Kefir: Wonder Dairy for the Lactose Intolerant
Honestly, when I first started drinking kefir, I was buying it for my daughter and thought it was basically drinkable yogurt. However, there are some key differences between kefir and drinkable yogurt:
Both kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products, however, kefir can be made from any type of milk, including rice and soy milk.
Kefir is made from jelly-like yellow or white particles called "grains." (They look a lot like cauliflower florets.) Unique, kefir is the only milk culture which forms these grains. In turn the grains contain a yeast and bacteria mixture which clumps together with casein (a milk protein) and
complex sugars. This process occurs when the kefir grains and milk are mixed, then left out for 12-24 hours out of direct sunlight. The fermentation process produces the drinkable kefir, which is then strained and placed in the fridge. The left-over kefir grains are added to milk and the process is started again by placing the kefir grain / milk mixture out for another 24 hours or so. Kefir grains are a living organism which grows and reproduces. Once you've grains you can make a fresh supply of kefir every 24 hours or so.
Much of the kefir that is commercially available is made with cane juice, a healthier alternative to refined sugars offered in many commercial brands of yogurt. (Check the sugar content in kid's yogurt the next time you go to the store, if you haven't, even if you don't have kids. You would be amazed at how terribly sugary that stuff is.)
Like yogurt, kefir is high in beneficial bacterium and yeasts, but unlike yogurt the milk proteins and sugars are smaller. The combination of smaller proteins, boosted yeast and bacteria makes kefir more easily digestible for those with milk or casein sensitivity.
Make your own kefir at home!
In addition to the minerals phosphorous magnesium and calcium, kefir is abundant in B vitamins, biotin, (a B vitamin,) and vitamin K as well as numerous amino acids, which are vital to body maintenance and healing. People with a compromised immune system or digestive issues will particularly benefit from the wide range of yeasts and bacteria which help aid in digestion and improve the body's ability to absorb nutrients. Some of the different kinds of beneficial bacteria found in kefir are: Streptococcus, Lactobacillus Caucasus, and Leuconocostoc Acetobacter. These bacterium help to keep the colon clean and improve resistance to harmful bacteria such as E. Coli.
Some of the more beneficial yeasts which are found in kefir are: Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir. These yeasts also help keep your colon clean by destroying harmful yeast and bacteria that can reside in your colon. Kefir can actually reproduce in your digestive tract with regular use, making your stomach lining particularly resistant to bad bacterium and yeast which resides in the mucosal lining of your stomach. After recolonization of your stomach with kefir yeast your better able to absorb minerals and vitamins from your food, have healthier bowel movements and will find a reduction in embarrassing gas. Kefir is king of the digestive tract.
Due to kefir's ability to regenerate the digestive tract it has been instrumental in helping cancer and AIDS patients who have difficulty digesting food properly. Because the kefir grain is small it is easily digested and is excellent for (everyone,) the elderly and babies just starting on solid foods. Kefir can be made at home, as well, as you can see from these videos, and while I haven't made my own kefir yet, I'm looking forward to making my own with my daughter, who will even possibly use kefir in her science experiment next year. (Never hurts to plan ahead, right?)
A lot of the kefir drink recipes out there call for some serious health food store or whole food store products, but if you live in a smaller town or an area where it is difficult to get a hold of these ingredients, fret not! Check the link at the bottom for people who are near you and sharing their kefir grains and go to your regular grocery store to purchase fruits, vegetables and nuts. Grind nuts into a fine powder to limit choking and don't give nutty kefir drinks to infants, since they have no teeth. Honey is also fantastic mixed into kefir and if you can manage it, it's been told that eating / drinking honey that is locally produced can actually help to limit seasonal allergies! Again, due to botulism risks, don't give honey to a child under the age of two. After the age of two make sure to check with your pediatrician to get the green light on honey exposure.
- Real Kefir grains - International list where members share their grains!
This is the International Kefir community list where members share real live kefir grains with their neighbors.
Though more studies need to be done recent research indicates that kefir has a calming affect on children with ADHD. When I asked my daughter's specialist about the link between diet and ADHD she said there is no link between the two. However, I've noticed that certain foods seem to affect my daughter's mood, she seems hypersensitive to certain food dyes, for example. (Ask any parent of a child who as ADHD about blue food dye and they'll roll their eyes at you and tell you just not to do it.) Either way, kefir does seem to have a calming effect on mood and body as most who drink it regularly will heartily attest to.
