Potential Health Benefits of Combining Yogurt and Fruits Based on Their Probiotic and Prebiotic Properties

Fermented dairy foods rich in probiotics and cardiometabolic risk factors: a narrative review from prospective cohort studies

Probiotic foods, including fermented dairy (FD) products such as yogurt and cheese, naturally contain live microorganisms, but the relationship between the consumption of probiotic foods and health is unclear. The aim of the present narrative review is to integrate the available information on the relationship between the most studied FD products, which are yogurt and cheese, and cardiometabolic risk factors obtained from meta-analysis, systematic reviews of prospective cohort studies (PCSs) and PCSs published up to 2 November 2019. Additionally, the effects identified by randomized controlled trials of less-studied FD products, such as kefir and kimchi, on cardiometabolic risk factors are provided. PCSs have shown that the consumption of cheese, despite its high saturated fat content, is not associated with expected hypercholesterolemia and an increased cardiovascular risk. PCSs have revealed that the total consumption of FD appears to be associated with a lower risk of developing stroke and cardiovascular disease. The consumption of yogurt seems to be associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. There is a lack of sufficient evidence of a protective relationship between FD or cheese consumption and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, the association of FD, cheese and yogurt with hypertension needs further evidence. In conclusion, the intake of fermented foods containing probiotics, particularly yogurt and cheese (of an undetermined type), opens up new opportunities for the management of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Yogurt consumption in relation to mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes: a prospective investigation in 2 cohorts of US women and men

BACKGROUND

Although a link between regular yogurt consumption and mortality appears plausible, data are sparse and have yielded inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the association between regular yogurt consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among US women and men.

METHODS

A total of 82,348 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 40,278 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study without a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer in 1980 (women) or 1986 (men) were followed up until 2012. Yogurt consumption was assessed by updated validated FFQs.

RESULTS

During 3,354,957 person-years of follow-up, 20,831 women and 12,397 men died. Compared with no yogurt consumption, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) of mortality were 0.89 (0.86, 0.93), 0.85 (0.81, 0.89), 0.88 (0.84, 0.91), and 0.91 (0.85, 0.98) for ≤1-3 servings/mo, 1 serving/wk, 2-4 servings/wk, and >4 servings/wk in women (P-trend = 0.34), respectively. For men, the corresponding HRs (95% CIs) were 0.99 (0.94, 1.03), 0.98 (0.91, 1.05), 1.04 (0.98, 1.10), and 1.05 (0.95, 1.16), respectively. We further noted inverse associations for cancer mortality (multivariable-adjusted HR comparing extreme categories: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78, 0.98; P-trend = 0.04) and CVD mortality (HR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.79, 1.08; P-trend = 0.41) in women, although the latter was attenuated in the multivariable-adjusted model. Replacement of 1 serving/d of yogurt with 1 serving/d of nuts (women and men) or whole grains (women) was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, whereas replacement of yogurt with red meat, processed meat (women and men), and milk or other dairy foods (women) was associated with a greater mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, regular yogurt consumption was related to lower mortality risk among women. Given that no clear dose-response relation was apparent, this result must be interpreted with caution.

[Role of yogurt in children's breakfast]

INTRODUCTION

Some studies link children and adolescents breakfast habits with a better quality of the diet and higher intake of nutrients in general, and lower adiposity and cardiometabolic risk, which highlights the important role of this meal. A quality breakfast should include at least three food groups: cereals, dairy and fruits. However, the most frequent breakfast of Spanish schoolchildren combines only dairy and cereals. Therefore, it would be desirable to incorporate fruit in this first meal of the day, which would also help to improve the overall low consumption of fruit by Spanish children. On the other hand, yogurt is a food of high nutritional density and its habitual consumption in children is associated with a greater intake of most nutrients, with the follow-up of more balanced diets and with a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity. Incorporating yogurt into breakfast can help to improve the intake of some of the nutrients that are insufficiently in the diet, and can be a vehicle to incorporate other foods such as fruits. The combination of these two foods in the same meal has a synergistic effect, both by complementing the nutrients of each of these foods, and by the synbiotic effect that is achieved by adding the probiotic effect of yogurt and the prebiotic fiber of the fruits.

