Kefir

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What’s Kefir?

Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem.” More nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and valuable B vitamins.

Kefir is simple and inexpensive to make at home.
Kefir is used to restore the inner eco-system after antibiotic therapy.
Kefir can be made into a delicious smoothie that kids love.
Kefir is excellent nourishment for pregnant and nursing women, the elderly, and those with compromised immunity.

What if I’m lactose intolerant, and don’t do dairy? Or don’t digest milk products well? Is kefir right for me?
The beneficial yeast and friendly bacteria in the kefir culture consume most of the lactose (or milk sugar). Eat kefir on an empty stomach first thing in the morning before (or for) breakfast and you’ll be delighted to find it can be easily digested — as numerous people who have been lactose intolerant for years have discovered.

Why Kefir is better than Yogurt

How to Introduce Kefir Into Your Diet

Some people thrive on kefir right from the start and others may need to proceed more slowly. Remember that people with candidiasis lack milk-digesting bacteria, so you may have to build up your “tolerance” of kefir. Start with about four ounces in the morning on an empty stomach. Every second day increase the amount until you are able to drink a full eight ounce glass.

If you are just beginning the therapeutic version of the Body Ecology Diet’s health recovery program, it might be best to wait three to six months before introducing kefir. You may first need to clear your body of accumulated toxins and see your symptoms disappear. Moreover, people with candidiasis have what Chinese medicine calls the condition of dampness. Unfermented and improperly combined dairy products can lead to even more dampness and excess mucus. Here are some suggestions for introducing kefir while conquering dampness.

Eat Body Ecology Diet foods, which are drying.
Use proper food combining techniques to make kefir less mucus-forming (see the Body Ecology Diet 7th Edition).
Drink plenty of water and eat grains that have been soaked and then cooked. These add moisture and fiber to the colon.
Clean your colon. If a colon is free of blockages, kefir is tolerated more quickly. We have found that people who report having trouble with kefir, often have not followed the advice on colon cleansing. You probably also need to add acidophilus and bifidus bacteria to your small and large intestines. These wonderful bacteria also help to clean and improve the health of your entire digestive tract.
Be sure to get adequate exercise. Exercise stimulates the colon and improves elimination.

Why Kefir is better than Yogurt

Tips for making perfect kefir from milk.

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Time and temperature are two important factors that determine how thick and tasty your kefir will be. In the warmer months kefir may be ready to drink in 18 hours. If you let it sit out too long at room temperature, it will become thick and eventually start turning into cheese and whey. If your kefir is “lumpy” and too sour, you are definitely leaving it out too long. It should be creamy and “drinkable”…a little thicker than milk. At this point, shake it well and place the kefir into your refrigerator. It will thicken a little more since it is continuing to culture, but at a much slower pace. Making kefir is an art, not an exact science. With each batch you make, adjust the time until you get it just the way you like it. Each area of the country and each kitchen seem to be a little different. Donna finds that her kefir always cultures faster for her in California than in Atlanta.

Body Ecology’s starter culture is just that…a starter. After you start your first batch of kefir (in milk or the liquid from the young coconut), you can use a small amount of that first batch to make your second batch. How much to use is included in the instructions found in each package of starter. If you transfer too much kefir from one batch to the next, you’ll create a product that cultures too fast and tastes too sour. You can make about 7 such “transfers” from one batch to the next. After that, the yeast start to get crowded out by the more aggressive lactobacillus.

StarJet Pizza

kefira.net
Rythanna Farm’s

Hi hello
Kefir means
Peaceful

Can a person drink too much Kefir? Is it possible that drinking 2.5 gallons a day can be harmful?
CL

I’d like to start making kefir for my family. Anyone has some kefir grains to share in NJ/NY area?
Nicholas Denice

I’m 35 and I’ve had GERD for probably 8 or 9 years. I can pinpoint the exact time it started after a surgery on my throat I had to take a cycle of antibiotics and nexium. I’ve gotten the GERD somewhat under control over the past 2 years and after I started the Kefir a few weeks ago, I had to back down off the dose because it was giving me terrible reeflux, headaches, and making somewhat irritable. I’ve been sticking with 4 oz a day and still getting some symptoms, although they are tolerable. I did not do a “colon clense” and never have. I have the Dr Shulze formula #1 and #2 in my closet that I ordered a while back and never used. Would you recommend doing this to clense the colon? Do you keep taking the Kefir every day while clensing? Its hard to get answers on some of these thingsi because the doctors just want to give out PPI’s.
- JoJo
  
  You may be experiencing die off symptoms if your system has been out of balance for a while. You may need to take it slow and start off with a tablespoon of kefir a day and see how you react. Do this for 2 weeks or so. Then you bring it up to two tablespoon. You have to experiment with the dosage a bit until you can comfortably do a cup without any side affects.
  
  When I first started taking Probiotic pills, I had pimples and headaches. I was dealing with die off symptoms. When I started making my own kefir, I forgo the pills because I was getting more Probiotics from the kefir than the pills. I am trying to take things slowly because you will be better off if you take your time. Be patient with the smaller doses and don’t rush into bigger doses when you did not prepare the body for it. For some people whose system is in good shape, they can drink a cup and do well. But not everyone can start off with 4 oz or a cup of kefir. Some of us need to start off with a spoonful and move up from there.
Sanjin Mujkic

I always loved kefir and i never ever had any problems while drinking it.. although i recently started making my own, we used to buy it in a bottle which isn’t quite as when you home make it (understandable). same goes for everything else you buy vs you what you make at home. Though I have one question.

