Hello, I'm Monica Reinegel, and you're listening to the Nutrition Diva podcast, a show where

I try to keep you up to date with the latest nutrition science and down to earth in terms

of your daily dietary strategies.

I'm glad you're here today.

We're talking about fatty liver disease, including some new developments on the nomenclature,

as well as advice on what to do if you have it.

But first, we have time for a quick listener Q&A.

Ken writes, I've been listening to your podcast for decades, and I thank you for your unbiased

information.

I've heard that milk, kefir, has many more beneficial probiotics than yogurt made

from the same whole milk.

Has there been any research to confirm this claim?

The main difference between these two fermented dairy products is that kefir is fermented

with a combination of lactobacillus bacteria and yeasts, while yogurt contains only lactobacillus

bacteria.

As they grow and divide, these bacteria digest the lactose in the milk and they produce

lactic acid, and that's what gives yogurt and kefir their characteristic tartness.

Now in kefir, the fermenting yeast also produces carbon dioxide, which makes the kefir

slightly effervescent or fizzy, and it also produces small amounts of alcohol as a

byproduct.

Now most of the commercially produced kefir in the United States contains little to no

alcohol, so that it doesn't have to be labeled or sold as an alcoholic drink.

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