize and maintain the condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Kefir is able to eliminate the dysbacteriosis that arose after antibiotic treatment.
Yogurt cleanses the stomach and intestines from harmful microorganisms, nourishes the intestinal microflora, and contributes to the normal functioning of these organs. The main difference between these two drinks is that yogurt microorganisms do not settle in the intestines, but come out along with harmful microbes (dysentery bacillus or a strain of Staphylococcus aureus).
It is important to note that kefir is not suitable for people with high stomach acidity, since carbon dioxide is present in it. People with gastritis or stomach ulcers should choose yogurt for themselves so as not to aggravate the disease. Therefore, if you do not know what is better for stomach pain - kefir or yogurt, give preference to the second, it does not increase acidity.
The famous scientist Mechnikov believed that it was necessary to alternate between each other - taking kefir and yogurt. If you use only one of these products, then the bacteria in the intestines will acclimatize, and the therapeutic effect will weaken. So it is better to drink both drinks.
What is better - kefir or yogurt for weight loss?
Many girls choose a kefir or yogurt diet to acquire harmony. Let's say right away that both of them help in this matter. It is only important that the yogurt is unsweetened, because sugar adds calories. It is best to purchase a special sourdough and prepare the drink yourself, then it will be beneficial.
If you doubt that it is more useful - kefir or yogurt, then for a diet, choose the alternation of yogurt and kefir. Such a diet will definitely benefit. To them, you can add moderately sweet fruits. Strawberries, raspberries, currants, peach, pineapple, orange, apple are excellent. Together with sports, such a diet will definitely help to bring the figure in order.
Kefir and yogurt for kids
It is important for young parents to know what is best for a child - kefir or yogurt. It must be said right away that both drinks are important. There is a special children's kefir on sale, which is offered to a baby at 8-9 months. Enter this product in the evening, 30 ml. Over time, the portion is increased. It is not recommended to give ordinary store-bought kefir to children.
Yogurt also begins to be given to babies from 9 months, but only specialized for children. When the child is one year old, berries and fruits can be added to the product. For a one-year-old baby, 100 ml of yogurt per day is enough.
Due to their healing properties, both kefir and yogurt are the most important elements of proper nutrition. Made from natural milk, they contain all its useful substances in a form more accessible to humans. They take much less time to digest. Vitamins and trace elements from yogurt and kefir are absorbed much faster than from milk.
Kefir and yogurt are recommended even to those people for whom milk is a taboo due to lactose intolerance. They have no analogues in dietary nutrition, there is nothing to replace them in health-improving diets, they are equally useful for both adults and children.
Kefir is called a gift from heaven, and the ancient translation of the word yogurt means long life. The fact that the age of the centenarians of the Caucasus often exceeds the age mark is largely due to the traditional sour-milk products that form the basis of the local cuisine.
Preparation of yogurt and kefir
Irina Salkova, Head of the Cheburashkin Brothers. Family farm":
To obtain kefir, whole or skimmed milk after pasteurization and cooling to the fermentation temperature is added with kefir ferment based on live kefir fungi. It is a symbiosis of lactic acid microorganisms and lactic yeast. It is they who start the process of lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation, which results in kefir containing lactic acid, carbon dioxide, B vitamins (B2, B3, B6, B9, B12), micro and macro elements, enzymes, easily digestible proteins, polysaccharides and other useful substances.
It is important that kefir can be used for the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases, since the microorganisms that make up kefir starter culture are antagonists of pathogenic and opportunistic microflora.
In the production of yogurt, whole or normalized pasteurized milk is made with a starter culture containing Lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus (Streptococcusthermophiles). Bulgarian stick is an essential component of real yogurt. The microorganisms of the Bulgarian stick produce vitamins and amino acids in the process of fermentation, which are involved in the processes of suppression of the pathogenic intestinal microflora.
Kefir and yogurt: which is healthier?
So, the differences in the processes that kefir and yogurt cause in the body are dictated by the different composition of their starter cultures. In yogurt, lactic fermentation occurs, and in kefir, due to the presence of acetic acid bacteria, alcohol is added to it.
The carbonic acid and acidity of kefir endow it with tonic properties and an invigorating spicy taste, but make it unsuitable for people with high stomach acidity. For those suffering from gastritis or stomach ulcers, yogurt is the best option. Its delicate creamy taste and the absence of yeast microorganisms neutralize the acidic environment and soothe the stomach.
Yogurt and kefir equally positively affect the immune system. They stimulate cardiac activity and metabolic processes, calm the nervous system and lower blood cholesterol levels, improve the condition of the skin, nails and hair.
With the help of beneficial bacteria that can settle on the inner surface of the intestine, kefir restores its microflora and eliminates dysbacteriosis acquired, for example, as a result of antibiotic treatment.
Yoghurt bacteria, unlike kefir bacteria, do not form colonies of beneficial microorganisms, but perfectly cleanse the intestinal tract from harmful pathogenic microbes, such as dysentery bacillus or a strain of Staphylococcus aureus.
More than a hundred years ago, a microbiologist, Nobel Prize winner Ilya Mechnikov experimentally established that the Bulgarian bacillus is the most active and viable of all known lactic acid bacteria. Due to its effect, an acid is produced that suppresses putrefactive processes inside the intestines.
Considering the Bulgarian stick as the main tool in the fight against aging, Mechnikov still believed that it was necessary to alternate kefir and yogurt. He explained this by the fact that prolonged use of one product leads to "acclimatization" in the intestine of bacteria of the same species and, accordingly, to a weakening of the therapeutic and preventive effect.
How to buy natural yogurt and kefir: read the label
The number of live beneficial bacteria in real yogurt and kefir should be at least 107 CFU (colony-forming units of lactic acid bacteria) per 1 g of the product throughout its shelf life.
The amount of yeast CFU in 1 g of kefir should be at least 104 CFU/g. The protein content per 100 g of product in kefir should be at least 3 g, and in yogurt - 3.2 g. At the same time, the mass fraction of fat in products can be different - from 0.1 to 10%.
Shelf life also indirectly indicates the naturalness of the product: the shelf life of natural yogurt and kefir is no more than 2 weeks at a temperature of 4±2°C.
When choosing products, many focus on texture. As kefir is stored, it becomes more heterogeneous, but the more homogeneous consistency of yogurt does not change over time, maintaining a constant density.
The calorie content of yogurt can reach up to 90 kilocalories, and the energy value of kefir usually does not exceed 60 kcal.
When choosing between kefir and yogurt, you need to remember that both products improve health, but their sweetened options reduce this positive effect to zero. For example, the beneficial substances of kefir and yogurt strengthen the gums, and the sweetener in yogurt destroys tooth enamel.
Kefir is often produced without additives, and yogurt manufacturers like to “decorate” it with dyes and flavor enhancers, thickeners and emulsifiers, sweeteners and additives from pieces of berries and fruits.
A reasonable and thoughtful buyer will never buy a kefir product, yogurt or biogurt instead of real kefir and yogurt, no matter what original jar or bright box the product itself is packed in. The same marketing ploy - the words "eco", "super", "max", "fresh", "green", "rustic".
When making your choice between kefir and yogurt, take the advice of the authoritative "kefir guru" Ilya Mechnikov - alternate these products in your diet, and then their cumulative benefits will increase.