Participate!
Is making your own kefir something you're interested in doing?
See results without votingHow about you guys? Any of you make your own kefir? Do you buy it at the store? It's become much more readily available in recent years, straight from your grocer's aisle in the parlance of our times... anyone have some good kefir recipes? Please take a moment to share in the comments section, as always I love hearing from you all!
Comments
my relatives do something similar in Pakistan, cool to see it here.
Mentalist acer: Hm... what does it taste like... well, if you've had yogurt before, imagine that, except kefir is more creamy tasting and a little more sour. It's really quite good, at least the store-bought versions of it that we've gotten were really great. My daughter can drink a whole jug of it in one day if I don't watch her like a hawk around the kitchen. I can't wait to try making our own! Thanks for taking the time out to read / comment, I really appreciate it!
hassan: Cool! What kind of fruits, herbs or seasonings do they add to it or do they just drink it plain? Do they add it to dishes? I've heard it's a good sour cream substitute when it's just plain, (fresh made, I guess,) I think there's something you'd add to it to get it to thicken, but I can't remember what it was, for the life of me. Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, as always, I appreciate hearing from you!
I like kefir-- didn't know you could make it. That might be a good idea, though since it isn't cheap to buy. It's delicious. I do make yogurt from a culture.
sure can. If you want to experiment, add some dried peppermint to the mix, gives it a nice sour taste.
Rochelle Frank: I don't know if you've had a chance to watch the video's yet, but it seems like making kefir is a pretty similar process to making yogurt! So, if you get a chance and haven't yet, check out the video's and the link... the link is a world-wide collective of people who sell / give kefir grains... some will even ship them!
Twenty One Days: Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment on my hub, I really appreciate it! Hm... dried peppermint, you say? Would it be even tastier with fresh peppermint, I wonder? You could puree it in the food chopper, then mix it in...
I'd never heard of this stuff. You mention making this out of rice milk or soy, but actually this is a great way for lactose-intolerant people to drink milk - the fermentation process breaks down the lactose. It really annoys me when I see special yoghurts for lactose-intolerant people, because all yoghurt is OK by its very nature!
Actually, rice milk, soy milk and nut milk have no dairy proteins in them, so they are perfect for lactose intolerant people. Yogurt does have dairy proteins, and some people really are sensitive to them, even though it does have a significant amount of good bacteria in it. I'm excited about the kefir for people allergic to milk proteins, it sounds like it can realign your stomach, coating it in the bacteria needed to digest dairy proteins...
You might also try UHT products. Ultra High Temperature is a method of pasteurizing that makes it practically sterile, stopping the bacteria in is tracks...
Twenty One Days: Thank-you for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it. I haven't heard of UHT, so please, bear with my ignorance, but what would we use it for?
I have used kefir in place of buttermilk in pancakes, muffins and cakes. It's delicious! Thanks for a good hub!
Wow, I really hope I can find come casein free Kefir at my local health food store. I've seen it but never used it or really known what it was. Thanks!
judydianne: Oh, man... that does sound good... kefir pancakes! Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it!
CassidyS: Normally, kefir is not casein-free. But, if you made it with rice, soy, or a nut milk it would be. I've never seen it made with any of those milks in the grocery store, I would imagine it would be something you'd have to do at home. I think the idea is that you drink a 4 oz cup of regular kefir every day for a couple of weeks before you've anything on your stomach, gradually increasing until you get up to 8 oz ... then you're going to have the kinds of bacteria and yeast that you need in your stomach to break the casein down. As for making it with "non-dairy" milks, I never heard of anyone trying it before... I wonder if it works well... because I think kefir made with almond milk would be fantastic, if it works!
Thank you for another wonderful Hub, Nicole!!! This is a brilliant idea and having never heard of kefir, I have you to thank for introducing my family to something new :) Bravo lady!!!
Love & Light,
Windy Grace
Thanks for the clarification, Nicole. People who are lactose-intolerant are incapable of breaking down the lactose (a type of natural sugar) in milk. The act of making cheese or yoghurt does break down the lactose, so lactose-intolerant people can eat normal milk-based cheeses and yoghurt.
