Kefir benefits

Kefir benefits are many and they are scientifically proven but the one that attracts me most is its probiotic properties; that means a happy colon, vital for thousands of reasons, not least protection against the neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease. This is where the twisted tau-proteins are initiated by nasty E. Coli bacteria.

Unlike probiotic capsules which have only perhaps half a dozen different bacteria, kefir has over 30 varying strains. A low diversity of the bugs in the gut is strongly associated with many serious conditions^[13].

It is in essence a cultured-milk drink like yoghurt, only with a much more diverse body of friendly bacteria; and others known collectively as the microbiome. It finds its origins in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

This page was last updated by Dr Bernard Preston on 9th January, 2024.

Kefir benefits are very diverse; they are to be found in this fermented drink made usually with milk, though there is a non-dairy kind. I have not tried it because you need a lot of sugar, my nemesis.

As a DC I like kefir benefits for its rich source of calcium; and it is a lot easier to make than yoghurt, maas or sauerkraut. It has a much wider spectrum of friendly bugs.

You need a small plastic colander.

Get some active culture from a friend, or the frozen-seed from your wellness store and learn how to make kefir.

We have made yoghurt for years as a probiotic but I love these kefir benefits; it is much easier to ferment and has far more and diverse, nourishing bacteria and yeast cultures for the colon. The longer you leave it out of the fridge the stronger and sourer it gets.

Once you cook with it though as in making sourdough bread, the bacteria of course are killed; so some must be drunk unheated.

We love blending smoothies with raw honey and fruit which makes your kefir far more palatable.

Well-being means having a rich microbiota in the intestines; so when we are beset by nasty bugs like E. Coli or Candida they are simply overwhelmed by the huge numbers of friendly bacteria and yeasts in the gut.

In scientific jargon, there is competitive exclusion of pathogens.

Yoghurt tends to be limited to the Lactobacillus family, all of which are good but kefir benefits are even better.

In particular it is the inclusion of Bifidobacterium species that makes it special.

Top of the list from which it gets its name, is Lactobacillus kefiri.

The literature speaks of three different types of microbes that have been added to the kefir granules^[3].

1. Lactic acid bacteria
2. Yeasts
3. Acetic acid bacteria

Kefir benefits

Kefir benefits can be obtained simply from a tablespoon of coconut granules infused with bugs and a cup of milk; you will need a few glass bottles and a plastic sieve. It is very basic and easy to do.

It is an ancient recipe from Bulgaria, meaning "feeling good." It is great news for your immune and digestive systems. It is pronounced "kefeer" in the Caucasus with an emphasis on the "ee" sound and a roll of the last letter.

1. A rich and diverse probiotic

The official definition of a probiotic is as follows; live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts confer a benefit on the host^[16].

You can either pay quite a lot of money for your probiotics in capsules or you can consume them daily as part of your food; we regularly enjoy this rich kefir smoothie.

Simply put they create a more favourable environment in the gut which I can confirm. Kefir cured my heartburn to a greater degree.

2. Lactose tolerance

There is an approved claim that certain Lactobacillus strains produce beta-galactosidase, an enzyme that aids the digestion of milk sugar in the gut.

Meaning that one of the kefir benefits is improved digestion of dairy products through better tolerance of lactose.

Many of the Bantu people are lactose-intolerant; milk gives them diarrhoea, so instead they traditionally turn it into maas. These bacilli strains curdle it and digest the sugar. A simpler alternative is kefir, offering a much wider variety of beneficial bugs.

Whilst there remain doubts in the minds of some about the role of dairy products in the nutrition of human beings, talk of a land of milk and honey go back to the very beginnings of recorded history. It is true that it likely came from a goat rather than a cow and is quite different to what you would today buy at the supermarket; that is pasteurized and homogenised but it remains an integral part of our food.

Likewise bread and cheese have been the basis of our food for thousands of years; but again the refined supermarket loaf today is quite different to that from ages past. Eschewing whole grain and unprocessed dairy products ought certainly to be only for those who are highly allergic.

Another proven kefir benefit is improvement and regulation of intestinal transit; less diarrhoea or constipation.

3. Treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases

A meta-analysis of 74 studies and 84 trials on over 10,000 patients concludes that claims that probiotics can treat and prevent GI diseases is legitimate^[2].

Many of these diverse effects are specific to one or other strain; enjoying on a daily basis, a broad spectrum of bacteria and yeasts gives one a much greater kefir benefit.

4. Antibacterial

All of us are faced on a daily basis with a barrage of pathogens from the air we breathe to the food and drink we consume; and hands that we shake. Any simple potent antibacterial potion that gives us protection is worth a consideration.

Interesting preliminary research shows that probiotics have an important role to play in the treatment, and presumably prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections

5. Osteoporotic fracture

Osteoporotic fracture is a painful prompt to all in the medical professions to continually remind women, not only the elderly but the young too when prevention should begin, of the disabling nature of collapse of the bones in the spine and hip in particular.

