Monitoring the gut microbiota after yogurt consumption
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract encloses the gut microbiome, the ecological community of microbes and their genome. More and more data suggest that health benefits associated with probiotics food such as yogurt involves the gut microbiome. However, the change of the microbial composition and diversity of the GI tract is poorly documented. Here, the searchers used three different molecular methods to determine microbial community after ingestion of 250 g of yogurt (0% fat) per day, for a period of 42 days. The gut microbiota was monitored weekly. A subject who had never consumed yogurt was included as a control.
Yogurt appears to increase microbial diversity
After already 7 days, and more markedly thereafter, authors found that microbial communities clustered together for subjects consuming yogurt. They report that regular consumption of yogurt appeared to increase the numbers of Lactobacilli (a strain that naturally occurs in the gut but is also present in yogurt cultures). The microbial diversity appears to slightly increase with yogurt consumption in some subjects. Many recent studies have underlined the association between a greater microbial diversity and better health conditions (lower inflammation, lower risk of types 2 diabetes and obesity), so this could be an important finding. However, authors call for more research to characterize the effects of yogurt on microbial community structure and diversity.
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