Kefir

[Guest guest]

My wife drinks it as it is.I prefer to mix it with natural fruit.I do

not ad sugar.The kefir that we use is kefir made in a milk solution.

It converts naturally,just like home made yogurt,overnight .Each day

we strain the kefir through a plastic strainer.We put the kefir raw

material back into the glass jar and refill with whole milk.Some say

it is better with raw milk,unpasteurized,but we use plain whole milk

from the store.As I said in my previuos post,this kefir was given to

us already started so I did not have the oppertunity to start it from

what is called seeds.

Regards

Guy

>

> In a message dated 3/12/06 1:52:10 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> bluesky@... writes:

>

>

> > we enjoy the taste

> > of kefir.

>

> The kefir in the store seems to have a lot of sugar in it. How do

you make

> your kefir and how do you sweeten it, if you do?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Kefir and tea? Could you elaborate please?

summitflyer2003 <bluesky@...> wrote:

It is the milk product that stimulates the growth of Kefir.I

understand that one can mix it with tea also.I have not tried this as

I enjoy it the way we use it.I recieved the kefir from a friend and

was already active and growing.

Regards

Guy

> >>

> >> I WOULD like to hear of more testimonials about KEFIR. I am

> > considering

> >> purchasing it.

> >>

> >> Ms

> >>

> >>

> >>

[Guest guest]

Sorry I can't comment very much on tea with kefir.I just did

a quick Google search the other day to research the origins of kefir

and read about how it can be used as a tea ,very much like kombucha.

Regards

Guy

> > >>

> > >> I WOULD like to hear of more testimonials about KEFIR. I am

> > > considering

> > >> purchasing it.

> > >>

> > >> Ms

> > >>

> > >>

> > >>

[Guest guest]

Nil,

I recently joined the kefir group and read in the FAQs that it is possible

to make kefir from non-animal sources. Here's the URL if you can access it

without becoming a member:

http://f5.grp.fs.com/v1/AN0aRHesQa3snKEYC1fh6k-75207u-5KySqsIJm-Txy1vTDA\

8AjCsWq5ZseSAPERdTTlcprleb__ZxrItUuH5rf2USt5FfSqG/KM-group-FAQs.htm

Ellen

> Sue,

>

> Kefir has been great help for me for about 7-8 years of my illness. I

> always

> said I would not be able to live this long without it. I encourage

> everyone

> to try it. I can not use it at this point as I can not find good quality

> kefir grains and also do not have any apatite for them(I have developed

> problem of not being able to digest animal protein)

>

> Good luck.

> nil

[Guest guest]

The starter is in a dairy base but you can seed it in coconut water

so there's very little dairy factor. The kefir you produce can then

be the starter for the next batch so there's even less dairy left

with each generataion. I buy mine at:

www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com

Bob

Heavenly Heat

800-697-2862

Ellen Frieder wrote:

>

> Nil,

>

> it is possible to make kefir from non-animal sources.

> Ellen

> > Sue,

> > Kefir has been great help for me for about 7-8 years of my

illness. I always said I would not be able to live this long without

it. I encourage everyone to try it.

I can not use it at this point as I can not find good quality

kefir grains and also do not have any apatite for them(I have

developed problem of not being able to digest animal protein)

nil

[Guest guest]

Can glutathione be gotten through kefir? How much do we need?

-----

[Guest guest]

Traditionally, many different cultures fermented foods as both a way

to stop them spoiling and also to increase the nutrient and health

value of the food. Kefir is one of those cultures that was used to

ferment milk and the end product has 10 times the probiotic value of

yoghurt. This was probably the benefit to your friend with the cancer

- he recolonised his colon with good bacteria and cleansed out the

rubbish.

I have been using both milk kefir and water kefir for quite some time

and know I have a healthy colon due to the " floaters " I now get

instead of the " sinkers " I always had!

There are some great kefir sites around but the best of these are:

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=203282 & pp=20

Kefir_making/

You can get kefir grains from members of the Group on the last

link and there are also international lists for grain sharing.

