Kefir can be commonly found in the Caucasus Mountains. For many centuries, it has helped the people there survive the harsh environments. The people there actually protected the Kefir grains with their lives because it was a sign of wealth.
The harsh and unsanitary environments peaked the curiosity of scientists. Why are Kefir grains so good yet it came from such a bad environment?
Scientist tested the kefir and tried to find any trace of harmful bacteria. Surprisingly, there was none. Not even a single one! Scientists refused to believe and tested it again. They came up with a scenario where animal crap (excuse me for my language) would fall into the milk. So they injected the E. Coli into the kefir.
Within 24 hours the E. Coli was destroyed by Kefir’s friendly bacteria. Kefir has also demonstrated the ability to kill H. Pylori infections. The complex microflora of kefir has also shown a keen ability to stimulate our immune system which has been one of the commonly known benefits. It also wards off infections from salmonella, and in some cases even fights cancer. Kefir’s rich source of probiotics is certainly awesome.
Your Kefir Source would want to point out these facts because people generally skip whole foods like Kefir. Their reasons? It’s dangerous and will also cause you stomach aches and the likes.
Try kefir it out and see if it’s “dangerous“. You’ll see first hand that you won’t get anything bad from it…only a boatload of goodness.
Sponsors That Keep Kefir Grains Source Going:
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! i totally agree as I haven’t found a single downside to kefir yet. It’s like the perfect all around food. You can make great tasting food from a ton of different kefir recipes and you can use it as an alternative to medicine too.
I have been using waterkefir for some weeks, but don’t like it at all because of the effect of the alcohol. I believe there is not much in the kefir, but it is definitely too much for me, it pulls me down, and my husband also says I don’t look well since the kefir. I feel exhausted. The kefir goes straight to my legs and head. I have tried the 24 hour fermentation as well as the 48 hours, it does not make any difference. Any suggestions are welcome!
any fermentation produces alcohol
since the bacteria/yeast converts sugar to alcohol.
maybe try milk kefir? as the milk might be able to mask the alcohol
hope that works
We have no access to healthy organic milk, so don’t know how good that will be, as commercial milk is not healthy at all. After fermenting you will still have the protein and other substances which have gone into the milk.
My husband suggests I just eat the grains without drinking the fluid. Sounds like a good idea. Will one get the full benefits that way?
After taking water kefir for 2 months, although I id not suffer from any particular complaint, it has deffinitely regularised my bowel movements and I feel great. (I do not like to drink it on its own, so I mix it with my breakfast raw cereals instead of milk or water)
I would recommend anyone persiting in drinking kefir. Diet should be balanced with prebiotics, fibre and probiotics and kefir is definitely the best option for the later.
Sometimes, when we make healthy change in our habits we start detoxying. We might suffe temporary side effects from the release of toxins accumulated by the body previously.
If we combine kefir in a good diet, no refined sugars and processed foods, with lots of fibre, detox should be quicker and we start benefiting from the kefir sooner.
I have been making and using milk kefir for about 6 weeks and I have noticed a progressive increase in gas and bloating. It has now been almost 2 weeks where my bowel movements are extremely painful and my colon is very inflamed. It may or may not have anything to do with the kefir but I have discontinued in order to asses if there is any correlation. Has anyone else had this sort of experience and what is the course to take to rectify it? Can it be that perhaps my system is just not made to consume kefir even though I fare well on yogurt? Any feedback would be appreciated.
I absolutely love kefir and love making it. I know kefir is good for constipation but since I was basically born having diarrhea I wondered how it would effect me? Well, let me tell you, it has helped 100%, I was totally amazed. My digestion has never been better.
I even give kerfir to my dog and he loves it and I know it’s good for him too.
I have never liked the taste of milk and could not drink it because of that but now thanks to kefir I can and do drink it with no ill effects.
I have been making ginger beer and it is also delicious…it is a nice change from just drinking milk kefir all the time.
Thank you for all the great recipes!
Sandy
Hi Guerino,
My husband and I also had to stop drinking water kefir because we were having stomach disconfort, I don’t know if it is because of the fermentation process because we both had stomach ulcers years ago or the alcohol in it eventhoght its a small porcentage.My son is 8 years old now and his doctor recommended he takes probiotics because he also has stomach aches sometimes, they are very expensive and I was going to try the water kefir for him too but I’m afraid because I don’t know if it will upset his stomach also even more after my experience.Any feedback will also be appreciated.
@Sandy – Thanks for sharing Sandy and kudos to you!
Hello- Is there a big difference between the probiotics in milk kefir and
water kefir? Is there any place where I could get this info?