I didn't know people could be intolerant of milk proteins - that's a different condition altogether. I laerned something!
VAMPGYRL420: Thank-you so much! I love how positive you are, it's such a fantastic quality... you can give the store-bought version a try and see how you like it... it's a little expensive, but worth the health benefits! If you really like it, maybe you can try making some yourself... either way, come back and let us know how you liked it!
Marisa Wright: Yeah, I don't think I was being very clear, sorry about that! I started getting into this because my S.O. was diagnosed with a protein allergy, (milk, eggs, other dairy proteins, barley and malt,) which really opened my eyes up to a lot of issues with the food we were eating. I think this last year, (sad to say,) I've eaten better than I ever have in the other 32 years COMBINED! God bless the farmers, they keep us fed, but commercial farming is a pretty new industry... we really have to start thinking about what we're putting into our bodies. I love the idea of being able to make some of this stuff myself, (like the orange juice,) I'm *so* happy about not having to buy that all the time anymore! Thank-you so much for taking the time to comment and continuing to come back to comment, I really appreciate it!
Just a thought - might be an idea to change your title because as we've just clarified, your main subject isn't lactose intolerance here. No need to change the URL, that way you can cover both conditions!
Marisa Wright: I guess the idea is that if you drink kefir it does two things: colonizes your stomach with the kind of bacteria / yeast that makes it possible to break down both lactose and caesin. So it does cover both the protein allergy and the lactose intolerance. Again, I wasn't being clear, my apologies! I was thinking about what you said about the probiotic yogurts... my thought: Maybe they're considered good for people with "lactose intolerance" who are in actuality allergic to the milk protein...?, most people, (physically) wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two, they have many of the same symptoms. I've been looking for caesin-free cheese, (I think giving up cheese has been the hardest on my S.O.,) but all of them that I've found say "dairy free" on them, but when you read the ingredients it does say they've caesin in them! Grr. Thanks for taking the time out to make the suggestion... I think I'll keep the title due to not only my own confusion on the subject, but the confusion of everyone else, too!
the reason kefir is calming to your daughter with ADHD is that it is high in tryptophan, an amino acid which calms the nervous system.
david sky: Thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it. It has the same stuff in it as turkey, then, very cool!
I have attempted Kefir off and on and really like it but due to a casein allergy to cow's milk, I purchased goat kefir for double the price.
After reading this article, I began drinking it again and can really tell a difference in my gut. I am using the Lifeway cow kefir...plain. I love the taste and want to try making my own with coconut milk which will not be pasturized. I don't have access to raw goat or cow milk.
Thanks for this website and links to people locally who are making Kefir.
Susan Pyne: Thank-you for taking the time out to read and comment! Isn't it amazing how there's this entire underground network of people who're offering kefir kernels to their neighbors? I wonder how coconut kefir would taste, if you see this and get some going, please come back and let us know how it was!
This hub caught my eye because I drank Kefir as a kid. My parents were health nuts. I just started drinking it again just because I don't like the consistency of regular yogurt and I remember my parents giving it to me as a kid. My daughter and I both drink it. I never really knew all this good stuff about it. Great hub!
izetti: Wow, that is so awesome, thanks for taking the time out to read and comment, I really appreciate it. What flavors do you guys like best?
Strawberry and peach! I did not like raspberry. Also if I want a small meal/snack I add a scoop of all natural vanilla Whey protein powder to it. It keeps me full a long time. And you might already know but whey is also derived from dairy but very tolerant for everybody.
izetti: Oh, no, I hadn't thought / heard of that! It sounds *really* good, thanks for coming back and commenting on this! I just picked up a bottle of the Lifeway Strawberry Banana for the Boodler today. I'll have to see where I can get vanilla whey protein powder around here!
I bought some store made Kefir today and loved it! Also bought Yogourmet starter to make it myself with coconut milk. I hope it works!
maria: That is *awesome* ... if it works out will you *please* come back & tell us how it is?!? Thanks for taking the time out to read & comment, I really appreciate it!
Mentalist acer 23 months ago
Never Knew of kefir,what does it taste like(though I will look for it)...thank you Nicole:)