Order Water Kefir Grains

*I will be out of the Country until mid August so I will not be able to ship out any grains until I return.*

Click HERE to visit Kefir 101
My blog dedicated to water kefir



Real Water Kefir Grains

What is Water Kefir?
Simply put, water kefir is a fermented probiotic beverage.

The exact details of its makeup can be found HERE.

Similar to milk kefir, water kefir thrives on sugar.  There are 2 distinct difference between them however. The first is that water kefir likes sugar cane and milk kefir likes milk sugars.  In addition, water kefir is clear and translucent, crumbling easily; while milk kefir is white and rubbery in form and very tough.

What is a Probiotic?
If you are reading this blog then you are most likely interested in the Probiotic effects of water kefir and water kefir grains.  According to Wikipedia, "Probiotics are live microorganisms that may confer a health benefit on the host."

Ok, so what exactly does this mean?

It means that the microorganisms that are created by the consumption of sugar water which has a fizzy taste similar to soda can make their way into your digestive tract to help you to digest and assimilate not only more nutrients but also more trace minerals.  On top of that they like to increase your killer cells which take out bad bacteria living inside of you.

How hard is water kefir to grow and care for?

For the benefits you will get from consuming the water kefir and the grains themselves, the amount of time and resources dedicated to their care is negligible.  You can make a new batch of water kefir every other day in about 5-10 minutes time for very cheap depending on your sugar sources.  This includes creating the first and secondary fermentation jars.

I personally have a 3 stage fermentation process that goes like this:

Stage one - Water, sugar, sea salt, baking soda, black strap molasses and water kefir grains sit for 48 hours. (Sugar and water are the only ingredients needed if water is of good mineral content).

Stage two - Strained water kefir goes into second jar with tight lid with additional sugars in the form of cheap juices, wet or dried fruits or simply a little more sugar where it will sit for an additional 48 hours.

Stage three - Second jar is bottled into tight flip top bottles for increased carbonation and to further digest out any remaining sugars for another 48 hours.  This is then consumed between days 5-6 and finished before next batch is then bottled and process repeated.

Ok, so the process is simple but how much does it cost to make?

Good question, and it really all depends on your personal preference.  On the cheapest end of the scale assuming you have well water with minerals in it you can buy white sugar in bulk and grow the grains indefinitely off that alone.  Which is very cheap to do indeed.  Making 4 cups every 2 days you would only go through 1/4 cup of sugar. (DO NOT USE HONEY as honey is antibacterial and antimicrobial and will eventually kill your grains)

Increasing the mineral content a bit for very cheap, you can continue to use the white sugar but add some extra trace minerals for your grains to use.  This would entail a small pinch of sea salt and a small pinch of baking soda to your sugar water.

Taking this a bit further, you may also choose to include some organic black strap molasses which will last you a very very long time.  Its simple to dip the end of a knife into the molasses bottle and stir the warm sugar water dissolving both the sugar and the molasses into the mixture.  Again you only need about 1/8th to 1/4 of a teaspoon for 4 cups or water kefir.

Increasing the trace mineral content even further, you may decide to use some unrefined organic sugar cane to take up a portion for the sugar.  And if you decide you can eliminate the white refined sugar all together and simply use a more expensive less processed sugar cane with the above additions OR pure Maple Syrup plus a little molasses.

All in all, for the amount of probiotic kefir water and grains you will get you can not compare this to any other probiotic on the market today.  Nothing simply compares to the speed and amount you get for how cheap this is to make.

So its cheap to make and takes very little time, what tools will I need?

So by now you should understand that making water kefir is a very simple process.  The grains simply need sugar water and somewhere to ferment.  What other tools will you need to make the kefir grains?  Lets take a look.

1)  A glass jar with a tight lid or a coffee filter and rubber band (I use a pickling jar that holds about 8 cups of water with an airlock)  this will be for your first fermentation (The ferment that contains only sugar water and kefir grains).

2)  A second glass jar OR glass bottles with flip top stoppers.  This is used to flavor the strained kefir water from the first jar and allowed to sit for secondary fermentation.

