Greek Yogurt vs Kefir: Which Is Less Inflammatory?

Neither Greek yogurt nor kefir is less inflammatory than the other: both score 3 on the inflammation scale. They are the same idea at different thicknesses, milk fermented with live cultures, one thick enough for a spoon and one thin enough to drink.

Greek yogurt has the tidier result behind it: across trials it brings down, mildly, the main sign of inflammation a routine blood test looks for. Straining is the step that makes it Greek, and it takes out most of the lactose and leaves about twice the protein of ordinary yogurt, so a pot sits easier than milk and keeps you full for hours.

Kefir carries more kinds of microbe, yeasts as well as bacteria, because it is fermented with kefir grains instead of two or three added cultures. Adults who drank a glass a day for six weeks had their digestive symptoms settle, and the versions made with traditional grains brought inflammation signals down. Neither one fixes the dairy protein, which survives fermentation in both and is among the most common trigger foods in autoimmune conditions. Buy whichever you prefer plain and add the fruit at home, because flavoured pots and bottles can hold as much sugar as a dessert, and pay no attention to the word probiotic on the front, which has never been shown to lower inflammation any further.