>

> Has anyone from this group heard or used kefir?The reason I ask is that

> a friend of mine that had moved to Edmonton was dying of cancer.He had

> colon cancer that had spread all over his body.I wrote him a

> letter,does not have the net,more or less to say my goodbyes.While I

> was siting on

> the porch one evening enjoying the sunset,I recieved a phone call from

> him.He was jubilant.He told me that he had gone to get some tests done

> because he had been feeling better and they told him that he was cancer

> free.Needless to say the meds thought it was a miracle.Maybe it was.

> He told me that he had started taking this kefir upon the insistance of

> some of his friends.We had a great time talking on the phone.

> This was last Oct.05 and he is still feeling great.

> I would appreciate any comments.

> Regards

> Guy

>

[Guest guest]

tomandcara wrote:

>

> >

> > I use kefir yeast because I like it!

>

> what is Kefir yeast and how is it different from kefir grains which

> contain the yeast and other microbes?

Well, first ... I DO use the grains, so the other microbes are there

too. I was differentiating using kefir yeast (from the grains) vs. using

say, purchased beer or wine yeast, which is in fact what I used

to do when doing home brewing (which we did alot: we made all

the beer for our wedding, in fact). And, when I say " kefir yeast "

I kinda mean " all the stuff you get when you use kefir grains to make

beer " ... which obviously is NOT just yeast. In fact, my kefir beer

tastes a lot like Lambic Ale, which was my favorite beer in the old

days, when I could afford it.

But one yeast in kefir is said to be Sacch. Bourneii (I don't think

I spelled it right) which is really, really good for gut health. I don't

KNOW if my kefir has that, especially, but when I drink kefir

beer I get different gut action than I do otherwise (I'll send morbid

details if anyone really wants to know). Other probiotics do

not have the same effect.

Soooo ... since kefir beer is easy to make AND has a good

effect on me AND tastes better than " beer yeast " beer AND

it's cheaper ... I use kefir yeast!

I'm not against any other kind of yeast though. I like microbes

in general.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

>

> Hey there!

>

> I was intrigued to find comments about how kefir is poorly

tolerated by people with Candida. Once I thought it would save me,

but I was disappointed to find kefir make sme more sick than not.

It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Do you believe this is from

unfermented milk sugar, allergic reaction to some of the microflora,

or a reaction to the dairy? If the latter, perhaps raw milk kefir

would go down better? I can tolerate kefir-fermented cream though.

But not too much.

==>Raw dairy kefir doesn't seem to help the situation for candida

sufferers because even though longer fermentation can be done to

remove the lactose, the lactose is change into another sugar, which

is galactose. It's not an allergic reaction, it's because of the

sugar.

> By contrast, I encourage anybody who has tried kefir and found it

lacking to give EM a go. It is much easier to tolerate. Molasses

kefir is also a bit easier to tolerate.

==>Molasses kefir would not be a good idea, but water kefir is good.

I haven't look at the EM you refer to yet - been too busy. What does

EM stand for?

Bee

[Guest guest]

EM stands for " Effective Microbes " . It's well explained on those websites I

sent. It shares many of the kefir strains + some SBO's. Just quite powerful

by all accounts. Obviously, I'm not saying it's going to cure Candida, but

it's a good and very cheap probiotics (because you can buy a starter and

keep extending it)

Dirk

[Guest guest]

>

> EM stands for " Effective Microbes " . It's well explained on those

websites I sent. It shares many of the kefir strains + some SBO's. Just

quite powerful by all accounts. Obviously, I'm not saying it's going to

cure Candida, but it's a good and very cheap probiotics (because you

can buy a starter and keep extending it)

==>Dirk, would you please give me the websites again?

TIA, Bee

>

[Guest guest]

I got mine through eBay and they were very satisfactory

bluebonnet

-- " C. Dewar " <yoganana@...> wrote:

Looking to obtain fresh kefir grains. Does anyone have any to sell or know of

some source?

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[Guest guest]

Thanks. Will try that.

