Milk Kefir
Milk Kefir:
Yes it is worth your time & effort, now more than ever!
I have been a Health Coach for 3 years but I have been fermenting milk kefir at home for about 5 years now...
Our story of why & how I started fermenting milk kefir:
5years ago my husband Paul was put on biological anti-TNF medication, if you’ve heard of it, and had to inject himself once a month in the thigh. It was the first -and only thankfully- time that we had to have a ‘hazardous material’ disposal bin in our house with our 2 small children! It felt frightening! The forms he was given to fill out were also frightening, Paul felt like they were tracking him to see what he would suffer from in the end, none of the potential outcomes was that encouraging and frankly It made us want to seek help elsewhere as a backup.
So we worked with a Nutritionist - who I’ll gladly refer you to if you are interested - and in the protocol Paul was asked to consume milk kefir preferably home-made, so we got the strainer and then we bought our grains online for €20 - for some silly reason at the time we felt that was safer than getting them off the sharing community on Facebook - ! Anyhow we started 5 years ago with our tiny batch of 6 little milk kefir grains, each one the size of a pea, they arrived in the post in a plastic bag with a little milk and no instructions, and we have been fermenting milk and sharing the milk and the grains with others ever since.
Paul doesn’t take it as much anymore but our children get it frequently - hidden in yoghurts or smoothies - and I use it instead of buttermilk to make bread. Keeping it present in our diet gives me the confidence that in the midst of whatever else we may be eating ( oh yes we do that too!), at least I have a good source of natural probiotics and many nutrients present in our diet.
I have total respect for what these little grains have done for us and are always doing for human gut health and I continue to make milk kefir everyday for my family, friends and clients and anyone that wants to have the home-made kind but can’t afford the time and hassle to make it.
Now let’s talk more about the actual milk kefir and what it can do for you too!
Milk kefir is a great tool to help improve people’s gut health and/or blood sugar balance issues. It is a great way to increase the number of good bacteria in your intestines naturally and, as you will see further down, it is also a great natural source of many valuable and needed vitamins and minerals.
A tablespoon of milk kefir is reported to give you more probiotics than a tub of live yoghurt. It as a great investment in long term health and if there’s anything we need more than ever nowadays it’s more ways to be healthier and stronger for the long run and in my books that starts with supporting the gut function because THE GUT is the epicenter of immune health!
Keep in mind that milk kefir is not a one-off thing, you can’t just consume it once and expect change, because bacteria are transient, meaning you eat them, they hang out for a bit in your gut, maybe multiply for a bit but then they’re gone into the loo basin with the rest of your stool, you got to keep having good bacteria in your diet relatively frequently for the effects to establish and know that the best thing you can do is make your own at home. Store-bought cannot have as many nutrients as home-made.
SO lets take a look at what kefir grains are (weird baby cauliflowers if you ask me :D ), where they came from (Russian territory!), the nutrients they will provide you with (natural source of Vitamin D, how amazing!) and what conditions milk kefir can actually help with (IBS anyone?). Resources can be found at the bottom for all you inquisitive minds that want to know more or double check! 😉
Read on if you have time, or call me if you want the summary or to ask if it can help you specifically and, if you’re local to me, do consider signing up to a 4week test-drive with the home-made stuff I make
What is milk kefir:
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus Mountains in the 19th century made with kefir "grains". Kefir grains are a gelatinous white mass harboring a generous variety of bacteria and beneficial yeast that coexist symbiotically in the grains and then interact with the milk. Close up they actually resemble a miniature cauliflower.
After several studies on kefir were published it was given the status of a natural probiotic, designated as the 21st century yoghurt.
Milk kefir is prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk with kefir grains at room temperature. Traditional kefir was made in goatskin bags that were hung near a doorway; the bag would be knocked by anyone passing through to help keep the milk and kefir grains well mixed.
The grains ferment the milk by breaking down the lactose (the sugar found in mammalian milk only) that they feed on. The result is a sour milk product, with a consistency and taste similar to thin yogurt. The more it is left to ferment the more potent and tart the taste.
Milk Kefir nutrients:
Minerals (calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, manganese, zinc, molybdenum), vitamins (vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, C, D, E, K), essential amino acids (methionine, cysteine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, leucine, threonine, lysine, valine) and conjugated linoleic acid. And of course Probiotics (lactobacillus species, Bifidobacterium bifidum, streptococcus termophilus, lactococcus lactis, leuconostoc species)
Benefits & conditions that can be helped:
Kefir is a unique cultured dairy product that’s one of the most probiotic-rich foods on the planet sometimes containing over 20 different types of probiotics. In contrast a full-fat live-culture yoghurt might have 2-4 strains, just to put it in perspective.
Some of the milk kefir benefits are:
1. Helps boost your immunity – because it contains biotin, folate, probiotics
2. Builds bone strength – because it contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus plus vitamin D & K2
3. Supports digestion and combats IBS - it contains probiotics that colonize the gut while some of the more aggressive strains will also form a virtual SWAT team that eliminates pathogens and strengthens the intestines. Lactobacillus plantarum and rhamnosus can help alleviate bowel conditions while the beneficial yeast in the kefir can help keep pathogenic yeast in the gut, like Candida, at bay
4. Improves allergies – the live organisms promote the immune system to naturally suppress allergic reactions
5. Helps heal the skin – especially when the skin issues are connected to intestinal disorders
6. Improves lactose intolerance symptoms. People who are lactose intolerant can usually drink well-fermented kefir as the grains have digested the lactose
7. Has anti-cancerous properties
8. Helps reduce cholesterol - the lactobacillus plantarum, acidophilus and kefiri has been shown to reduce total cholesterol, LDL & Triglycerides
9. Weight management - There is a strong association between consumption of fermented dairy foods and weight maintenance
10. Heart health - Other studies show reductions in risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and overall mortality
11. Fermented milk consumption improved glucose metabolism (it helped insulin’s job) and reduced muscle soreness induced by acute resistance exercise
12. There is an indication that fermented food consumption can alter mood and brain activity for the better
13. Blood pressure - The peptides present in fermented dairy products work as anti-hypertensive ACE inhibitors (they give you these in pills to combat high blood pressure), and have anti-thrombotic (again good for the heart), satiety, opioid, immunomodulatory, osteogenic and antioxidant effects
NOTE: if you have intolerance to the casein in the milk (symptoms would be sinus issues and mucusy situations after consuming milk), then milk kefir may not be for you, as the casein still exists in the end ferment, you can always try coconut milk kefir or even water kefir.
Usage:
You can drink the kefir on its own, even 1 tbsp a day will do some good, or use it to make a smoothie, a pudding, pour it over your oats, cereal, granola, add to soups before serving. It can also be used to make sourdough bread or as a substitute to buttermilk in baking.
Where you can get live kefir grains from:
You can find various sources online, the ones I know are:
a) Facebook group called “Sharing starter cultures Ireland”
b) Myself in Blackrock, Co.Louth, Ireland . I make milk-kefir for people locally (only 2 clients per month) and I post grains out with my instructions. Use the contact form for enquiries.
Bottom line folks -and thanks for reading this far - Milk Kefir is worth your time. Best Of Luck with introducing it into your daily life!
To your health
Emily
Resources
Do you fancy watching a 3.3min video on the topic? See what Dr Berg has to say about it by clicking here
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4854945/ gel made from kefir grains heals wound a lot faster!!