Kefir – Wonderful Probiotic Drink

397 days ago

Have you guys heard of Kefir? Probably not, since in Singapore milk-based products are not popular unless they are sweetened with tons of sugar like our favourite Yakult or Vitagen. I have been drinking Milk Kefir for the past 3 years and in that period, I hardly get sick. Sure, sometimes I get little sniffles here and there - hazards of living in a overcrowded city. But nothing too serious. And from a person who used to get seriously sick once every 3 months or so, that is rather impressive. Yes, I have to admit though – I did improve my diet quite considerably. More fruits, more vegetables and less sugar in my diet. In fact, when once I drank like 3 cans of coke or soda drinks per day, I now at most drink equivalent about 2 cans per week. Big change but I still consider Kefir the best part of my diet change.

If you have no idea what Kefir is, I will give you a basic picture of this drink. It is usually made from milk and it is rich in good beneficial bacteria. These are what is termed “probiotics” in the industry. Yes, it means “for life” or something like that. Hahaha, there is indeed a need to use such terms to really get the point across. The Kefir helps populate your gut with these bacteria and in turn they help fight against bad bacteria. This basically becomes a battle between the good and bad bacteria in your body. If you have more good bacteria as a result of  consuming Kefir, surely the good bacteria will take over. And with a healthy gut flora, any bad bacteria attempting to make you sick will have to do a much harder work than before. That is when a good diet and consuming Kefir triumphs. I often tell my readers that if they want to be healthy, not only do they have to take Kefir, they must maintain a relatively healthy diet. It is this combo that is really effective. Of course, other than good probiotics, Kefir is also rich in enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Your body do need those to be healthy as well.

Anyway, enough of this propaganda. You want to know how Kefir is made? Well, first you have to obtain the Kefir grains. They are small pieces of white slimy feeling spongy things that when you feed them milk, they will produce Kefir. The grains consume the lactose in the milk and convert them to Kefir (semi-liquid white stuff), along with enzymes, various bacteria and yeast and makes whatever nutrients in the milk more digestible to your body. Normally it takes about 24hrs for the milk to become Kefir. Kefir is a bit like yogurt but with lots more good bacteria. And Kefir is usually more viscus than yogurt, which is something which people usually eat. Kefir, we normally drink it.

I drink Kefir everyday. Well, nearly everyday except during my ICT where I have to stay in some jungle out there feeding the mosquitoes.  Can’t be bringing along my kefir grains and start setting up a kefir shop in the middle of the jungle now, can I? Anyway, it has bought me good health, something which even money can’t buy sometimes. Making Kefir is not expensive either – just the grains and milk. Probably about a dollar per cup at most. If you are lactose intolerant like most of us Chinese, you can take Kefir without any problems too. There is very little lactose in the Kefir.

Kefir