# Kefir



## realtormatt

So at the suggestion of my friend with Diverticulitis and IBS, I started drinking a glass of Kefir every morning.  Kefir from what I get understand is basically a fermented yogurt drink or something similar.  

Now I am not going to say it is doing anything to heal any inflammation or my GI tract, but it is making my BM's much more consistent and any less time spent in the bathroom and feeling comfortable is worth the $4 a bottle it costs.

I have been buying Lifeway brand.  Anybody else try this?


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## Cat-a-Tonic

I haven't tried kefir, although I saw it at the grocery store the other day and was interested.  I'm lactose intolerant, so I don't think I would do well with kefir.  Do you know if there is any sort of kefir made out of soy, rice, almond, coconut anything like that for those of us who can't tolerate dairy?


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## My Butt Hurts

What does your friend say that it is supposed to do for you?
DanActive yogurt claims to improve digestive health (or something like that).
I started bringing yogurt to work every day so far this year (even though I don't really like it) becuase it is easy.  I wouldn't be able to tell if it doing me any good though because I am already in remission.  Can't hurt I guess.

But hey!  If you feel ANY positive difference, it sure is worth 4 bucks a day!


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## ameslouise

I used to drink Kefir. I didn't care much for the taste. Then I gave up dairy so I stopped drinking it.

Glad it's helping you out.  $4 is probably less than some people spend on fancy coffees every day!


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## realtormatt

My Butt Hurts, that's funny just typing it.  I think for my friend with the IBS, it helps settle her system down.

For me, so far is just made things a little more consistent is how I guess I would describe it.  Basically, I feel my BM's are more solid and easier to pass.  My mornings are normally the worst time of the day for me and I use to have to go 3-4 times every 20 mins or so when I woke up to get everything out.  Since drinking this it has made my mornings just 1 or sometimes 2 times and I feel less bloated.  

Last time I had a colonoscopy, my inflammation was all in the sigmoid colon, so I tend to have going problems.

The bacteria and yeast in Kefir is suppose to consume most of the sugar so it is not suppose to be a problem for lactose intolerant people to drink.  But hey I am not a scientist, so I don't know if that is true.


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## BWS1982

The basic gist behind Kefir is similar to the one behind the healthy bacteria in yogurt that has the scientific world in a frenzy lately about the benefits of good flora. Kefir, if I'm not mistaken, is created differently, so also has some other benefits, and Realtormatt is right, the lactose in it is often undermined differently than milk would be. I cannot drink milk at all, but give me a quart of kefir over 5 hours, and I'm fine. I get mine at Woodman's or Walmart around here, Lifeway, for about $2.75 or so. I don't drink it regularly, though, maybe once a month or so.


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## juiceit

Homemade yogurt products are great.  Though the milk content might still be causing some people unkown grief, even if it's not immediate cramping.    

If you're into cultured food you should try saurkarut.  Only catch if you're buying it, look for the ingredients - cabbage, water (maybe salt) that's it.  Shouldn't have vinegar or any preservatives.  It will taste sour still, but that's a natural sour  from fresh products not artifical sour from vinegar.  Best if you can find unpasturized, or make it yourself.


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## Ya noy

You really only need to drink 1 glass a day, and a quart contains 4 glass, so it's not that expensive.

We much prefer the Ludwig brand over Lifeway.  Ludwig is smoother, with less of a 'bite' and contains large chunks of whole fruits.  Very yummy.

Ludwig is usually found in smaller specialty stores.  We get ours from our local polish deli.  

But we also make our own, which actually contains a far greater variety of probiotics.  All you need is milk and some kafir grains, which you can usually find from someone on Craigslist.  Kefir grains double in size approx. every 20 days, and many people either sell or give away their excess.  

The process of culturing kefir renders it roughly 99% lactose free, so most people who are lactose intolerant don't have any problems.  

As an alternative though, there's also water kefir grains, but that's cultured with sugar, so...


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## bangarang

I make my own water kefir. Simple, way cheaper & more potent than any of the stuff at the stores.


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## mnsun

Yea, I gotta bottle a gallon batch tonight.  This time I went with a couple dried mango slices and a lemon slice for the 1st ferment.  I'm adding a 1/2 cup pomegranate/blue/cranberry juice to each bottle tonight--adjusting for a slightly less vinegary outcome after two more days of bottle fermentation.

Not sure if water kefir noticeably helps me.  The resultant brew has mannitol as the naturally produced sugar alcohol along with L. Brevia bacteria.  Aside from that, the yeasts are a mystery, and I haven't found a definitive breakdown of these (candida?) and whether they may help/neutral/harm in the long run.

