The Umi Jigoku onsen (scorching spring) is likely one of the gorgeous onsens you possibly can see at Beppu Metropolis. Whereas this onsen is much too scorching to take a dip in, Beppu is famend for its quite a few onsens and the purported well being advantages it supplies. Credit score: Kyushu College
Researchers at Kyushu College have demonstrated that yogurt consumption will increase the range of intestine microbiota and alters its composition. Moreover, bathing in chloride scorching springs after yogurt consumption was discovered to enhance defecation standing greater than yogurt alone.
These findings counsel that combining two life-style interventions—yogurt consumption and scorching spring bathing—could contribute to raised well being, highlighting their potential software for preventive medication.
The research was printed within the journal Frontiers in Vitamin.
Sustaining a wholesome intestine setting is significant for general well being, because it performs a key position in regulating digestion, immune responses, and even neurological operate. Yogurt, which accommodates prebiotic microorganisms equivalent to lactic acid micro organism and bifidobacteria, has been identified to modulate the intestine microbiota and supply a spread of well being advantages.
On this context, researchers at Kyushu College targeted on Japanese scorching springs, also referred to as Onsen. “We have previously reported the beneficial effects of onsen bathing on the gut microbiota. However, little has been known about how the combination of diet and onsen bathing influences health,” says Professor Shunsuke Managi of Kyushu College’s City Institute, who led the analysis.
“Therefore, we collaborated with Beppu City here in Kyushu, a region well known for its onsen, to investigate the effects of onsen bathing after yogurt intake.”
This research enrolled 47 wholesome grownup women and men who had not bathed in onsens inside 14 days previous to the beginning of the trial. The contributors had been then randomly assigned to one in all three teams: a management group, a yogurt group, and a yogurt plus onsen group.
On this research, volunteers had been divided into three teams: management, yogurt, and yogurt and onsen. After 4 weeks of monitoring the group discovered that people who consumed yogurt had elevated intestine microbiota range, had adjustments in intestine microbiota taxa, and enhancements in bowel motion standing. People who consumed yogurt in addition to frequently bathed in onsen reported improved bowel motion standing with a larger tendency in that of the yogurt group. Credit score: Shunsuke Managi/Kyushu College
The management group obtained no intervention, whereas the yogurt group consumed 180 g of low-sugar yogurt containing Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus after dinner every day. Along with this, the yogurt plus onsen group bathed in Beppu’s chloride spring for greater than quarter-hour a minimum of as soon as each two days.
Earlier than and after the four-week intervention interval, intestine microbiota surveys had been carried out utilizing stool samples, and a questionnaire on defecation standing containing 14 gadgets which included evaluating stool frequency, stool consistency, the feeling of incomplete evacuation, and the usage of laxatives was administered.
The outcomes revealed a big improve in intestine microbiota range within the yogurt group, accompanied by adjustments within the relative abundance of a number of bacterial species.
Notably, these microbial adjustments weren’t noticed in both the management group or the yogurt plus onsen group. Nevertheless, each the yogurt group and the yogurt plus onsen group demonstrated vital enhancements in defecation standing scores, with the latter exhibiting a extra pronounced impact.
These findings counsel that yogurt consumption could improve intestine microbial range, and that its mixture with onsen bathing could exert an additive or synergistic impact to enhance defecation standing.
“Although the sample size is small, our findings suggest that combining two accessible lifestyle interventions—yogurt intake and onsen bathing—may offer enhanced health benefits, particularly by promoting gut microbiota diversity and improving defecation status in healthy adults,” explains Managi.
“These results are especially relevant given the growing interest in non-pharmaceutical, lifestyle-based strategies for preventive health and wellness. Furthermore, this research may support the development of evidence-based wellness tourism, particularly in regions known for their onsen, by providing scientific validation for health-oriented travel and services.”
Extra info:
Jungmi Choi et al, Dietary and environmental modulation for the intestine setting: yogurt promotes microbial range whereas chloride scorching springs enhance defecation standing in wholesome adults, Frontiers in Vitamin (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1609102
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Yogurt and scorching spring bathing present a promising mixture for intestine well being (2025, August 22)
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