3)  Flip top stopper bottles for 3rd fermentation if using another jar for second ferment.  

4)  A plastic or stainless steel strainer, and a plastic bowl for straining the kefir liquid into.  The only other thing you will need would be a spoon for the kefir, a 1/4 measuring cup and / or a set of measuring spoons.  and that's it!

I have all of these tools and access to sugar, what about water?

Ahhh, the most important part for successful water kefir growth...The water source

The best water sources would be well or spring water.  This is because these don't usually contain large amounts of chlorine etc. which can be found in most city water sources.  Well water is also very rich in trace minerals which the grains will love and thrive off of.  So if you have well water you are all set.

What if you don't have well water?

Then you will have to take a few precautions.  First of all you will want to boil your water before each batch which will help to remove most of the chlorine etc.  Then you will want to make sure you add a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to each batch along with some organic black strap molasses.  A 1/4 egg shell is also an option if grains wont grow.  

That being said, your grains may still not thrive if your water is bad.  but they will still work and ferment your drinks just fine.  If they don't grow, you can try mineral water from a store.  

Can I use plastic instead of glass for my jars?

No, stick with glass.  These drinks and the microorganisms within them are strong and the acids can cause plastic to leech into your batches which is not something you want to be consuming.  So stick to glass and you should be just fine.

How long will the grains make kefir for?
FOREVER! :)

Unlike the powder, these are real LIVE water kefir grains, which will last indefinitely if cared for properly.  You can have your own home made probiotics for the rest of your live and pass these onto your friends and family forever. 

Can I flavor the kefir WITH the grains? 

Sure you could, but you might kill them or slow down their growth if you use the wrong things (Lemon etc.)  Its best the leave the grains to ferment the sugar water with only the above mentioned additions.  If you want to add juices and fruits to your water kefir, do it in the secondary fermentation jars where the grain have been removed.  Always keep the first ferment with the grains simple to ensure they live a long healthy life.

So I flavor the kefir after I strain the grains?

Exactly!

Once you have strained the water kefir and separated out the grains you should only have a liquid now.  This liquid should have fermented with the grain for 48 hours.  Now you can add your juices or fruits and ferment them for another 2-6 days.  Just make sure to burp your corked bottles regularly to make sure they don't explode from over carbonation!

Sounds easy enough, where do I get the grains to get started?

If you would like to order live water kefir grains to use and share with your friends and family I can send them to you in the mail.  All you need to do is select the quantity of grains you would like to receive from the drop down menu on the top right of my blog where it says BUY NOW.  

Ok so I just purchased the grains, how long will shipping take?

Once payment is received, I will package your grains during my next batch change.  This is done every other day.  So at most, your grains would take 4 full days to be packaged and placed in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation within them for shipping.  Then the grains will be sent out within 1-2 days after that.  I ship Standard shipping with USPS which can be 5-8 days.  I only ship withing the US.

My grains have just arrived in the mail now what do I do?

If you cant get to them right away, I would suggest placing them in the refrigerator until you are ready to start using them.  The sooner you can get them into some fresh sugar water though, the better.

Start by dissolving your sugar into hot water, one cup usually works fine.  Then add in cold water until you have the appropriate amount.  4 cups for 4 tablespoons of grains.  Then once the water is at room temperature, simply add your grains directly from the packaging into the sugar water and tighten the lid or add your air lock (You may also use a coffee filter and rubber band).  Leave for a full 48 hours out of direct sunlight.  (Grains don't like light)

Remember that your first batch of water kefir will be thrown away so you can use plain white sugar to start with.  

What if I have more questions?

Simply post your questions below if you would like and I will answer them for everyone to see.  Or I will add your question to a general faq page where I will answer it there.  You can also email me directly at zenkefir@gmail.com

I will try to help you directly through my mail or follow up here on my blog for you.  My goal is to make this as easy for people as possible as I know what great benefit kefir is to your digestive tract and overall health.

Enjoy these wonderful little miracles!

Jeremy


What You Will Receive

Each order contains (4 tbsp) or (1/4 cup) of LIVE water kefir grains.

