This project was initiated in an attempt to determine the effects of fermented dairy products on plasma cholesterol concentrations. The literature indicates that bacteria, in the small intestine, could modify circulating cholesterol levels through their effects on bile acid excretion. As a result, cholesterol is mobilized for de novo bile synthesis. Furthermore, bacterial fermentation in the small intestine produces short chain fatty acids which affect cholesterol production by the liver. A cross-over, placebo-controlled study was thus conducted on 13 hypercholesterolemic men to establish the effect of kefir, a fermented milk, on cholesterol levels. Subjects consumed kefir or milk for periods of four weeks separated by a four-week washout period. There was no effect on plasma total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or triacylglyceride levels upon treatment with kefir. Milk significantly decreased myristic acid (p < 0.01) and palmitoleic acid (p < 0.05) concentrations. Fractional synthesis rate of cholesterol was significantly greater after kefir supplementation than after milk supplementation (0.057 vs 0.042g/day). The effect seen on fractional synthesis rate of cholesterol may be the result of a significant decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (p < 0.05) during milk supplementation. However, it was concluded that the bacterial content of kefir may have been too low to produce any significant effect on blood lipid parameters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21645 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | St-Onge, Marie-Pierre. |
| Contributors | Jones, Peter (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001657190, proquestno: MQ50885, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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