Reaching the required bone mass by the early twenties is vital; that means the young must also be informed.

Calcium-supplements have been associated with a higher rate of heart disease as the mineral is laid down in the coronary arteries in those who do not exercise, or are enjoying inflammatory foods; that makes the great vessels rigid, raises blood pressure and the greater likelihood of an aneurism. Let your kefir be your medicine.

A great kefir benefit is that it supplies calcium in a more natural form along with vitamin K without coronary artery deposition. Research shows that this decreases the usual age-related decline in bone mass density^[3].

Of great concern is research published in Neurology that calcium supplementation not only raises the spectre of cardiovascular disease but also dementia. This is particularly true if an elderly woman already has had a stroke; in fact a massive seven times greater likelihood^[11].

However the authors stress that this is not the case when getting increased amounts of the mineral from our food; in fact they conclude that it gives protection. 

My conclusion is that especially if you are taking pills for high blood pressure you should not be consuming calcium supplements. Let your food be your medicine, said Hippocrates; how right he was.

• Salt versus potassium high blood pressure debate
  

Beer also is a good source of calcium with half a litre containing about 7% of our daily need of roughly 1000 mg/day, depending on the origin of your tipple. An ale from Germany for example contains six times as much of the mineral as one from Portugal^[10].

We enjoy making this homemade wheat beer which is yet another natural probiotic providing a different set of friendly bugs to the intestines.

Coupled with exercise, getting your calcium from kefir is the most powerful programme to prevent osteopaenia; it's proven to strengthen the microarchitecture of the bone.

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6. Kefir helps relieve diarrhoea, ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome

By normalising the normal flora in the colon, the probiotics in kefir help relieve diarrhoea; for example that produced by lactose-intolerance.

In addition protection against Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach ulcers and tumours^[5,6] has been scientifically shown. Interestingly populations that enjoy kefir daily, despite having this bacterium present in the gut do not get peptic erosions. 

Furthermore various studies have shown relief from the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome^[4] and a leaky gut.

In other research 45 patients with inflammatory bowel disease were divided into two groups; the treatment participants were given 400 mL/day of kefir, in several doses each day. There was a decrease in the markers, haemoglobin increased with less bloating and the "feel good" scores improved significantly^[9].

There are concerns about the role of post-chlorination of reticulated water on the microbiome.

7. Kefir promotes important gut-brain neural circuits

The short chain fatty acids produced from fermentation of fibre in the gut by the microbiota promote important gut-brain neural circuits.⁽⁷⁾

8. Diabetes

Increased bacterial diversity in the colon is associated with less diabetes.

There is a strong association between a broad spectrum microbiome and both type 1 and 2 diabetes. Those short chain fatty acids help glucose regulation via the liver with very beneficial increased insulin-sensitivity.

In particular those butyrate-producing bacteria are associated with lower insulin resistance^[19].

Butyrate is one of the very beneficial short-chain fatty acids released from the action of certain species of bacteria on fibre in the diet.

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"Let thy food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food."

Hippocrates (460 - 370 BC)

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9. Kefir may decrease sleep disturbances

In a small study researchers found that kefir decreased sleep disturbances in those being treated for colorectal tumours.^[8]

10. Atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin condition having a profound effect on an infant's well-being. Researchers are now coming around to the opinion that it is caused by excessive hygiene which reduces exposure of our immune systems to the education of beneficial microbes.

They believe that the gut microbiome influences other distant organs like the skin and brain, for example.

This has lead to the coining of phrases such as the "gut-skin axis." And the colon is being called the second brain; it is wellness of your large bowel that has a profound influence on whether we get Alzheimer's disease or not.

A considerable body of literature has been published on the beneficial effects of probiotics like kefir on atopic dermatitis.^[9]

11. Gut-lung connection

The microbes in the gut impact on our immune response to foreign pathogens and allergens including several lung diseases. Those with conditions like asthma almost always also have intestinal disturbances^[22].

It is speculative at this stage but there is a strong possibility that one of the kefir benefits is greater resistance to the Coronavirus from the support the microbiome gives to the immune system.

12. Constipation

The normal stool is mostly water. One of the chief bugs in the colon is Bifidobacterium; it traps and holds moisture. In the absence of these probiotics, our fecal material tends to be dry and rock-hard making it very difficult to pass.

Owing to a preponderance of refined carbohydrates in our food, chemicals such as artificial sweeteners and antibiotics, the levels of Bifidobacterium species in our alimentary canals drop dramatically as we get older making the passage of the stool increasingly difficult.

One still needs adequate amounts of undigested fibre in our food that reaches the colon; this is what the normal flora must have to flourish. Recolonising the gut can be done from tablets but research done by independent Consumer Lab found that one third of probiotic products have virtually no live bacteria.