Re: Kefir

>I got mine through eBay and they were very satisfactory

> bluebonnet

>

>

> -- " C. Dewar " <yoganana@...> wrote:

> Looking to obtain fresh kefir grains. Does anyone have any to sell or

> know of some source?

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________________________________________________

> Try Juno Platinum for Free! Then, only $9.95/month!

> Unlimited Internet Access with 1GB of Email Storage.

> Visit http://www.juno.com/value to sign up today!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> I was thinking of purchasing a kefir starter kit.

>

> Does anyone know if you can make this yourself without the starter

kit.

> Apparently you can make it with coconut water as well as milk.

Hi ,

If you know someone who has it, you can use it to start your own

batch. I'd imagine you can do it with store-bought version, but I'm

not I'd want to go that route.

I bought a starter kit since I didn't know anyone that had it. It's

probably the same one you're referring to since they do mention

coconut water as a possible substrate. Interestingly, they say you

can only do seven transfers before you have to start a new batch. Why

seven and not six or eight I have no idea. I'm guessing it's to keep

you buying from them.

Cheers,

Wally

[Guest guest]

Exactly, they want your money. Real Kefir is made from grains that

continually repropogate themselves, no need to ever buy anything else except

your milk.

When you use the starter culture- its only good for about 6-7 cultures, then

it deteriorates into something that is not fit to drink. There is a kefir

list. and a great website to learn more about it.

zoe

Friday, February 2, 2007, 8:32:59 PM, you wrote:

>> I was thinking of purchasing a kefir starter kit.

>> Does anyone know if you can make this yourself without the starter

> kit.

>> Apparently you can make it with coconut water as well as milk.

> Hi ,

> If you know someone who has it, you can use it to start your own

> batch. I'd imagine you can do it with store-bought version, but I'm

> not I'd want to go that route.

> I bought a starter kit since I didn't know anyone that had it. It's

> probably the same one you're referring to since they do mention

> coconut water as a possible substrate. Interestingly, they say you

> can only do seven transfers before you have to start a new batch. Why

> seven and not six or eight I have no idea. I'm guessing it's to keep

> you buying from them.

> Cheers,

> Wally

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

Hi Wally

Good point,

On the website i went on the kit comprised of 3 sachets, each sachet

could be used up to 6 times, using some from previous batch.

Yes, why only 6, surely once started it should just be a continuous

process. I want to find out now if that is just a marketing ploy.

Do you actually like the taste? What is the consistency, is it like

yoghurt or thinner, or thicker?

Thanks

> > I was thinking of purchasing a kefir starter kit.

> >

> > Does anyone know if you can make this yourself without the

starter

> kit.

> > Apparently you can make it with coconut water as well as milk.

>

> Hi ,

>

> If you know someone who has it, you can use it to start your own

> batch. I'd imagine you can do it with store-bought version, but I'm

> not I'd want to go that route.

>

> I bought a starter kit since I didn't know anyone that had it. It's

> probably the same one you're referring to since they do mention

> coconut water as a possible substrate. Interestingly, they say you

> can only do seven transfers before you have to start a new batch.

Why

> seven and not six or eight I have no idea. I'm guessing it's to

keep

> you buying from them.

>

> Cheers,

> Wally

>

[Guest guest]

> >> I was thinking of purchasing a kefir starter kit.

>

> >> Does anyone know if you can make this yourself without the

starter

> > kit.

> >> Apparently you can make it with coconut water as well as milk.

>

> > Hi ,

>

> > If you know someone who has it, you can use it to start your own

> > batch. I'd imagine you can do it with store-bought version, but

I'm

> > not I'd want to go that route.

>

> > I bought a starter kit since I didn't know anyone that had it.

It's

> > probably the same one you're referring to since they do mention

> > coconut water as a possible substrate. Interestingly, they say

you

> > can only do seven transfers before you have to start a new batch.

Why

> > seven and not six or eight I have no idea. I'm guessing it's to

keep

> > you buying from them.