Also, I have been allergic to dairy all of my life — also yogurt — also raw milk that has soured naturally (without kefir grains) — is it possible for someone like me to be able to tolerate milk kefir WITH the milk kefir grains? Thank you. Urszula
I was reading about sides effects and it’s scared me.I know sometimes what is good for one might not be good for you and there is including
the care about making Kefir that could contaminate Kefir solutions if
not applyed correctly.I want to heal not keeping on feeling bad.
It seem easy to make the Kefir but for some peoples it’s not maybe we
can buy it all ready done I would like to know where.I am from Canada
near Gatineau/ottawa.A feedback will be appreciated.
I have been drinking kefir every day and I was wondering if it is possible to drink too much kefir? A friend of mine said that it is dangerous to drink too much!
What is a reasonble daily amount of milk kefir to drink??
My wife and I have started with Kefir (on a daily basis) for the last 2 weeks.
a) Will it alleviate IBS? and
b) Chronic constipation?
c) Does it act as a colon cleanser?
d) I am fat but not obese, but diabetic (Type II). Will it help me lose weight?
e) Do I need to have anything else, along with Milk Kefir?
@Giselle & @Sandy
I assume you used real Kefir and not the stuff called Kefir in the stores that is not kefir. I’ve been making my own kefir for 2 years now and would like to point out some important issues.
Kefir is alive. If you consume kefir around a meal with carbs, simple or complex, the bacteria and molds in the kefir will dine to a massive extent. That is where the bloating comes from. If you eat with a protein meal, they still eat (that is their purpose, to digest your food for you) but much more slowly. Kefir is CO2 forming, the gas is CO2, and yes, it comes out both ends with a carb meal!
After consuming kefir for many months I learned that I had to be careful of carbs because kefir actually attaches to the lining of your digestive track. That’s it’s “history”, kefir is in effect an amplification of the bacteria and molds in mothers milk which in turn is intented to establish the digestive track and much of the immune system. And so after consuming kefir for a long time they line your digestive track, and any carb meal with then trigger the problem. Put another way kefir tends to force you towards a protein diet and reduce your carbs. And many suggest that is a good thing.
@wingcodavid
a) Will it alleviate IBS?
Depends on the cause. But likely yes. Did for me.
b) Chronic constipation?
Depends on the cause. But likely yes. Did for me.
c) Does it act as a colon cleanser?
It will cause food to be properly digests and “repair” your gut. This then results in a cleaner colon. There is a “but”. If you PROPERLY ferment kefir for 24 hours it a slight laxative, if ferment towards 48 hours it become constipating (but has a different enjoable flavor).
Thus once you properly learn to make it you can ferment longer to firm things up if need be.
d) I am fat but not obese, but diabetic (Type II). Will it help me lose weight?
You need to talk to a doctor. The following is not medical advice.
One of the areas bad bugs grow is in the area of the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas. I’ll leave it to you to research this. Since kefir cause it’s bacteria and molds to form a lining in your entire digestive track (from mouth to anus) it will kill bad bugs causing problems possibly removing burdens on those organs.
As for eating, kefir forced a substantial change in my diet. I have always been thin and remain so. I make and consume a lot of kefir each day, and the result is to sharply reduce my food intake by greatly reducing my sense of hunger (it’s so nutritious). I very much doubt it will help you reduce your weight, but this has been my experiance. HTH
@Silver
Never heard anybody with kefir experiance state any type of limit. I make and consume over 1/2 gallon per day. I drink kefir like other drink a liter of soda.
That said, if you are just starting, then I can see lots of problems drinking too much due to the changes that take place in your body. Better to go slow, perhap start sipping 1 cup per day over the day. And again, avoid carbs. Once your body adjusts then start increasing. And as pointed out above, if you decide to eat a candy bar all that kefir mass in your gut will let you know about it!
I’ve drank Clover brand Kefir and Trader Joe’s brand kefir.
Both make my farts and bowel movements very very smelly.
I’ve also had bloating and stomach pain all day after drinking Clover Kefir last night.
I’ve been making and drinking about a cup of kefir a day, for almost a week now and I feel all swollen and puffy like I’m turning into a blow fish or something. The scale shows I’m gaining about a pound a day and my eating habbit haven’t really increased or changed. Has anyone else experienced this?
After drinking milk kefir for about 2 weeks (1/2 cup daily), my personal observation are as follows:
(1)Farts more often (smelly!!)
(2)If I consumed kefri after a meal, will need to the toilet soon
(3)Easy bowel movements
(4)Ease backaches (have been taking primrose oil esp. at night to stop backaches but after taking kefir… it seems to reduce my backaches so have stop taking primrose oil capsules)
(5)More energetic, less tired.