Is it true that I should make pause in consuming Kefir once in a while? We make about 0.5l per day and we drink it every day. It’s about one bigger glass per day for me and my wife. Someone said i should pause for a 3-4 weeks every once in a while.
- JoJo
  
  You need to give yourself a break from time to time and also the Kefir grain if you are using it. As for how long or how much of a break depends on what your body is telling you. If your body is well balance with good bacteria you might need more breaks then someone who isn’t as well balance. If you feel your body is getting tired of the Kefir, take a break. If you have been taking Kefir for a while and you start experiencing symptoms which are not die off, it may mean your body is being overcrowded with too much good bacteria. It is possible to have too much good bacteria. You can put the Kefir grain in milk in the refrigerator with a tight lid and change the milk once a week. The longer you want to leave the Kefir the more milk you are going to need to put it in so the grain will not starve. Unless you are going on a trip for weeks or a month, you need to change the milk once a week so the grains will stay healthy.
  
  You don’t always have to drink a large cup of Kefir. Sometimes you may need to go down to a lower dosage depend on how you are feeling. Whether you are drinking a high or low dosage you are still getting a good amount of bacteria in your system. You don’t need to overdo. Sometimes you may want a glass of kefir; sometimes 4oz; sometimes a spoonful; and sometimes you may skip it altogether. Adjust your dosage according to what your body tells you.
  - Sanjin Mujkic
    
    Thank you a lot. I now understand way more than i used to. Cheers.
TTeddy

In the summer, my kefir is done in 4-5 hours here!! Yes, it gets hot here in Western Australia and we don’t have air con!!
Thabet Haddadin

Hi
Can Anyone explain to me how to get the Kefir as thick as Greek Yogurt , yet without any separation between the whey and the solids? I would really appreciate it.
also; i am used to my mother to keep it in the fridge for one week after preparation, is there anyway that we can make it last longer without adding any chemicals or MSG preservatives? i.e. keep it natural yet last longer?

Many Thanks guys for all the good effort.
T from NZ.
Amy Bair

I have been making kefir for several months now. Does anyone use yogurt to “feed” their kefir? I rested mine in the fridge last week with a milk/vanilla greek yogurt combo. It tasted wonderful after being in the fridge for 5 days!! Can I use yogurt to ferment on the counter (so it is done in 24 hours). Thank for any help!
Sutton

Is selling kefir illegal if not made from cows milk? It breaches some Codex about it having to be cows milk?
karenq

I keep my house really cold so I warm my oven to 100 degrees, turn it off and make it in the oven. Today I forgot it was in there and preheated my oven to 325 degrees. Did I ruin my kefir?
- karenq
  
  that was yesterday. I put it in some cold milk and started over. It is thickening. Does that mean it is ok? The oven had just preheated to 325 when I caught it.
Keith Armstong

I had been
taking kefir once per day for 2 weeks then constipation began. My diet
includes tons of veggies and fruit. I’ve never ever had constipation.
After it began I increased my water intake, no relief. I cut back the
fermentation time to 12 hours, still no relief. I gave up kefir and
after a few days my bowel movements were back to normal, no more pain, no more pushing. I did increase
drinking fresh lemon juice to aid my recovery! Kefir has to be the cause, so why was that?
Darlene Lavery Clark

Started making organic raw mil kefir. Tastes delicious, daughter loves. I have noticed about 4-5 hours after drinking it sometimes, I get a tremendous amount of stomach bloating that pushes up on my diaphragm. Trying to figure out if it is a high fat milk or fermenting issue?
Any suggestions?
Snjezana Duric

Does someone has article about losing belly fat with kefir, cocoa, flax seed and oat meal, read it on FB, thought that i shared to save it, and now i can’t find it. Would appreciate if someone knows about it and share link. Thanks
Kel Krause

recipes for surplus
kefir milk
Niroshni Raju

Hi any one having Kefir grains to share in Midrand? Or close by? Thx
Christiaan Engels

I have water kefir
Christiaan Engels

I have water kefir but I am going on vacation for two weeks what must I do with my kefir culture to keep it alive for those two weeks
nicola

hi. I’m lactose intolerant and have been brewing my own kefir for the past 2 months using goats milk. I take about 300mls a day. Amazingly I’m tolerating it quite well but I find that I’m very gassy which is quite embarrassing. A few questions…should I persist? Should I take less? Should I try cows milk instead? Thank you! Nicola
AlessandroDonatello

What do the kefir grains turn the lactose INTO? fructose?
- BARBARA
  
  They feed on it and digest it, there is lactose NO MORE….
  - AlessandroDonatello
    
    Thanks. Is it the same with water? I read you can use milk kefir in water and just revive them in milk (because it has more strains than true water kefir grains, 50+ vs 15+, and milk is cancer/acid-forming). I think this is true because I’m brewing some for the first time and omg it’s the most sour thing I’ve ever tasted. More sour than I’ve gotten water kefir in water to get.
    
    The question is its the same for cane sugar in water with milk kefir grains? Just for future reader’s referent.