Milk kefir (pronounced KEE-Fur) is a fermented milk drink that has been around for thousands of years. According to Donna Schwenk, author of Cultured Foods for Life, “People in the Caucasus Mountains maintain that kefir is the reason for their legendary longevity.
In Turkey, scrolls from Abraham declared that his long life was due to fermented milk products. Muhammad professed that kefir grains were a gift from Allah to him. And Noah claimed to have gotten these grains from angels on the ark. “
Homemade kefir is similar to runny greek yogurt, but it’s NOT yogurt. It actually has between 30-56 strains of good bacteria (also called Probiotics), while yogurt only has 7-10 strains and Water Kefir only has 10 strains. The bacteria in yogurt pass through the body within 24 hours with the main job of sustaining the good bacteria that already reside in the digestive tract. Kefir, however, stay IN the digestive tract – putting up a stake and creating its own colony where it’s needed. It heals up the damaged gut where candida yeast, antibiotics, or toxins have entered & destroyed all the good bacteria colonies.
Why gut health is so important? Studies have shown that your gut holds 50-70% power over your immune system. It’s current health state also predicts your energy level, risk of disease which also includes autoimmune diseases, and hormones (seratonin is produced in the gut – which affects our mood/emotions/depression/outlook).
Click here for the Milk Kefir Recipe.