Diet Consisting of Balanced Yogurt, Fruit, and Vegetables Modifies the Gut Microbiota and Protects Mice against Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

BACKGROUND

Calorie restriction (CR) is a therapeutically effective method for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. However, the compliance of the CR method is relatively poor. New CR methods are needed.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Each week, mice are given a 5-day high-fat diet (HFD) ad libitum plus 2 days of an intermittent calorie restriction (ICR) diet (50% calorie restriction) consisting of yogurt, fruit, and vegetables, for 16 weeks. The effect of the ICR diet model on the fatty liver of mice is examined. Compared with continuous HFD-fed mice, the mice feeding HFD+ICR have lower body weight and hepatic steatosis, reduced serum lipid and transaminase levels, increased fatty acid oxidation gene of Cpt1a, and decreased hepatic lipid synthesis gene of Pparγ and Srebf-1c, as well as improved insulin resistance and lower level of inflammation. Moreover, ICR reverses the dysbacteriosis in HFD group, including the lower Shannon diversity indexes and lower abundance of Lactobacillus.

CONCLUSION

An ICR diet consisting of yogurt, fruit, and vegetables attenuates the development of HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in mice. Furthermore, HFD+ICR diet is associated with a different fecal microbiota that tends to be more similar to normal diet controls.

Greek Yogurt and 12 Weeks of Exercise Training on Strength, Muscle Thickness and Body Composition in Lean, Untrained, University-Aged Males

Milk and/or whey protein plus resistance exercise (RT) increase strength and muscle size, and optimize body composition in adult males and females. Greek yogurt (GY) contains similar muscle-supporting nutrients as milk yet it is different in several ways including being a semi-solid food, containing bacterial cultures and having a higher protein content (mostly casein) per serving. GY has yet to be investigated in the context of a RT program. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of GY consumption plus RT on strength, muscle thickness and body composition in lean, untrained, university-aged males. Thirty untrained, university-aged (20.6 ± 2.2 years) males were randomized to 2 groups (n = 15/group): fat-free, plain GY or a Placebo Pudding (PP; isoenergetic carbohydrate-based pudding) and underwent a combined RT/plyometric training program 3 days/week for 12 weeks. They consumed either GY (20 g protein/dose) or PP (0 g protein/dose) daily, 3 times on training days and 2 times on non-training days. After 12 weeks, both groups significantly increased strength, muscle thickness and fat-free mass (FFM) (p < 0.05). The GY group gained more total strength (GY; 98 ± 37 kg, PP; 57 ± 15 kg), more biceps brachii muscular thickness (GY; 0.46 ± 0.3 cm, PP; 0.12 ± 0.2 cm), more FFM (GY; 2.4 ± 1.5 kg, PP; 1.3 ± 1.3 kg), and reduced % body fat (GY; −1.1 ± 2.2%, PP; 0.1 ± 2.6%) than PP group (p < 0.05 expressed as absolute change). Thus, consumption of GY during a training program resulted in improved strength, muscle thickness and body composition over a carbohydrate-based placebo. Given the results of our study, the general benefits of consuming GY and its distinctiveness from milk, GY can be a plausible, post-exercise, nutrient-rich alternative for positive strength, muscle, and body composition adaptations.

Concepts, benefits and perspectives of functional dairy food products

The rising awareness of the consumers towards the health benefits of food has resulted in the development of the so-called functional foods. These added value products which refer to prevention and/or therapeutic effects of food beyond its nutritional value, are especially useful for health improvement and reduction of medical care costs. The combination between health and nutrition and its potential to improve the quality of life has become one of the key attention points of consumers who are aware of and are seeking nutritional solutions to their health concerns. Milk and dairy products have been used in human nutrition for thousands of years, providing important nutrients for the human body such as proteins, fats and calcium. It is now widely recognized that in addition to their basic nutritive role they also exert functional properties beneficial for human health, so the development of functional dairy products is one of the fastest growing areas in the dairy industry as well as one of the largest sectors in the global market of functional foods. This review provides a brief overview of the health benefits and the natural functionality of dairy products as well as the challenges together with the future perspectives of their application as delivery vehicles for beneficial compounds to the human body. Keywords: functional foods, milk, dairy products

Antioxidant, physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of probiotic yoghurt incorporated with various Annona species pulp

