Will Kefir help my IBD

Will kefir help my IBD?

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The turnover of bacteria in our guts is ongoing. Factors that can negatively affect our microbiome, making it imbalanced, include: the environment around us, stress, poor diet, certain medications, illness etc. This is known as ‘dysbiosis’ . It basically means, “not living together”. So, in other words, our microbiome isn’t working with us towards optimal health.

Symptoms of dysbiosis can include:

Digestive discomforts such as: belching, bloating, urgency to go, constipation, cramping, diarrhoea, food sensitivities/ intolerances, foul smelling stools, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) etc.
Acne
Anxiety
Fatigue
Depression
Skin conditions
Some immune conditions

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease may suffer with many of these symptoms. This could be as a result of their IBD but it may also be as a result of dysbiosis or condition such as IBS. Taking kefir may help with these symptoms.

There has been no specific research into relation to kefir and ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. However, it is becoming increasingly accepted that intestinal dysbiosis (an imbalance of the gut microbiota) is found in people with IBD1, 2, 3.

Kefir bacteria have shown to be able to colonise the intestinal tract and the yeasts within kefir (such as Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir) have shown to help control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body (Murray & Pizzorno, 2007). This can help create symbiosis again.

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