>

> > Cheers,

> > Wally

>

>

>

>

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

There are kefir starter kits and kefir grains. Those are what people

make kefir drink from. Kefir starter kits extract certain bacteria

strains from the grains for convenience and commercial purposes.

Real kefir grains are not too hard to come by (and they are

preferable because they last forever and make the real thing).

Myself, I have some. I joined a groups about kefir making, and

I was able to hook up with someone who would ship them to me. He just

charged me $5 for shipping.

Real kefir grains grow and multiply, and, yes, you can make coconut

kefir with them (and many other things).

Most people who make real kefir know about Dom. He is the head of

that groups kefir group and has this site:

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html

Feel free to ask me any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

PS. I live in Knob Noster, MO, which is between Warrensburg and

Sedalia. I might have offered to give you some grains, but I am

probably not the closest to you.

[Guest guest]

> Good point,

> On the website i went on the kit comprised of 3 sachets, each sachet

> could be used up to 6 times, using some from previous batch.

>

> Yes, why only 6, surely once started it should just be a continuous

> process. I want to find out now if that is just a marketing ploy.

>

> Do you actually like the taste? What is the consistency, is it like

> yoghurt or thinner, or thicker?

Hi ,

I usually mix it in a blender with frozen fruit and stevia, so I don't

really know how it taste by itself. As far as the consistency, it

depends on how long you incubate it for i.e. the longer the thicker

until it seperates into curds and whey.

Wally

[Guest guest]

> Exactly, they want your money. Real Kefir is made from grains

that continually repropogate themselves, no need to ever buy

anything else except your milk.

> When you use the starter culture- its only good for about 6-7

cultures, then it deteriorates into something that is not fit to

drink. There is a kefir list. and a great website to learn more

about it.

Hi zoe,

Just curious what happens after the sixth or seventh batch. Does the

bacteria and yeast committ suicide?

Wally

>

> Friday, February 2, 2007, 8:32:59 PM, you wrote:

> >> I was thinking of purchasing a kefir starter kit.

>

> >> Does anyone know if you can make this yourself without the

starter

> > kit.

> >> Apparently you can make it with coconut water as well as milk.

>

> > Hi ,

>

> > If you know someone who has it, you can use it to start your own

> > batch. I'd imagine you can do it with store-bought version, but

I'm

> > not I'd want to go that route.

>

> > I bought a starter kit since I didn't know anyone that had it.

It's

> > probably the same one you're referring to since they do mention

> > coconut water as a possible substrate. Interestingly, they say

you

> > can only do seven transfers before you have to start a new batch.

Why

> > seven and not six or eight I have no idea. I'm guessing it's to

keep

> > you buying from them.

>

> > Cheers,

> > Wally

>

>

>

>

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi zoe,

> Just curious what happens after the sixth or seventh batch. Does the

> bacteria and yeast committ suicide?

> Wally

Actually its a product of contamination, once that happens you are finished

and must repurchase the starter pack. It gets very very expensive this way.

The grains have the ability to readjust themselves to maintain the proper

symbiosis. Why don't you join our list and learn all about it.

zoe

[Guest guest]

>

Thanks Wally, Zoe, and anyone else for kefir info.

I'm going to join the kefir site Zoe, i'm glad i got your comments

before i ordered the sachets. I did think there was a better way. Do

you make the cheese too, and use the whey instead of buying the

powdered stuff.

> Hi zoe,

>

> > Just curious what happens after the sixth or seventh batch. Does

the

> > bacteria and yeast committ suicide?

>

> > Wally

>

> Actually its a product of contamination, once that happens you

are finished and must repurchase the starter pack. It gets very

very expensive this way.

>

> The grains have the ability to readjust themselves to maintain the

proper symbiosis. Why don't you join our list and learn all about

it.

> zoe

>

>

[Guest guest]

The cheese is delicious, but I don't do it often. I use the whey to ferment my

veggies and other stuff.

zoe

Sunday, February 4, 2007, 9:06:54 AM, you wrote:

>

> Thanks Wally, Zoe, and anyone else for kefir info.