It is certainly fizzy and pretty good tasting.  Lemon ginger may have been my favorite batch thus far.


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## mnsun

Here is a pretty definitive breakdown of the bacteria and yeasts in water kefir.  The yeasts seem to be lower in population, like less than 10%.  The dominant bacteria are L. Casei and L. Hilgardii (often mistaken for L. Brevia).  Also, Leuconostoc mesenteroides--seems odd...---is another dominant strain.

However, the study is only interested in the populations present in the actual grains, not the resulting drinkable brew.  See the table about different yeasts and percentages of bacteria.

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF01741847

I must say it tastes damn good, especially with tons of ginger added to initial ferment.  This in addition to date syrup and Pomegranate/Cranberry/Apple juice made super fizzy lifting beverage that is 5 yr old approved.

However, in my experience over the past few weeks of drinking it nearly daily, I must say I experienced a slight WORSENING of symptoms which I have since corrected by taking bentonite in the morning, pau d'arco (2caps 2x daily), GOL Perfect Food (greens mix), and probios multiple times daily.  Maybe quiting drinking this stuff cold turkey was the key, though.  It is likely due to the drink, unfortunately.  This or the Christmas food and some suspect spicy chips (cayenne).

Anyone else experience worsening of symptoms from drinking water kefir?


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## bangarang

Not sure how true it is but I know some people say you should take a break from water kefir every 20 days or so.


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## Tiaspins

I just purchased some Kefir grains to make my own Kefir. I am lactose intolerant, but I thought the grains ate all the lactose. Hope so!

btw, how do you pronounce kefir? I've heard KEF-her, KEY-fur & kef-EAR.


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## Susan2

Apparently you can make coconut milk Kefir for those who are lactose intolerant.


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## Tiaspins

I found one website that said the correct pronunciation is keh-FEAR.


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## Tiaspins

I just read that you can use coconut milk kefir as a base for making coconut milk ice cream! Definitely going to have to try that. :emot-dance:


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## Susan2

We need to tag Charleigh in to that. E might like some coconut icecream!


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## Charleigh

I am sure E would much rather eat his Kefir as ice cream :thumleft:  Thanks Susan


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## Tiaspins

Charleigh said:


> I am sure E would much rather eat his Kefir as ice cream :thumleft:  Thanks Susan


I found a recipe:
http://www.affairsofliving.com/imported-20100106014405/2011/2/9/dairy-free-coconut-milk-kefir-ice-cream-with-mixed-berries-n.html

I wonder about what sweetener to use, as the only one allowed on GAPS is honey, but won't the honey crystalize as soon as it gets cold? Could I heat the kefir, stir in the honey to melt it, then freeze it?


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## Ya noy

Listing of cultures that have been identified milk kefir (water kefir is slightly different)

Bacteria
Species Lactobacillus
Lb. acidophilus
Lb. brevis [Possibly now Lb. kefiri]
Lb. casei subsp. casei
Lb. casei subsp. rhamnosus
Lb. paracasei subsp. paracasei
Lb. fermentum
Lb. cellobiosus
Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
Lb. delbrueckii subsp. lactis
Lb. fructivorans
Lb. helveticus subsp. lactis
Lb. hilgardii
Lb. helveticus
Lb. kefiri
Lb. kefiranofaciens subsp. kefirgranum
Lb. kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens
Lb. parakefiri
Lb. plantarum

Species Streptococcus
St. thermophilus
St. paracitrovorus 

Species Lactococcus
Lc. lactis subsp. lactis
Lc. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris

Species Enterococcus
Ent. durans

Species Leuconostoc
Leuc. mesenteroides subsp. cremoris
Leuc. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides
Leuc. dextranicum 

Yeasts
Dekkera anomala / Brettanomyces anomalus 
Kluyveromyces marxianus / Candida kefyr 
Pichia fermentans / C. firmetaria
Yarrowia lipolytica / C. lipolytica
Debaryomyces hansenii / C. famata
Deb. [Schwanniomyces] occidentalis
Issatchenkia orientalis / C. krusei
Galactomyces geotrichum / Geotrichum candidum
C. friedrichii
C. rancens
C. tenuis
C. humilis
C. inconspicua
C. maris
Cryptococcus humicolus
Kluyveromyces lactis var. lactis
Kluyv. bulgaricus
Kluyv. lodderae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Sacc. subsp. torulopsis holmii
Sacc. pastorianus
Sacc. humaticus
Sacc. unisporus
Sacc. exiguus
Sacc. turicensis sp. nov
Torulaspora delbrueckii
Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

Acetobacter
Acetobacter aceti
Acetobacter rasen

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/milk-kefir-grains-composition-bacteria-yeast


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## mnsun

I've been making kefir milk for a couple weeks.  I started with whole milk, and I just switched to 2%.  The whole milk would separate into whey and sour cream-like curds if I left it for 25hrs.  I just put some of my first batch of 2% kefir on some ezekial cereal, after 30 hrs of culturing.  This stuff was still very liquidy.