In this study, antioxidant, chemical, microbiological, and sensory attributes changes taking place during the production of probiotic yoghurt using pulp of soursop (Annona muricata), sweetsop (Annona squamosa), and custard apple (Annona reticulata) were evaluated. The products were stored at 4 °C for 28 d, during which time physicochemical properties and viability of probiotic bacteria and yoghurt starter cultures were evaluated weekly. Yoghurts prepared with fruit pulps displayed higher antioxidant activities on the first day of storage compared to the control. During the storage, the addition of fruit pulps influenced (p < 0.05) pH, titratable acidity, syneresis and counts of B. animalis ssp. lactis BB-12 of yoghurts, whereas counts of Streptococcus thermophiles and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus were found to be insignificant. Sensory evaluation results showed that yoghurt containing soursop fruit pulp had better sensory scores than other treatments. Therefore, these results proved that soursop can be used to produce probiotic yoghurt with enhanced physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties.

Biochemical, Microbiological, and Sensory Characteristics of Stirred Yogurt Containing Red or Green Pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Chungyang) Juice

Hot pepper has anti-obesity effects by controlling appetite and reducing blood fat level. To reduce the pungency of capsaicin, red or green hot pepper juice was fermented with Bacillus licheniformis SK1230. Fermented hot pepper juice was then added into yogurt at different ratios. The pH of yogurt added with hot pepper juice was decreased from 4.61 to 4.48. Titratable acidity and counts of lactic acid bacteria were increased with increasing amount of pepper juice added. However, the viscosity was decreased significantly compared to the control. On chromaticity test, when more pepper juice was added, L*-value was decreased whereas a*- and b*- values were increased significantly (p<0.05). The spectrum of antimicrobial activity of yogurt was slightly changed compared to using pepper juice. Total polyphenol contents and antioxidant activity were increased with increasing amount of pepper juice added. Stirred yogurt added with fermented red pepper juice at 3% or green pepper juice at 1% showed high scores in flavor, appearance, texture, and overall acceptance in sensory test. Yogurt added with fermented pepper juice with reduced pungency showed also good palatability during storage at 4°C. Yogurt with added hot pepper juice can be play an important role in functional food relative to anti-obesity.

Therapeutic effect of lyophilized, Kefir-fermented milk on constipation among persons with mental and physical disabilities

AIM

Constipation is a serious problem for persons with mental and physical disabilities in Japan. However, prophylaxis is extremely difficult because the major causes of constipation in these individuals are related to their mental and physical disabilities. Constipation can be successfully treated with glycerol enemas (GEs) and other aperients. As constipation is a lifetime issue for these persons, dietary regimens to prevent constipation can be important.

METHODS

This study evaluated the probiotic effects of kefir-fermented milk for preventing constipation in 42 persons with mental and physical disabilities. The participants were administered 2 g of lyophilized kefir with each meal for 12 weeks and their bowel movements, the administration of GE and other aperients, and stool shape were recorded.

RESULTS

The intake of kefir significantly reduced constipation, compared with the baseline status. Some individuals showed complete relief of constipation, whereas others showed no effect.

CONCLUSION

Despite individual variations, consuming kefir daily could prevent constipation.

The effect of Isabel grape addition on the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of probiotic goat milk yogurt

Goat milk is an attractive food because of its nutritional properties, easy digestibility and hypoallergenicity. Goat milk yogurt is an appropriate matrix for the inclusion of new ingredients such as probiotic cultures, fruit and its derivatives. Grapes are rich in polyphenols and recognized for their health benefits. The aim of this study was to improve the quality characteristics of probiotic goat milk yogurt by the addition of an Isabel grape (Vitis labrusca L.) preparation (IGP). For this, the influence of the addition of IGP on the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics of goat milk yogurt containing the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05 was evaluated during 28 days of refrigerated storage (5 ± 0.5 °C). Four yogurt formulations were prepared, each varying in the added IGP amount, as follows: Y0 (not containing IGP), YG15 (containing 15 g per 100 mL of IGP), YG20 (containing 20 g per 100 mL of IGP), and YG25 (containing 25 g per 100 mL of IGP). All formulations showed probiotic counts ranging from 7 to 8 log CFU mL^-1 over the assessed storage period. The addition of 20 g per 100 mL of IGP affected positively the colour, viscosity, and sensory acceptance of the yogurt formulations. The production of goat milk yogurt containing L. acidophilus LA-05 and IGP is an option for developing a new goat dairy product with added value due to the inclusion of components with potential functional properties.