Each order will be shipped in a (4" x 7.5" Kraft Bubble Mailer Envelope) and shipped through USPS.

Inside of the envelope will be (2) zip lock plastic baggies, one inside of the other.

The innermost zip lock bag with contain the Live Water Kefir Grains

I ONLY ship within the USA*

You will receive Live Water Kefir Grains directly from batches I am using in continuous production.

What To Do Once You Receive The Grains

Once the grains arrive in the mail, they will be hungry for fresh sugar and minerals. I prefer to use both a primary and a secondary fermentation (And I even extend the secondary fermentation into a 3rd for a total of 6 fermentation days. Here is what you will want to do for best results.

Days 1 - 2

1) Prepare a clean & DRY glass jar (Canning jars with seal-able lid or air-lock lid recommended)

2) Place fine strainer over bowl.  Open plastic bag containing water kefir grains.  Fill bag partially with fresh water.  Pour contents into strainer.  Repeat until all grains are out of original bag that contents were shipped in.

3) The grains may look or smell off temporarily from the shipment process (So don't be alarmed!) Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar in hot well water then add 3 cups cool water for a total of 4 cups. Let cool at room temperature. (Additional things you can add would be a pinch or sea salt, a pinch or baking soda and a 1/2 teaspoon of organic black strap molasses.) (DO NOT USE HONEY as honey is antibacterial and will slowly kill your grains)  Scoop water kefir grains into jar and tighten with lid.

4) Let jar sit for 2 full days (48 hours)  You may agitate jar after 24 hours to allow any remaining sugar to be dispersed for grains to consume if desired.  Not necessary to shake contents at all however unlike milk kefir.

Note:  After 2 days inside the jar, the water kefir should appear lighter in color and should have carbon dioxide bubbles now floating on the surface. The water kefir grains may also be floating on the surface if the water and sugar used was of good quality. This means that the grains grew so fast that they encapsulated carbon dioxide inside of them. After 2 days of fermentation it is time to move on to step number 2.

Days 4 - 6 And After...

1) Once the grains have fermented in 4 cups of sugar water for 2 days, it's finally time to strain them. Please use a fine mesh strainer to catch as many of the grain as possible. Start by placing a large bowl under the strainer. Take the water kefir and shake the contents thoroughly to help mix it up. Dump the contents into the strainer until only the grains remain.

2) There should be plenty of grains now remaining on the strainer to use in the next batch. If your water and mineral quality was good the grains may have doubled by now. If your strainer was too large and grains went through it, use a smaller strainer and repeat the process (Importance of the bowl).

3) If all of the grains remained in the strainer, give them a good rinse under cool water.  Clean jar in sink with hot water (Soap not needed!) Discard firth batch of water kefir but save ALL grains.

4) Make batch 2.  If your grains have doubled, please apply the following recommended amounts of (Grains:Sugar:Water)
Grains - 1/4-1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 4 cups

Grains - 1/2-1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 7-8 cups

I personally use a mason jar with about 7 cups of water, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup of grains for each batch.  This works out great and I consume the extra grains made every 2 days in a shake.

5) If the original batch grew enough in the first 2 days to completely ferment the initial 4 cups of sugar water with effervescence, the second batch should be fine to consume after secondary fermentation.

6) After the second batch has sat for 48 hours, strain the contents like before. This time, place the strained kefir into a new glass jar (Air lock is best to refine the taste and texture), or tighten a lid and allow to sit for another 48 hours. This batch should include the addition of sugary juices or dried fruits to give extra sugar for secondary fermentation.

7) You should now have 2 jars in production. The first jar containing the grains and fresh sugar water every 2 days. And the second jar containing the strained kefir which sits ferments under airlock with addition of extra sugar, juice or fruit for 2 more days.

8) Every 2 days, consume the secondary fermentation kefir (From the airlock jar) and add new sugar water to the first batch (With the grains). That's it! Once you have done it once or twice it will be so simple you wont even have to think about it.

