water kefir

fattybumclaire

I have tried searching the topics for this but all of threads seem to turn into a paleo/non paleo debate!! I am not following a paleo diet but I have been recommended to start increasing the probiotics in my diet, I live in a rural area so buying pre-made probiotic drinks etc is tricky to say the least. I am gluten free and dairy free so have done some research and found that water kefir would fit the bill........but does it work? Does it taste nice? How delicate are the cultures, can you really use indefinately? Can anyone recommend a supplier in the UK?

Thank you

obum88

Never heard of it. Ever of thought of ordering them in pill form?

CorlissaEats

Given that kefir is a type of yogurt or fermented dairy product, I am guessing that water kefir is the same idea but without the dairy? In the right conditions you should be able to keep your culture growing for a very long time. My mother used to make yogurt from scratch and she would use the same starter culture for a year or more. It wasnt hard to keep yogurt going if you followed all the steps, if I had to guess water kefir will be the same idea.

No, I have not tried it but I agree with the other poster, probiotics also come in tablet form. They typically have less in terms of the number of millions of microorganism they offer but they also increase the healthy bateria in the gut. My doc actually told me not to use a probiotic more than 10 days- something about our guts can only have so much good bacteria so doing it longer is a waste of $ unless there is something going on to continually kill what you have. Try the water kefir and if you dont like it, tablets are another option.

celiacgirl1

Thanks for posting this. I use coconut water kefir. I really like the taste. It's like fizzy lemonade.
Your post made me do some research and it would be so much more cost effective to make my own.
The water kefir seemed more complicated because I have the reversed osmosis water and would have to add mineral drops and sugar. With coconut water it's just the kefir grains. ????????????????

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/water-kefir-grains.html?a_aid=51bdc685321ff

fattybumclaire

I have found some starter on amazon, apparently you can add a clean egg shell to your filtered water to replenish the minerals rather than having to add drops.

If you get some before me let me know how yours goes - pity we don't live closer, we could share lol.

I fancy adding it to coconut cream to make a thick yoghurty style thing too, I've been googling all night haha.
xx

xx

CleverClone

I can't comment on water kefir too much, but I've been making my own milk kefir for a couple of years and that's now the one food item I refuse to live without. I've always had a bit of a temperamental tummy and other issues; I've tried to probiotic pills, yoghurts etc. which were no help at all. However once I started drinking kefir I noticed a difference quite quickly and now all my symptoms have disappeared.

I'm not aware of any commercial seller in the UK who sells kefir grains (some sell the powder which IS NOT THE SAME THING); however you can easily buy them online. I bought mine from a seller on eBay, I think I paid 2 pounds and had them in a couple of days. As it's a "living organism" the grains will soon multiply in the right conditions, so you can keep using the same grains for ages. I know a family who have kept their grains going for 30+ years! All in all I think I spent about 10 pounds in buying the stuff I needed to make the kefir, and after that the only expense has been the milk I make it in; definitely cheaper than buying pills!

As I said my experience is with milk kefir only, but as far as I have understood the water kefir has similar properties so shouldn't be too much of a difference.