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Benefits Of Kefir For Diabetes

Fermentation of a milk matrix produces kefir. 

Regular consumption of kefir has been associated to the reduction of severity of inflammatory bowel disease, antihypertensive effect, anticarcinogenic effect, increased insulin sensitivity, improved lipid profile, therapeutic effects on osteoporosis, and neurodegenerative disease. The positive health effects have been related to the antioxidant capacity and modulation of the intestinal microbiota by the kefir drink.

Since the 6th millennium BC, milk has featured in the human diet. In order to increase its shelf life, surplus milk was fermented. Early humans discovered that preserved sour milk maintain their nutrients and is relatively more stable. Kefir is a homemade dairy beverage generated through fermentation of lactose in milk by bacteria and yeasts naturally existent in kefir grains. Traditionally, the fermentation of kefir was performed for 24 h at room temperature in goatskins, clay pots, or wooden buckets. The ruminants’ (cows, goats, sheep, camels, or buffalo) milk was applied as the fermentation substrate, in which at the end of this procedure kefir was isolated from the grains by drawing the beverage off.

Kefir can be produced either via the traditional method or a commercial process. The small-scale production calls for direct addition of kefir grains to milk that has been pasteurized and cooled to 20–25 °C.

When producing at a large scale, kefir can be manufactured by using commercial starter cultures that are directly inoculated into the milk or by using the “Russian method”. This involves a backslopping procedure, a serial fermentation processes that begins with kefir produced from grains that are then used as natural starter cultures for milk fermentation. Although kefir can be produced from different sources of animal milk, kefir made from cow’s milk remains the most popular in Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, similar to other fermented milk products the condition of raw milk is crucial for kefir production. By and large, the raw milk for manufacturing kefir should be: rich inconstituent, low bacterial and somatic cell counts, and lack of pathogens or hindering substances, like antibiotics and disinfectant remains.

Effect on Plasma Glucose

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic glucose metabolism disorder with severe clinical consequences, such as retinopathy, nephropathy, and stroke. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder marked by the rise in blood glucose due to a decrease in insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells and insulin resistance. Additionally, the increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus worldwide in recent decades is associated with the rise in the prevalence of obesity in the population.

A clinical trial in 60 diabetic patients aged from 35 to 65 years showed that kefir decreased the fasting blood glucose and HbA1C levels  

Bioactive compounds in kefir were tested on glucose metabolism in obesity and diabetes murine models in vivo. Oral administration of a mixture of EPS-producer (exopolysaccarides) Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus kefiri during eight weeks did not affect the plasma glucose level but treatment effectively reduced adipocyte tissue weight by 36%, in addition to downregulating the proinflammatory and fatty acid synthesis gene expression in the adipocytes. This indicates that the regulation of fatty acid metabolism in adipose tissue is not a determining factor in promoting a significant change in plasma glucose.

In contrast, administration of a mixture of 5 to 20 mL of kefir with black rice extract—1 : 1/kg bw—during four weeks enhanced by up to 199% and 2330% of the Langerhans islet in the pancreas and insulin-positive β-cells, respectively, in diabetic rats. The concentration completely reversed the pancreatic damage induced by STZ-NA (Streptozotocin-nicotinamide), achieving a similar effect to the glibenclamide, an antidiabetic drug of the second-generation sulfonylureas class that reduces blood glucose by increasing insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells. The effect was attributed to the proton-radical scavenging activity from alcohol and phenolic compounds present in the beverage. This finding demonstrates that the antioxidative capacity must be a significant factor in promoting the homeostasis of insulin production by the pancreas. The study did not test a formulation without adding black rice extract therefore it is impossible to determine how much of this positive effect on β-cells can be attributed to the kefir alone. Indeed, the addition of black rice extract increased by 56.8% the antioxidant capacity of the beverage compared to the kefir alone.

The effect of bioactive compounds of kefir on glucose metabolism are inconclusive, so further studies with pure kefir drink or with bioactive compounds isolated from it are urgently needed.

Kefir Benefits For Diabetes