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## Ya noy

mnsun said:


> I've been making kefir milk for a couple weeks.  I started with whole milk, and I just switched to 2%.  The whole milk would separate into whey and sour cream-like curds if I left it for 25hrs.  I just put some of my first batch of 2% kefir on some ezekial cereal, after 30 hrs of culturing.  This stuff was still very liquidy.


You know that you're supposed to strain it, and save the kefir grains for the next batch, right? 

We usually use whole milk, which makes a richer, creamier kefir.  We've also been using raw milk, which we've been pasturizing ourselves before adding the kefir grains.  

Another factor that can make a difference is the room temperature.  We actually keep our house rather warm, like around 75 degrees, or higher. It takes longer to culture kefir in cooler temperatures.  You can actually culture kefir in the refrigerator., but it takes almost a week that way.  

If the temperature you are culturing your kefir in is lower, you may need to culture it longer.  

It also depends on how hardy your kefir grains are. If you had grains shipped, it may take a couple weeks to a month to restore them to full strength.


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## mnsun

Yea, I just brought them out of a few day storage, in 1/2 done kefir kept refridgerated.  Do you find that the whole milk causes the grains to reproduce less than 2%?  Mine seem healthy but weren't growing very fast in the whole stuff.

Also, do you think it's possible to make it a little bubbly by letting it sit in an airtight container, post ferment?


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## Ya noy

mnsun said:


> Yea, I just brought them out of a few day storage, in 1/2 done kefir kept refridgerated.  Do you find that the whole milk causes the grains to reproduce less than 2%?  Mine seem healthy but weren't growing very fast in the whole stuff.
> 
> Also, do you think it's possible to make it a little bubbly by letting it sit in an airtight container, post ferment?


If they were in storage, it may take a while for them to regain full strength.  you can help speed the process by giving them a little more food, and adding some powdered milk.   Our grains seem to grow faster in whole milk, but I'm not entirely positive about that.  

Milk kefir doesn't get all that bubbly, not like water kefir.

our finished  kefir normally has about 1/4th in layer of water on top, which we pour off, and the rest is almost a pudding like consistency.


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## SherriLove

Hi guys! I had to join just to pass on what i know about Kefir.  Gosh! $4 a bottle is expensive! Most commercially made kefir is not TRUE authentic kefir. Though there are many benefits from drinking it, the benefits of culturing your own kefir at home are exponentially greater!  This includes the cost factor. For less than $10 on ebay you can buy kefir GRAINS which are the only way you can make true authentic kefir. The grains not only live indefinitely, but MULTIPLY, so after you have passed your spare grains to all your friends, you end up eating the extras because of the amazing health benefits. Lol.  If you plan to drink it daily, all you need is to add the grains to milk for 12 to 48 hours then strain and refill. (depending on how tart or fizzy you like it) Water kefir is just added to about 1/4 cup brown sugar in water. I have both milk and water grains.  Water kefir and milk kefir are different. Milk kefir originated in the caucasian mountains while water kefir is thought to have come home with the soldiers in a battle in south america. Milk has up to 35 strains of probiotics, while water has something like 15. If you want info, the best source i have found is Dom. He has done extensive research and there is a ton of info on his site. Google "dom kefir" and you will find him. Dominic Anfiteatro. He cured his ulcerative colitis by rectally injecting milk kefir grains over the course of 2 weeks. 

I must say that i personally have benefitted so much from kefir. My neighbor actually had horrible stomach pain every day from the lining of her esophagus being eaten away by acid.  She drank some of my water kefir and found that her pain was gone! She asked 5 days later for more because she hadnt had pain since drinking it. I have been sharing with her for a couple of months. She just had her annual gyn appointment and the doctor told her that the bacterial infection she had for 3 years was gone! (Nothing had worked, prescription creams, antibiotics  etc).  I call her my little miracle story  if anyone has questions, i would be happy to help in any way i can.  My email is skydive at inorbit dot com.    blessings!


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## ce1210

http://www.inner-eco.com/products.html

inner-eco coconut water kefir has 100 billion CFU's per tablespoon has 30 tablespoons in a bottle for $15 at whole foods I just started using this stuff and its amazing...its also vegan, gluten free, dairy free, organic, etc. I am having the closest thing to normal bowel movements I've had in years and am actually passing gas comfortably and regularly again. I am up to 2 bottles a week of this stuff...


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