Tips

1) Take it slow...Water kefir is alkinalizing, so try not to mix it with foods that require a highly acidic environment to digest them.  Listen to your body and consult your physical before consuming to make sure you are healthy enough.  Although I have not been able to find any negative effects from drinking water kefir, moderation is also a good practice with anything.

2) Start consuming only 1 cup 4-5 days a week. When you consume kefir for the first time, you may experience some cramping as it works its was through your body. This is powerful stuff and should be taken before bed or first thing in the morning for best results starting out. Every 2 days, you may have new water kefir grains (Extras) which are very good to make into a shake.  I like to use a banana, water and whey protein to consume them. Possible temporary lack of bowel movements for the next 18-24 hours if consuming large amount of the grains before bed.  I have personally noticed this with the grains themselves but very thorough digestion has always taken place even with food I am normally sensitive to.

3) I tend to rinse my jars out every batch of kefir I make (Less so for milk kefir (Only once a week) but every new batch (2 days) for water kefir. I also give my grains a quick rinse with fresh water before starting a new batch. This helps to eliminate any strong yeasty smells and tastes when consuming the extra grains.

4) If you want to try a kefir infusion (Adding something the the batch to increase is vitamin / mineral content through the process of microbial fermentation...NEVER add these items to the batch containing the live kefir grains themselves! Only ever use sugar water with them. The secondary (Strained) kefir is where you add things like crystallized, sliced fruit, juice and the like for the second 48 hours or more.


Good Luck and have fun with the stuff!

Don't fret about messing it up, this stuff is incredibly tough as long as you have good water and don't use honey or other things WITH the kefir grains, keep it simple...

Experiment and try to stick to a fairly consistent usage, again I find 4-5 days a week to be perfect. More on occasion. This allows you to consume a longer fermented beverage a few days a week.


Email me if you have any questions!

zenkefir@gmail.com


Cheers!

Jeremy

Welcome (From milk kefir to water kefir)

CLICK HERE to go to my new Water Kefir Blog

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all having a wonderful 2013 so far :)
I thought I would give you all a few updates before I start blogging again.
For starters I have moved out of GA and no longer have access to Raw Organic Whole Milk :(  Because of this I have basically eliminated milk from my diet.

Sure I could have continued to buy milk from the store and ferment it to drink but sometimes you just have to listen to your body.

I can still sit down and kill a gallon of milk in a day but the pangs and lack of sleep thereafter have a pretty strong deterring effect on me, so instead I have chosen to back off the milk for the time being.

So now my new focus is Water Kefir

I am currently offering water kefir for sale before I head to Europe mid May 2013.
I am going to be creating several blogs on what water kefir is, where it comes from, how it differs from milk kefir and kombucha and why I am interested in culturing it.

I have been drinking water kefir for the last year and a half and can tell you that your water makes a huge difference in how it will ultimately grow.  So stay tuned and soon I will be giving you all some very detailed information on how to and why to culture your own water kefir.  As well as an option to order it on here directly from me.

If you are interested in ordering Live Water Kefir Grains from me, you can either order it from this blog on the upper right or from Kefir 101 by clicking HERE.

Stay tuned for new posts and updates!

Jeremy

Organic Raw Cows Milk

Organic Raw Cows Milk

This is my current choice of milk for making kefir with.

This choice is something I tried to avoid, mostly because I thought I could get the same benefits and save a lot of money buying store bought.  I currently pay $10 per gallon for Organic raw milk.  For a gallon of Raw I could afford almost 3 gallons of store bought.

Why not just save the money and buy store bought?

Simple...Gluten allergy

 If I had to pull a number out of my ass on the efficiency of store bought milk to make kefir with in preventing headaches and other common side effects associated with gluten sensitivity...Id say around 20-30% when compared to Raw milk kefir.

Simply drinking raw milk seems to help lessen negative related side effects like inflammation and headaches for me.  But raw milk kefir is amazing in preventing these things from occurring at all...IF I drink it a few times a week.

Ive noticed that the ideal consumption for gluten allergy suppression or prevention is 6 nights a week (1-2 cups of milk kefir).  You can get away with 4-5 nights a week as long as some of the kefir is still undergoing longer fermentation times while you are not drinking it.

