Page 139 - Petelin, Ana. 2020. Ed. Zdravje delovno aktivne populacije / Health of the Working-Age Population. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 139
3; Stenman et al., 2016), while some haven’t (Stadlbauer et al., 2015; Mokkala the effect of kefir and milk intake on intestinal permeability 137
et al., 2018). CRP and adiponectin were not significantly affected by neither of
the two interventions. We did not observe significant changes in the incidence
of gastrointestinal symptoms, with the exception of significantly decreased sen-
sation of bloating after kefir intervention. In most studies, consumption of ke-
fir or other probiotics had beneficial effects on most gastrointestinal symptoms
(Kato-Kataoka et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2018; Yılmaz et al., 2019). Stool consisten-
cy became softer after both kefir and milk intervention. The average number
of defecations increased after kefir intervention and decreased after milk in-
tervention. The percentage of participants who defecated at a consistent time
each day decreased after kefir intervention and increased after milk interven-
tion. Some other studies also found a beneficial effect of both kefir and milk on
stool consistency or there were no differences compared to the control group
(Moreira et al., 2017; Maki et al., 2018), while some studies have shown a benefi-
cial effect of kefir or other probiotics on stool consistency, with the effect being
significantly different from the control group (Lee et al., 2018; Yoon et al., 2018).
Conclusions
We conducted one of the first studies comparing the effects of kefir and milk
on zonulin levels and gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy asymptomatic in-
dividuals. We have shown that daily consumption of kefir could be an effective
strategy for individuals with constipation and bloating problems. There is still
a lack of solid evidence for the use of probiotics for most medical conditions.
References
Bell, V., Ferrão, J., Pimentel, L., Pintado, M. and Fernandes, T. 2018. One health,
fermented foods and gut microbiota. Foods, vol. 7, no. 12.
Bischoff, S. C., Barbara, G., Buurman, W., Ockhuizen, T., Schulzke, J.-D., Seri-
no, M., … and Wells, J. M. 2014. Intestinal permeability – a new target for
disease prevention and therapy. BMC Gastroenterology, vol. 14, pp. 1–25.
Bourrie, B. C. T., Willing, B. P. and Cotter, P. D. 2016. The microbiota and
health promoting characteristics of the fermented beverage kefir. Fron-
tiers in microbiology, vol. 7, pp. 1–17.
Fasano, A. 2012. Zonulin, regulation of tight junctions, and autoimmune dis-
eases. Annals of the New York academy of sciences, vol. 1258, pp. 25–33.
Jenko Pražnikar, Z., Kenig, S., Vardjan, T., Černelič Bizjak, M. and Petelin, A.
2020. Effects of kefir or milk supplementation on zonulin in overweight
subjects. Journal of dairy science, vol. 103, no. 5, pp. 3961–3070.
Kato-Kataoka, A., Nishida, K., Takada, M., Kawai, M., Kikuchi-Hayakawa, H.,
Suda, K., … and Rokutan, K. 2016. Fermented milk containing Lactoba-
cillus casei strain Shirota preserves the diversity of the gut microbiota and
relieves abdominal dysfunction in healthy medical students exposed to
et al., 2018). CRP and adiponectin were not significantly affected by neither of
the two interventions. We did not observe significant changes in the incidence
of gastrointestinal symptoms, with the exception of significantly decreased sen-
sation of bloating after kefir intervention. In most studies, consumption of ke-
fir or other probiotics had beneficial effects on most gastrointestinal symptoms
(Kato-Kataoka et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2018; Yılmaz et al., 2019). Stool consisten-
cy became softer after both kefir and milk intervention. The average number
of defecations increased after kefir intervention and decreased after milk in-
tervention. The percentage of participants who defecated at a consistent time
each day decreased after kefir intervention and increased after milk interven-
tion. Some other studies also found a beneficial effect of both kefir and milk on
stool consistency or there were no differences compared to the control group
(Moreira et al., 2017; Maki et al., 2018), while some studies have shown a benefi-
cial effect of kefir or other probiotics on stool consistency, with the effect being
significantly different from the control group (Lee et al., 2018; Yoon et al., 2018).
Conclusions
We conducted one of the first studies comparing the effects of kefir and milk
on zonulin levels and gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy asymptomatic in-
dividuals. We have shown that daily consumption of kefir could be an effective
strategy for individuals with constipation and bloating problems. There is still
a lack of solid evidence for the use of probiotics for most medical conditions.
References
Bell, V., Ferrão, J., Pimentel, L., Pintado, M. and Fernandes, T. 2018. One health,
fermented foods and gut microbiota. Foods, vol. 7, no. 12.
Bischoff, S. C., Barbara, G., Buurman, W., Ockhuizen, T., Schulzke, J.-D., Seri-
no, M., … and Wells, J. M. 2014. Intestinal permeability – a new target for
disease prevention and therapy. BMC Gastroenterology, vol. 14, pp. 1–25.
Bourrie, B. C. T., Willing, B. P. and Cotter, P. D. 2016. The microbiota and
health promoting characteristics of the fermented beverage kefir. Fron-
tiers in microbiology, vol. 7, pp. 1–17.
Fasano, A. 2012. Zonulin, regulation of tight junctions, and autoimmune dis-
eases. Annals of the New York academy of sciences, vol. 1258, pp. 25–33.
Jenko Pražnikar, Z., Kenig, S., Vardjan, T., Černelič Bizjak, M. and Petelin, A.
2020. Effects of kefir or milk supplementation on zonulin in overweight
subjects. Journal of dairy science, vol. 103, no. 5, pp. 3961–3070.
Kato-Kataoka, A., Nishida, K., Takada, M., Kawai, M., Kikuchi-Hayakawa, H.,
Suda, K., … and Rokutan, K. 2016. Fermented milk containing Lactoba-
cillus casei strain Shirota preserves the diversity of the gut microbiota and
relieves abdominal dysfunction in healthy medical students exposed to
