Kefir Forum

Audra Jericho

hi there, I have heard that when you add fruit or fruit products to yogurt that it kills the good bacteria. is this true for kefir?

Nicki Zickuhr

My mother is intolerant to Casein, is there Casein in the milk kefir grains themselves?

Mary T

Hi. Great site! 🙂 I have a quick question. What is the best way to grow
the kefir grains? I bought a spoonful a few months ago, and I am able
to make about half a pint of kefir almost every day, but the quantity of
grains isn’t increasing. How can I turn it into two spoonsful? Thanks
in advance!

Melinda

My grains started growing better when I switched to higher fat milk. I think if you switch things up sometimes it helps.

Neil Aring

I’ve just started making Kefir. It needs to be fermented below 80 degrees, apparently it is killed above that temp. So how does it stay active inside the body at 98 degrees ?

Dan G

Hello, I am hoping to find Kefir Grains in South Jersey. I am in Ocean City, but can travel anywhere Trenton and south. Can anyone help a newbie? Thx Dan

Vish Mathura

Does kefir help for diabetics?

Mrs Beardsley

Hi Vish, I would also love an answer to that question. I am battling cancer, and we have started making milk kefir. The kefir grains (our babies) are now growing and we have lots of kefir in the fridge and I have some on the bench. I am concerned that the kefir might increase my blood glucose levels but I am punching on and doing a second ferment, which is meant to reduce the carbohydrates in the first ferment.
- Melinda
  
  What I’ve understood over the years that I’ve been making kefir is that most of the lactose is gone after the first ferment. That makes sense to me because it tastes tart, not at all like there is any sugar left.

Judi

I’m new to making water kefir, and would like to verify that I’m doing it right.
I have a glass bottle (actually, it’s a cleaned out vinegar bottle, with a skinny neck). I put my water kefir grains, about 10 drops of trace minerals, and a can of 100% juice concentrate (no added sugars). I then mostly fill the bottle (it’s about a quart and a half, I think) with water, and leave it sit on the kitchen counter with the lid cocked on it. After a day and a half or two days (whenever it suits or I need more) I strain it, sweeten the kefir drink, and dump the grains back in the jar and do it again. Sound right?

Also, is it possible to drink TOO much? My children love it, but I do limit them to two cups a day. Does that sound right?

Thanks!

~Judi

simon allen

are there any potential problems with eating mak kimchi and kefir? I’m wondering whether the two may conflict in some way.

Liza Irvine

I’ve been making and drinking kefir for a week. I enjoy it and have made cheese also 🙂
I had a little stomach upset the first two days and then felt good
But now I’ve got a terrible pain in my feet, almost like gout I suppose
Can this be caused by the kefir?
Thank you 😀

Mai Hoa

Please help me. I make yogurt with kefir from fomula milk then it failed. Another fresh milk still give good result. Someone please tell me the reason. Thanks

Angelika Fischer

Hello all,
I have a question: how would I make my own kefir powder from all the spare kefir grains?

olivia

Hi, there are 2 brands of Kefir for sale in my local shop: Mlekovita (ingredients: Pasteurised Milk, Skimmed Milk Powder, Starter Culture) and Lowicz Kefir drink (ingredients: Pasteurised Milk, Live Bacterial Cultures and Yeasts for Kefir) I really don’t have time to make my own and bought the Mlekovita brand but is Skimmed Milk Powder not bad for us? Please help 🙂

Filippo Pappalardo

Hi! Has anyone tried to make kefir with plant sterols enriched milk such as HeartActive? I love kefir but I should reduce the amount of bad cholesterol… Cheers

Greg Wilke

I’m trying …first attempt to dry kefir granules. Any tips?

Angelika Fischer

I also would love to know how to dry kefir grains for the purpose of making my own kefir powder which I think you can then use to make kefir butter from cream (the kefir grains re too hard to remove when put into the cream !
- Greg Wilke
  
  Just lay them on a towel, paper napkins etc…and keep them covered from flies ect… Keep changing from wet to dry as needed. In about three days they are dried. I cut the larger ones in half when starting so they all dry at the same time. With 2 table spoons of grains I would just use a mortar and pestal to get them in powder form. Butter sounds yummy, please post how it turns out.
  - Angelika Fischer
    
    What do you use your dried grains for?
    I am wondering if you also could put them in a dehydrators?
Greg Wilke

I’ve dried 3. Batches of grains. The last one I coveted with powdered milk, in accordance with one source. I’m just putting them in envelopes in our pantry. Is anyone freezing them?

cass

i’ve been making and drinking milk kefir for 4 weeks to help IBS and diverticular disease but still get excessive gas and diarhea would water kefir be better?

Joi A

Hi! I have allergy to yeast n candida yeast is found in my stool. Is it safe to take kefir? Or is there non yeast kefir grains?