Once you have done this for a while, its takes a strong hold on your system and will last for 10-12 days if you stop cold turkey and start eating gluten and sugar like an animal...Accidental experimentation.

Random Facts

Raw Milk contains 8 essential amino acids
Contains 80% casein and 20% whey
Antiviral, anti cancer and iron binding effects from lactoferrin, antibiotic effects from lysozymes and lactoperoxidase
Raw milk used as medicine early part of last century
You could live on raw grass fed cows milk exclusively if nothing else was available

Nutrition

Raw milk contains lactose-digesting Lactobacilli bacteria which helps to digest the lactose for you.  Good for those who cant usually drink traditional store bought milk.  This creates lactic acid.  Lactic acid allows for more calcium, iron and phosphorus absorption and makes the proteins more digestible.

Contains CLA's (conjugated linoleic acid) in 3-5 times that of feed lot cows.
With does this stuff do?
Well its known to increase muscle growth, eat away abdominal fat, raise metabolic rate, reduce insulin resistance, lower food allergy reactions and increases immune system response.

Kefir Separation - Why Isn't My kefir Separating?

Proper Separation

Ok, so you're new to making kefir and you can't seem to get complete separation into curd and whey.  Or maybe you have been consuming kefir for a while now and for one reason or another it just doesn't seem to happen with the batches you make.

The image on the left shows 3 jars all within 24 hours of being placed in the jars for a secondary fermentation.  Not one jar on the left had been fermenting for more than 48 hours.  Unlike Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, you don't have to taste the kefir to know when it's ready.  It should be very clear to you and this is how you will know.

The jar on the far left is still in the process of fermenting.  It has only a little whey on the bottom and still looks very smooth in texture.  The middle jar is ready to go.  It has good separation and the curd is breaking apart and starting to rise on top.  You will see a lot of air pockets and a mound on the top when it's ready.  The jar on the right is a clear sign it's getting overly fermented.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and its good to consume this type of kefir once in a while.  But you will know its overly fermented, when the curd starts to fall back to the bottom and the whey is visible in the middle.

Getting Started Or Starting Over Correctly

In order to determine the exact reasons that your kefir may not be separating, we need to start from scratch.  I have been running 3 jars at once but decided to strain them all off and show you how to set up a proper jar.

Once I strained all 3 batches, I put the grains into a glass jar to measure from and poured the kefir into a single jar to begin the secondary fermentation.  Remember, all you need is 24 hours with the grains for primary fermentation and 12-24 hours without the grains for secondary fermentation.  Unlike Kombucha, which requires air for aerobic fermentation, Kefir likes a lid for anaerobic fermentation.  

How Many Grains Do I Need?

As you can see here I am currently working with about 2 1/2 cups of kefir grains.  This is a lot of grains for the amount of kefir I want to cut back to.  I decided that I will be consuming about 5 cups a day for a while.  Let see how we can determine how many grains we need...

A general rule of thumb is 1:5 - 1:10

This means that for 5 cups of kefir, we need 1/10th or 1/2 cup of grains minimum and shouldn't need more than 1 cup maximum.

Although the angle on here makes it look like there are more grains then there are, I put about 3/4 of a cup of grains into the jar.  Some of the grains are very large now and it's hard to be exact.

Luckily, this isn't an exact science, which is why it's so easy to make kefir :)

 This shows the strained kefir shortly after I put it all into one jar.  You can already see on the very bottom of the jar, where it's begun to separate out into whey.  The whey will always form on the bottom during secondary fermentation.

Things To Make Sure You Do

Before you strain your kefir from the jar with the grains, make sure to give it a very good shake with a circular motion.  This is very important, as it will both make the grains easier to strain and will make sure separation happens correctly in the second jar.
This is the same Jar in less than 24 hours under secondary fermentation.  Notice that it is in the Goldilocks zone?

This means that the curd clearly has visible air pockets and holes throughout and there is a large amount of whey on the bottom.  When you start to see the curds falling in layer on the bottom of the jar, its becoming quite strong.