Wow, Lots of stuff to figure out. Thanks for sharing. I started making my own keifir about 3 months ago and mix it with some fresh and some frozen fruit. I drink about 8 oz in the morning for breakfast and then workout for about 2 to 3 hours. I was dong fine at first but am now getting stomach aches along with constipation of which I have had little to none of in my life. I am on my second day off of the keifer now to see if the problem goes away. I am wondering if the approx 2 cups is too much to start with. And, if carbs, simple or complex is a problem then fruit may be a problem. And then again is it the round of other stuff I’ve been taking under my doctors care???!! Lots to know, lots to figure out. No wonder why soooo many of us are unhealthy. Trying to figure all this stuff out is very very costly and even more time consuming. Thanks again for all of the feed back.
Laurie Z.
Are you people using raw milk? If not then that might be your problem.
Nathan Lee, you probably have difficulty digesting fats.
Hi, my kefir tastes like sugar cane juice and carbonated too! so far i didn’t experience any discomfort after a month taking it. But different story with my husband, he will experience gastric everytime after drinking the kefir.
i’ve been drinking kefir smoothies for breakfast every day since i got my grains a few months ago!
For bloating/gas: try taking an enzyme to help digest the proteins and fats in the kefir. My doctor has me taking chewable papaya enzymes with every meal–even if i just have the kefir. it helps a lot. i used to get sharp pains in my abdomen from gas and i don’t get those any more since taking the enzyme. (There are other types of digestive enzymes out there too–papaya might not be the best one for you!)
on the other hand, some peoples’ bodies just cannot accept the kefir because some bodies are very sensitive to fermented things. so if your body doesn’t respond well to wine and beer, it may not respond well to the kefir either. Kefir is very nutritious…but you need to decide if the health benefits outweigh the risks for YOUR body.
When starting on real homemade fefir milk, 1 would start with 1oz twice a day. for the first week, then go to 2oz for the next week, then your colon should be ready for 5 to 8 oz a day, what some people need to understand that this is a very powerful nutrient, with more essential amino acids, more vitamins and enzymes, not to leave out over 300 billion good gut bacterias per 1oz then any live food on this planted, so if you have all of theses problems cut back let your body heal slowly.
Many people will experience bloating in part because the kefir will be killing the bad yeasts/bacteria and re-estabilishing the gut flora. this can happen with normal probiotics too. You do need to start slow.
If you have an allergy to dairy products you need to stick to the water kefir or get your allergy treated. If you have a alcohol allergy… the milk is definatly softer on this and it should balance in the long term.
I have not yet tried kefir but will be ordering my kefir grains soon so that I can start making it. You mentioned in your article that the kefir had the ability to kill the E. Coli bacteria that was injected in the milk in a scientific experiment. Due to the large debate about the safety of Raw milk (much of which I believe depends on the diet and sanitation of the dairy farm where you are getting your milk)… and the fact that I am pregnant… has kept me from drinking raw milk. I’m curious if Raw Milk Kefir would be less risky to drink throughout my pregnancy than just plain raw milk would be? Would the kefir grains actually attack and kill any harmful bacteria that may be in the raw (unpasturized) milk? If so, do you know of any research supporting this? I would appreciate any feedback because I really would like to use Raw milk to make my kefir but am alittle nervous about passing potentially harmful bacteria down to my baby if the raw milk is not from a totally trusted source. Thanks so much!
gr82sing, I’d recommend that you not experiment with raw milk especially while you’re pregnant. There are much pros/cons for raw milk, but the potential danger definitely outweighs any benefits. I’d suggest you do some serious research on this topic, as there are much information floating around the Internet, mostly from anecdotal claims than of scientific facts. As far as Kefir is concerned, try to find non-homogenized “Natural” milk that is pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), and that’ll definitely be enough for you to attain all the benefits of kefir with virtually no risk. I’ve definitely noticed much difference in non-homogenized natural milk in its taste and fermentation quality than with other organic homogenized milk. Good luck!
I have been making a kefir shake every morning for the last year and a half. I use 2% store bought milk. I drink about 10 oz a day added to a banana (frozen in the summer for the extra coldness), frozen strawberries and honey or a sweetener substitute. I make sure my kefir is at least 24 hours old, for I have been lactose intolerant for many years. I have no problems. It is hours before I eat anything else in the morning, so maybe drinking this concoction staves off my hunger and drinking it only with fruit causes less of a problem than drinking it with other combinations of foods. The one thing I am sure about is that it has straightened out my digestive system, and I no longer have flatulence problems. I also do not crave chocolate any more. Kefir is rich in the B complex vitamins and taking those can have an immediate effect on the production of serotonin. I haven’t found a down side yet. I have lost weight by substituting my low fat fruit smoothie treats for afternoon munchies and after dinner desserts. I am a teacher and have shared my kefir grains with at least a dozen people at school who also are kefir converts. I would start out slowly–maybe 1/4 cup a day and increase gradually.
