Stomach bloating could be reversed by drinking fermented kefir milk, a nutritionist has alleged.
Jeannette Hyde, writing in her book ‘The Gut Makeover’ said kefir could reduce the painful swelling as it “contains billions of beneficial bacteria, which you can parachute into your gut to help redress the balance between friendly and non-friendly bacteria”.
“Kefir, a staple in Eastern Europe, tastes like a slightly fizzy drinking yoghurt and is delicious blended with fruit.
“Kefir contains very low lactose after it has been fermented which means it is often well-tolerated by people who can’t usually tolerate milk foods well.
“It can help plant lactobacilli bacteria in your gut so you tolerate lactose from other foods better too.”
Other experts agreed with Jeannette that kefir could help reduce stomach bloating.
Dr Josh Axe, writing on his website, said the drink can reduce symptoms of lactose intolerance, such as stomach bloating.
“The active ingredient in kefir helps break lactose down into lactic acid, making it easier to digest,” they said.
“Furthermore, kefir has a larger range of bacterial strains and nutrients, some only specific to kefir, that help remove almost all of the lactose in dairy.”
Substantiating his claims, Dr Josh quoted a study from the Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The 2003 study looked at the foods effect on 15 healthy adults, and found kefir could reduce the level of flatulence, but said “further studies are required” to confirm the findings.
Medical website Healthline added kefir could help reduce many digestive problems because it can “restore the balance of friendly bacteria in the gut”.
“This is why they are highly effective for many forms of diarrhoea.
“There is also a lot of evidence that probiotics and probiotic foods can help with all sorts of digestive problems, such as kefir.
“This includes irritable bowel syndrome, IBS, ulcers caused by a bacterial infection and various others.
They added kefir was a “more powerful” probiotic than yoghurt, as it contains around 30 strains of bacteria and yeast.
Other ways to reduce the painful swelling include drinking a smoothie containing blueberries and ginger.
Blueberries have already been labelled as a good food to reduce bloating by Healthline.
The website recommends switching apples for these, alongside bananas, grapefruits and oranges.
Ginger is also known to help soothe the digestive tract, helping substances move more easily through the body and reducing stomach bloating.
James Duke, author of The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods, told Livestrong.com: “Ginger calms intestinal activity and expels gas from your digestive tract.
“It also thins blood and improves circulation, which further helps to relieve bloating.”
