RESEARCH by Teagasc scientists has given positive initial indications of the benefits of fermented milk in terms of healthier gut health.

Fermentation – the process by which an organism converts a carbohydrate such as starch or sugar into an alcohol or acid – has been used down through the centuries in food and drinks.

Now, the Teagasc researchers, are using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to ferment skimmed milk with the resultant product then being added to faecal samples of healthy volunteers to check out its impact on microbes in the human gut.

The researchers used skimmed milk and fermented it with individual bacterial strains belonging to the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group – a class of bacteria commonly involved in the fermentation process of dairy fermented foods. They then ‘heat-killed’ the LAB strain.

According to the winter edition of the Teagasc TResearch magazine, while studies are ongoing into the possible beneficial impact of the fermented milk, ‘they have already obtained some promising preliminary results’.

The article points out that several milk-based fermentates have demonstrated the potential to elicit health benefits by increasing ‘friendly bacteria’ – such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus – which are typically associated with good gut health.

Teagasc Research Officer, Harsh Mathur, explained that in the study the fermented skimmed milk was added to the faecal samples to see its impact on both the ‘friendly bacteria’ and the ‘disease causing bacteria’.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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