When I strain my kefir from the grains, the Ph is usually in the green zone or about 4.0

Once you have given the kefir and grains a good shaking, strain them by skaing them back and forth again in a circular motion inside a plastic strainer.  Try not to use any utensils to push on the grains or to "help" get and excess junk off of them.  Let them be and you will notice a lot of improvement.

Once strained, pour the kefir into another jar and leave untouched at room temperature for a second day.  If you want separation to occur, do not refrigerate this batch at this point in time.  I never refrigerate any of mine. 

Now comes the important part...Shake the grains right back into the same jar WITHOUT washing it first.  Don't be afraid of white buildup inside the jars.  As a general rule of thumb, washing the jars ONCE per week is all you will ever need to do.  The more you sterilize with soap and water, the harder the bacteria have to work to do their job.  We want to make their job easier, so don't be a neat freak with this stuff...It doesn't like it.

These things are the biggest components...Limit the amount of contact you have with the grains, limit jar cleaning to ONCE a week, don't refrigerate, use a secondary fermentation and keep an eye on the growth of the grains.  Eat them like pills with a little water and juice when they grow too quickly.

Good Luck!

Celiac Disease And Kefir - Part 3

So what type of foods irritate me when I'm not consuming kefir?

Sadly...Just about everything.At the moment I have been 2 and 1/2 weeks without any kefir at all.  If I was smart, I would have mailed some to my family before I went to visit them for 2 weeks.  If I was even smarter, I would have eaten REAL foods while I was on vacation...But it's vacation. :)

So why am I writing 3 seemingly pointless blog posts on Celiac Disease without my usual scientific literature to go along with them?


Because I can't believe how poor my digestive system works without fermented foods.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, about 10 years ago I had a doctor experimenting on me when I came down with walking ammonia in college.  When it finally got unbearable, they put my on amoxicillin for 30 days straight at a very high dose as I spent the majority of the month laying in bed.   Some Christmas break...


Getting to the point...


I still can't get over the fact that I have been able to eat anything the past 8 months without thinking twice about it giving me blurry vision, or a headache.  Side effects I had gotten so used to that I had forgotten how to smile.  Before I got on Kefir, I thought I would have to live like a caveman the rest of my life and deal with not ever being able to eat out anywhere or enjoy a piece of pizza or dinner with friends.

So the reason for this long rant...

I have not been able to eat much of anything lately and I'm starving!  I even tried to have a veggie shake earlier and some eggs and nothing is staying down like it should.  My stomach is a mess without this stuff.  If you are dealing with any of the unpleasant side effects associated with food allergies, or have lost your stomach flora from antibiotics, please try this stuff!

Once my first batch is ready after being in the fridge for 2 weeks, (While I was gone), you can bet that this stuff isn't leaving my side again!  I cant imagine not having this stuff around and have no idea how I would be able to deal with a regular life without it.  Please!, if you are suffering from gluten allergies, please give this stuff a try!  I cant stress it enough.  Do a little research on lactose intolerance if you have it and start with a little kefir and you should be able to digest it without a problem.  Because it consumes all of the milk sugars and digests everything for you, so your body doesn't have to do much of anything at all.

Ok my rant is over...Next I will try to do a few posts on traveling with kefir.
I have done so while in a vehicle on an extended trip, but not yet by plane...

But I will keep you all updated on how to travel with this stuff for future reference!

Celiac Disease And Kefir - Part 2

So you take a store bough pro-biotic and don't care if it doesn't ever let you eat anything without having a bad reaction?

That's wonderful!...And I am glad you have found a "solution" to your problem.  How many living probiotics do you really think are in those dried out powdered pills anyways...And do you really think they can breed and grow inside of your body?  If you do, no need to read on.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss...And maybe for you mind over matter is actually doing something.


For those of you who might question the active live cultures present in the pills you pop in an effort to get rid of the digestive pain...your in luck.  Without going into the details of how limiting store bought probiotics are, I will simply jump ahead to another possible deterrent from using them.