gr82sing, I was raised on raw milk and now my children will be also. I was afraid of raw when I first started drinking it also. I have realized through research that most of the ‘cons’ associated with raw milk are hype promoted by the massive dairy conglomerates who are losing money to the raw milk sales. After the research I have done, we will NEVER drink pasteurized milk again. The conditions at the big dairy’s are atrocious, and the reason they have to pasteurize the milk is because it would make everyone sick if they didn’t. Do some research, pregnant women were drinking raw milk for thousands of years prior to this process (which was originally meant to be used only on beer). Certified raw milk dairy’s have to be much more clean than a standard dairy in order to keep that certification. Here are some good sites that have a balanced view point…keep in mind, when raw milk sours, it is still safe to drink, when pasteurized milk sours, it will put you in the hospital with food poisoning. http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/raw-milk-vs-pasteurized-milk
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/raw-milk-vs-pasteurized-milk/
It boils down to what you think is best for you and your child. I urge you to put all biases aside and make your own informed decision.
We’ve been drinking raw milk for many months now, and my children rarely get sick anymore…when they do, it’s very short term.
I have just started making my own Kefir, and I’m loving it. My husband has a severe allergy to milk protein and once my grains grow enough I would like to start making him goat Kefir or water kefir. My question is once I have enough Kefir grains, how much should I rinse them before I make his “dairy-free” batch. Or should I make a couple batches of water kefir (thowing away the batches) until I’m sure there will be no milk residue left behind? I’m wondering how will I know there is no dairy left? Thanks
QUESTION:
For someone new to kefir… Is there an ‘optimal’ time to take it? … For example is it bes on an empty stomach first thing in the a.m. … With food (or some kinds of food) … or a few hours after a meal.
We just bought grains for water kefir and I would like to maximize their effectiveness (while at the same time minimizing any potential distress — especially for my father who said he is willing to give them a try BUT___!!!
Tips would be appreciated. Thanks
hi cbrown
any time of the day is good, but morning seems to be the best for me during breakfast or at the end of the day, around dinner time.
about 200ml or 250ml (recommended on this site) is fine per day
How much Vitamin D does kefir have ? I am not supposed to have a lot of Vit. D because of sarciodosis?
I just got my grains a few days ago and have been using
2 percent organic milk. I don’t know if it’s the transition but my kefir
is always milky (even at the 21-24) hour mark. I read that fermenting for only 12-18 hours would give a milder and less alcoholic kefir, so I’m cautious about that.
My question is actually regarding the taste and smell: from the get-go, it just smells like yeast (my mom makes homemade pizza and it’s that yeasty smell). The kefir that I strained and put into the fridge (with a lid), by the next day, smelled even yeastier.
Is it supposed to be smelling super-yeasty? I know there is yeast – but does this mean that my grains are basically just creating a very alcoholic kefir? Should I rinse my grains or change to whole milk to get a creamier, less yeasty kefir?
Question for all you Kefir drinkers. With all the bad press about milk and dairy gaining popularity and Doctors warning about the harmful effects of dairy, does anyone worry about Kefir consumption? Not because Kefir is bad, but because milk is bad even if we are able to get organic.
I have been drinking water kefir for about a month now and I LOVE it! I have never felt better! I have been to numerous doctors for many symptoms including chronic fatigue- to the point where I could barely do everyday activities. I haven’t had this much energy in years! Right before I started drinking kefir, I had a lot of stomach problems, especially bloating. I have not had any of that since the first day I started. I drink 2 cups per day and that seems to be the best for me.
I could go on and on, this stuff is awesome!
Hi..we started drinking Kefir about a month ago..my husbands candida is gone . He farted something aweful the first 2 weeks and then it stopped . As we stay in South Africa in a small town with lots of dairy farms around us, we use only fresh raw milk for the kefir. Tried the kefir with some fat free organic milk from Woolies but that tasted not very good the first time around as my kefir grains were not up to standard(only had it 2 days) . Much better the second time around.. Q – can you change milk kefir grains into water kefir grains?
I’ve been making my own kefir now for about two weeks and am loving the stuff. I started with low fat milk, but the resulting kefir was thin and runny with clots of milk through it, not very nice. On advice from other kefir makers, I changed over to organic full cream and the difference was amazing! Beautiful thick, creamy kefir. Its delicious stuff and I have it in my breakfast smoothie each morning with frozen berries, organic light coconut cream, fossil shell flour and pear juice. I don’t need to eat anything for hours and hours after this mix. Then I have a small glass before bed, I think the tryptophan encourages sound sleep (or so I read somewhere). I had to have my gall bladder removed about 5 years ago and have had touchy digestion ever since. But the kefir has eased it alot. However, if you’re new to kefir, you should start on a small amount and build yourself up. I’m going to try goat milk kefir next time. I also found out how easy it is to make kefir cheese, which I’ll be trying soon.