Dan Flynn

I just started cultivating kefir. So far I’ve tried it with cow milk and coconut milk with good results, and now I’m trying it with coconut water. I’m wondering if there is any reason I should not combine coconut and cow milk (or any two or more milks) and cultivate them together, with the same grains, in the same jar. Can’t find anything about combining them on the internet. I like the idea of having an all-in-one complete nutrition, like a natural version of Ensure but with the probiotics. This would be great for someone like me who is recovering from IBS and SIBO and finds it helpful to go on an extreme fasting-style elemental diet for a few weeks. I understand that the experts disagree about the use of probiotics while trying to kick SIBO. Well I am trying the kefir for a while to see how far I get with it (plus the other recommended strategies for treating and preventing relapse of SIBO). And I’m fasting from all foods which can trigger problems, which is just about everything. But I have no problem with the milk kefir as far as any digestive upset. I’ve only been drinking it for a week and it feels great everytime. I just wonder though if it would be possible to add other milk and other ingredients to the cow milk kefir to make it a complete meal, with all necessary daily nutrients and in sufficient quantities. Can I safely combine various other things in my cow milk kefir?

Greg Wilke

Dan, I can’t see any replies to your post. How did your fast go this last month? Many folks get on a forum but don’t come back to share their testimony or what worked or not. I would say yes to your question or make seperate starts with various forums, i.e. milk, coconut, soy ect…
- Dan Flynn
  
  Hi Greg, thanks for your reply. I made it about one week “fasting” (which meant mainly eggs, fish, meat and kefir). After that I went back to eating normal. I find that the stress caused by trying to follow those ridiculous diets in which you can’t eat practically anything–and while I’m traveling–was worse than irritable bowel. But actually, I think the kefir was really helping, to an extent. I started taking a break from drinking it about five days ago and the symtpoms definitely returned. That is, after eating meals there is gas, abdominal cramping, bloating. Seems like the kefir really was keeping a lid on those things, though it never improved greasy stools. Anywa, so I’m going back on it now. I also like how it improves my mood, which also has an effect on digestion.
  As far as mixing, I tried fermenting the cocounut water and milk together. The only problem is I find the coconut water kefir too sour. I guess it needs less hours fermenting than the milk, so for that reason is better to ferment them separately. I’m still wishing I had a kefir that was that perfect all-in-one elemental nutrition. A few days ago I read that scientists had a analayzed the milk of a certain kind of roach that emits milk from the abdomen and it turns out to be much more nutritious than any animal milk, with all the aminos, pretty much a complete nutrition. They are trying yo synthesize its protein crystals in a laboratory. Interesting stuff. I’d try it!
  
  http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-show-why-we-should-all-start-drinking-cockroach-milk

Dan Flynn

I just started cultivating kefir. So far I’ve tried it with cow milk and coconut milk with good results, and now I’m trying it with coconut water. I’m wondering if there is any reason I should not combine coconut and cow milk (or any two or more milks) and cultivate them together, with the same grains, in the same jar. Can’t find anything about combining them on the internet. I like the idea of having an all-in-one complete nutrition, like a natural version of Ensure but with the probiotics. This would be great for someone like me who is recovering from IBS and SIBO and finds it helpful to go on an extreme fasting-style elemental diet for a few weeks. I understand that the experts disagree about the use of probiotics while trying to kick SIBO. Well I am trying the kefir for a while to see how far I get with it (plus the other recommended strategies for treating and preventing relapse of SIBO). And I’m fasting from all foods which can trigger problems, which is just about everything. But I have no problem with the milk kefir as far as any digestive upset. I’ve only been drinking it for a week and it feels great everytime. I just wonder though if it would be possible to add other milk and other ingredients to the cow milk kefir to make it a complete meal, with all necessary daily nutrients and in sufficient quantities. Can I safely combine various other things in my cow milk kefir?

Julie Royster

Does the fermentation change the carbohydrate content of the kefir from what it was in the milk before culturing?

Russell Jones

Hi
I’ve been told recently that I should get my kefir grains tested for phage bacteria at least once a month, I’ve never come across this before, I’ve been making kefir at home for a few months now without any problems. Does anybody get theirs tested? It sounds like a bit of a hassle. Cheers 🙂

Julie

Hi Russell I saw this same post on facebook, rang local public health lab like suggested and they don’t even allow public to have things tested. Rang another company that I recently bought my grains from and basically told me it’s nonsense, they have to get theirs tested as they are selling them and have to send to a lab in Switzerland with a min of 500g each time. She looked at what they test and phage wasn’t even one of the things. She suggested that the company that said this did so as they sell their own kefir and are wanting people to buy that rather than the grains and make it themselves.
- Russell Jones
  
  Thanks Julie, yea I phoned the public health lab and they passed me through three people because they didn’t know what I was talking about, in the end the woman I spoke to said it sounds like they’re trying to boost sales, I’m shocked really because the person that posted it has always come across as a responsible buisness person. It seems a bit desperate. It did occure to me that it could have been that, but I also thought that maybe she’s under pressure from a local authority to share that risk even if it’s miniscule. I had a very bad day when I read that status, I’ve come to rely on kefir, it’s changed my life really and I went through a lot of anxiety when I learned it could kill me. I’ll relax now 😉 thanks for your reply…..
  Russ