Kefir

• The brunch will include a panel with Teigen and Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky and showcase how Lifeway Kefir and Farmer Cheese can be paired with Cravings at-home baking mixes to create culinary masterpieces.
• Lifeway fans in Los Angeles should also be on the lookout for a new Grassfed Kefir billboard coming to the Sunset Strip.
• "While some food trends come and go, consumer interest in nutritious, high-quality foods remains paramount," said Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods.
• I'm excited for another year at Natural Products Expo West to connect with food enthusiasts and retailers and share our microbiome-supporting probiotic products with attendees throughout the show."

• For instance, there is some evidence eating or drinking fermented foods can improve blood glucose control in people with diabetes.
• They can lower blood lipid (fats) levels and blood pressure in people with diabetes or obesity.
• But can they help you lose weight, as a recent study suggests?

Remind me, what are fermented foods?

• Fermented foods are ones prepared when microbes (bacteria and/or yeast) ferment (or digest) food components to form new foods.
• As a result of fermentation, the food becomes acidic, extending its shelf life (food-spoilage microbes are less likely to grow under these conditions).
• These postbiotics are thought to contribute to the health benefits of the fermented foods, alongside the health benefits of the bacteria themselves.

What does the evidence say?

• The South Korean study involved 115,726 men and women aged 40-69 who reported how much kimchi they’d eaten over the previous year.
• The study was funded by the World Institute of Kimchi, which specialises in researching the country’s national dish.
• Eating one to three servings of any type of kimchi a day was associated with a lower risk of obesity in men.
• And women who ate two to three serves a day of baechu were less likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity.

How about evidence from experimental trials?

• There have been several experimental studies looking at how much weight people lose after eating various types of fermented foods.
• Other studies looked at markers or measures of appetite, but not weight loss.

• But this did not impact their appetite or whether they felt full.
• A study in South Korea asked people to eat about 70g a day of chungkookjang (fermented soybean).
• A systematic review of all studies that looked at the impact of fermented foods on satiety (feeling full) showed no effect.

What should I do?

• These experimental studies have been short in length, and many did not report weight changes.
• To date, most of the studies have used different fermented foods, so it is difficult to generalise across them all.
• Nevertheless, fermented foods are still useful as part of a healthy, varied and balanced diet, particularly if you enjoy them.

Are there downsides?

• The latest kimchi study said the average amount of kimchi South Koreans eat provides about 490mg of salt a day.
• For an Australian, this would represent about 50% of the suggested dietary target for optimal health.

Evangeline Mantzioris is affiliated with Alliance for Research in Nutrition, Exercise and Activity (ARENA) at the University of South Australia. Evangeline Mantzioris has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has been appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Dietary Guideline Expert Committee.

• Straus Family Creamery —renowned for its minimally processed premium organic dairy products and leadership in sustainable and regenerative carbon farming practices—announces the launch of its organic lowfat kefirs , available in two flavors— Plain and Blueberry .
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240122925355/en/
  Straus Family Creamery introduces two NEW Organic Lowfat Kefirs in Plain and Blueberry.
• Deliciously creamy and tart, Straus Kefir adheres to the company’s commitment to all organic dairy products made with pure and simple ingredients and no additives, thickeners, stabilizers, or preservatives.
• Straus Family Creamery Organic Lowfat Kefir, like all Straus organic dairy products, derives its distinct flavor and velvety texture from the organic milk used to make it.

• The crew will be available for interviews at 5 p.m. CST Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Space Center Houston.
• Reporters may request an in-person interview no later than 12 p.m. Dec. 6 by emailing Dana Davis at [email protected] .
• NASA's SpaceX Crew mission launched in October 2022 with Mann, Cassada, and Wakata, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, on the fifth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
• The international crew that flew on the Soyuz spacecraft served on Expeditions 68 and 69 aboard the space station.