Store bought probiotics...Are...Store Bought!
Which means, they are controlled and cost money...over...and...over...and...over again

Don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful that there are entrepreneurs out there that can team up with scientists to help people with digestive problems created by other entrepreneurs and big businesses who have teamed up before them to scientifically engineer foods that gave us the digestive problems in the first place.

Here is what I am saying though.  NO STORE BOUGHT PROBIOTIC CAN COMPARE TO KEFIR.

And real Kefir is illegal to sell in the grocery store, because the government has a law that limits the number of different active cultures allowed in a given food or beverage.  It also cant ever be patented, as its impossible to recreated outside of using someone elses kefir grains to start a culture with.   IMPOSSIBLE, which means Kefir in the grocery store...Isn't Keifr.  Trust me, as I cant drink it without an allergic reaction.

So why would you want to save your expensive probiotics for your vacation time and drink only kefir while at home?

Well if for no other reason...Do it to save money!
Every time you take a store bought probiotic, you pay for that pill.  And for what you are getting, you pay dearly for that pill.

With Kefir, you buy it once and it lasts a lifetime, then you pass it on to your kids, and so on and so forth.

All you need to buy is milk!...Or if you prefer water kefir...Some cane sugar in bulk.

And thats it!

Celiac Disease And Kefir - Part 1

Celiac Disease (Nontropical sprue; Gluten intolerance; Gluten-sensitive enteropathy)Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.   

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001280/

Not With Kefir :)

Ok, I'm not going to bore you with a long drawn out detailed description of the debilitating side effects associated with this wonderful disease...If you have it or anything close to it...I'm sure you know.

Here's what I am going to offer you though...A way out.

If you have taken any time to read through any of my extremely boring litany of bacterium definitions or any of the numerous descriptions on how kefir can help various ailments, you may be getting the point that there is actually something to this wonderfully rubbery substance.

Here's the deal... 

If you consume kefir and I'm talking about REAL KEFIR, not the fake sugar filled shit they try and sell you at the grocery store, you can fix more digestive issues than you could ever imagine.

Don't believe me?...

Here's what used to happen to me before I found kefir.   

 Before I found kefir, I suffered severe chronic inflammation that for several years I attributed to a bad car accident.  In reality, the accident simply made the inflammation so bad that I couldn't ignore it anymore.  I lived on Ibuprofen and suffered through migraines for years.  

About 2 years ago, I dropped 25 lbs and wasn't able to eat even a bite of pizza without developing blurry vision, confusion, dizziness, massive headaches and extreme fatigue.  I would have to go lay down as I couldn't keep my eyes open.  The symptoms would come on quickly and always the same.  Within 20 minutes of eating something containing gluten or some form of high fructose corn syrup, I was done for.

I went on a gluten free diet for about 8 months, eating mostly ketogenic.  In other words, I lived on a healthy version of the Atkins, you know...real meat.  (Not the crap they sell at the grocery store), but real home grown or hunted meats and organs meats.  I also consumed copious amount of fat for the majority of my calories.  I lived on coconut oil, butter, cheese, olive oil and fish oil.  

The pain was gone...

For the first time I realized that I may be just like the rest of my brothers and sisters...Gluten intolerant.   But on this diet, I found it almost impossible to eat anything I didn't make myself or keep any real weight on.  I would have dinner at someones house and think their homemade salad and dressing must be fine to consume...Only 20 minutes later to find out that there was corn syrup and sugar in the dressing...

Finally I discovered kefir...

And Yes, That obnoxiously large blue font was to stress the importance of that short blurb...And here's why...I recently forgot I have a gluten allergy at all.  In fact, I so forgot that I had any type of food allergy that during a 2 week Holiday vacation, I ate like an animal.  I ate anything and everything containing gluten, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.  And guess what ha...For a full 10 days of gluttony...I was in heaven.  And I felt great to boot!

It wasn't until the 11th day without consuming any kefir and living off foods I should never have touched in the first place, that the once forgotten reactions came back.  So for the last several days, I have had to again limit everything I ate to gluten free and read labels to make sure that wasn't any fake corn syrup.  Somehow I seemed to still consume it and I have suffered through the pains waiting to get back home.