> I'm going to join the kefir site Zoe, i'm glad i got your comments

> before i ordered the sachets. I did think there was a better way. Do

> you make the cheese too, and use the whey instead of buying the

> powdered stuff.

>

>

>> Hi zoe,

>> > Just curious what happens after the sixth or seventh batch. Does

> the

>> > bacteria and yeast committ suicide?

>> > Wally

>> Actually its a product of contamination, once that happens you

> are finished and must repurchase the starter pack. It gets very

> very expensive this way.

>> The grains have the ability to readjust themselves to maintain the

> proper symbiosis. Why don't you join our list and learn all about

> it.

>> zoe

>>

[Guest guest]

:-)

The grains definitely grow fast in the milk, so I do have some left

over for experiments. So fast that I just keep them in the fridge now.

The apple cider sounds good, as does the coconut kefir. I eat dried

coconut most days, and it does seem to help with yeast problems. I

wonder if the water-based kefir grains might be better for coconut

kefir (but then water-based are just transmuted milk-based, I guess).

You are using fresh coconuts for that, or will canned coconut milk work?

Yes, I don't eat any gluten (or grains) and my dairy consumtion is

no/low lactose. I'd give dairy up altogether, if I only could. But I

have to eat something! ;-)

Micke

>

> Micke,

>

>

>

> Congrats on the addition of your new family/body members. aka kefir

grains!

>

>

>

> Candida can be a problem for me too. I used to have asthma issues.

and I

> still do occasionally. The only time I have issues is after I've

eaten some

> form of dairy though. I have been able to eliminate my breathing

> difficulties by eliminating dairy. This doesn't mean you have to

eliminate

> kefir though!! Coconut Kefir I found to be great at helping with the

> candida. I too felt worse at first. but it was because I had

slaughtered a

> bunch of the " evil " yeasties I'm sure. Coconut has anti-microbial

> properties of its own. It still makes a tasty kefir though. To

switch your

> grains over you'll want to rinse them many times with room temp spring

> (non-chlorinated) water. I did this to eliminate the dairy as I

react to

> dairy in more ways than just breathing issues. Ensure you select a

coconut

> milk without any sort of preservative in it.

>

>

>

> You can place your kefir grains in apple juice to make yourself some

apple

> cider. and then remove the grains and open it up to make apple cider

> vinegar. This vinegar is great for seeding your own kraut etc. I

love it

> with cooked greens and organic/nitrite free bacon fat mixed with coconut

> oil. Yumm.

>

>

>

> My grains have been dairy free for a couple years now. They are not

growing

> much at all but they haven't shriveled up and died yet either. They

still

> do a great sour coconut kefir. although I have noticed they aren't

quite as

> quick about it as they used to be. They do spend some time in the

fridge

> when I get lazy on the drinking side of things. I'm sure if I

pampered them

> on the kitchen shelf with fresh coconut milk routinely they'd recoup

just

> fine. They likely are not the " same grains " they once were but they

do what

> I want them do to just fine.

>

>

>

> People with Candida issues are often intolerant to gluten it seems.

Candida

> and gluten share a similar amino acid sequence.

>

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=A

> bstract & list_uids=12826451> Lancet. 2003 Jun 21;361(9375):2152-4.

>

>

>

>

>

> If you are interested, check out the following group for more

info on

> gluten free and casein free native nutrition:

> GFCFNN/

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> I did finally receive some kefir grains (milk-based) and tried some

> fresh kefir for the first time. Maybe with repeated use I wouldn't

> have any problems, but initially it caused yeast problems as well

as

> breathing issues.

What do you mean, breathing issues? What happened?

> I'm fighting a long-term candida infection and the

> kefir initially exacerbated it rather than helping (as plain yogurt

> can [help that is]). But it was pretty cool to add to my bacteria

> growth skills. :-) It's pretty amazing how much like sour dough

> starter is the smell of the kefir grains. And I wonder if sour

dough

> starter doesn't have more than yeast going on. Or if it couldn't

serve

> as a kefir grain.

>

> Micke

>