More and more scientists are linking overall health to the state of your gut and digestive tract.
The importance of having a healthy gut cannot be overstated.
It helps your body digest and assimilate food better, it helps your genes express themselves in a disease-fighting way, and helps boost your immunity.
One of the best ways to keep your colon environment clean and healthy is by eating fermented foods, such as kefir.
Fermentation has been done for centuries all over the world as a method to preserve perishable foods like dairy, fruits, vegetables, animal proteins, grains, and so on.
Yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir and pickled veggies are some examples of fermented foods.
However, the process of pasteurization, which destroys dozens of beneficial enzymes, has taken over due to the demands of mass production and big agri-business.
In my opinion, if we returned to the health-promoting foods of our past and ate the way Mother Nature intended for us to eat, I am confident that the majority of the diseases and common health problems that we face today could be radically diminished.
What is Kefir?
The word kefir (pronounced ke-feer) in Turkish means “feel good” and is the most potent probiotic beverage there is.
It’s a cultured milk product that looks and tastes similar to the drinkable yogurt (also known as Laban here in the Middle East) but is far superior to yogurt because of its beneficial yeast and additional strains of healthy bacteria that create ideal conditions in the digestive tract by colonizing friendly bacteria.
This combination and its smaller sized proteins make it easily digestible and suitable for babies, young children, the elderly, or anyone with digestive health concerns such as lactose-intolerance, constipation, gas, etc.
It’s also much more potent than any probiotic supplement out there.
Even the best supplement has up to 15 different strands of bacteria whereas kefir has 42; more proof that labs cannot outdo Mother Nature!
It also has many other beneficial nutrients like:
| Minerals, such as Calcium, Magnesium & Phosphorus | Vitamins B1, B2, Biotin (B7), and K | Easily digestible complete proteins | Essential amino acids like tryptophan, which is known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system |
How Is It Made?
The best way to have kefir is to make it at home with real live kefir grains.
Kefir is made by culturing any type of milk (i.e. cow, goat, sheep, camel, buffalo, coconut, rice, soy, etc.) or water with kefir grains, which look like mini florets of cauliflower, for a period of 12 to 24 hours.
The kefir grains are then filtered out and added to new milk or water for another batch of kefir and this process can continue indefinitely.
So you really only need to purchase or find kefir grains once, which makes it very economical.
What Can It Be Used For?
The sky’s the limit when it comes to using kefir.
You can drink it alone as a morning beverage; make kefir smoothies, kefir soups, or even kefir cheese.
You can also substitute buttermilk with kefir and use it in pancakes or any of your baking. I’ll be sharing kefir recipes in the near future.
Where Can I Find Kefir Grains?
I tried to find the origin of kefir grains, but there were so many fanciful stories that I could not determine its true origins.
The only consistency that I could find was that it probably originated in the Caucasus Mountains and spread around the world from there.
Since kefir grains are living organisms that grow and reproduce during the fermentation process, the best way to get your hands on kefir grains is to find another person who has extra to share.
Interestingly enough, there is an international list of people sharing their kefir grains and you can add your name to the list too if you decide to get started.
It’s really neat to see people from all around the world sharing their kefir grains. Check it out to find a person near you:
http://www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php
I’ve just purchased my own kefir grains from someone in Germany since I couldn’t find anyone who has extra here in Dubai.
I can’t wait to try them and let you know all about my experiences, as well as share a video on how to get started.
I look forward to sharing my extra grains with everyone here in Dubai and the surrounding areas, in hopes of helping you achieve greater health as well.
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