Kefir contains over thirty different friendly living bugs, including the all-important bifidobacterium species that help to control constipation.

13. Blindness

Scientists at Tuft's University found that friendly bacteria in the microbiome produce certain metabolites, especially serotonin, that have a vital function in protecting the retina from loss of pigmentation and toxic lipofuscin accumulation; and deterioration of the colour receptors that is typical of adult-onset macular degeneration, the chief cause of blindness in persons over 50.

Conversely those eating food high in refined grains, lacking the fibre that acts as the prebiotic for these bugs have a much higher incidence of macular degeneration.^[12]  It encourages growth of pathogenic Clostridiales bacteria that are associated with AMD.

Kefir benefits would help prevent this but would not undo the damage already done by refined grains in our food.

14. Childhood temperament

Researchers reporting in "Brain Behav Immun" state that there is a significant correlation between the composition of the gut microbiota and early temperament in 301 small children, already known to be associated with mental well-being problems later in life.

Bifidobacterium and others, and the diversity of the bugs, are associated with what they call "positive emotionality." Neurotransmitters released by what is what is being called the second-brain are carried via the vagus nerve and blood stream to the limbic system which processes emotion and stress.

Our children too will benefit from kefir benefits.

When the infant is born it is exposed to the mother's vaginal and rectal bacteria that immediately take up residence in the gut of the newborn, interacting with the immature immune system and preparing it for greater well-being later in life.

Those born via C-section have significant lower levels, and different bugs, meaning the immune system may not be properly primed and explain why they are more prone to many allergies later in life, various inflammatory diseases and even obesity.

In another study researchers found that the bacteria in the gut of babies who were allergic to milk were quite different to those who had no such negative reaction to dairy products.

The correct fibre from our food also appears to have an influence on which bugs thrive in the gut; it forms the prebiotic they feed on.

15. Prevention of "long covid"

A C-19 infection is characterised by an overaggressive response by the body with the release of many inflammatory markers like cytokines.

Researchers reporting in the British Medical Journal after comparing stool samples and inflammatory markers in the blood of those with and without the infection, found profound differences in the gut microbiota.

Those without a highly diversified spectrum of friendly bacteria in the gut were far more likely to suffer from a cytokine storm causing the multi-organ dysfunction seen in many Covid patients.

Moreover they found that this depletion of certain species of bacteria continued after the infection was over and correlated with the symptoms of long Covid such as fatigue, joint and muscle pains; and difficulty breathing^[14].

Brain fog is another term being used repeatedly by those suffering from Long Covid. One in ten are still feeling the after-effects of the disease three months after the infection, and for some it continues much longer.

We posit that a microbiome that is rich in numbers and diversity is one of the kefir benefits, helping to modulate the aggressive cytokine storm of the disease; and perhaps even explain why some have no or minimal symptoms after infection.

New research shows that after 4 months 13% of those who had Covid, with none in the respiratory tract, are still shedding the virus in the stool; and have quite severe abdominal symptoms. Kefir benefits would help counter this. 

16. Kefir helps negate the effect of glyphosate on the microbiome

Glyphosate, also known as Roundup, is the most commonly used herbicide in farming; it inhibits an important enzyme in weeds called EPSP-synthase.

Unfortunately it blocks the same enzyme in many beneficial bacteria in the gut, but does not do so to two nasty pathogens from the Clostridium and Salmonella species, allowing them to proliferate whilst the good guys are inhibited; an overgrowth or dysbiosis occurs.

These two pathogens generate toxins that are found in very high levels in the brain causing emotional and neurological dysfunction, and neurodegenerative diseases^[15].

One of the important kefir benefits is to balance the toxic effect this weedicide is having on our well-being.

The microbiome is also vitally important for the synthesis and transport of folate, or vitamin B9, in the gut.

17. Skeletal muscle size

Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in our bodies, and it is central in walking, loss of independence and reduced quality of life in the elderly. It should come as no surprise, but it does, that the gut microbiota have a profound influence on this aspect of our well-being too^[17].

A cup of kefir surprisingly contains nearly twice as much protein as an egg. 10g is about one fifth of the daily requirement.

18. Bloating

Studies show that kefir reduces gas in the stomach by up to 70pc, thus reducing bloating.

19. Autoimmune diseases

There has been an explosion of a wide spectrum of autoimmune-diseases in the last fifty years in the Western civilization. Increasingly research is pointing to a condition known as leaky gut syndrome as being one of the major causes.

A single layer of cells, known as the mucosal barrier which lines the gut, protects the body from pathogens and toxins in the bowel from penetrating our tissues and causing disease. However it must allow the passage of nutrients.

This single layer of epithelial cells is bound together by "tight-junction proteins;" any weakness here allows pathogens and toxins to penetrate the body.

In a profound paper reported in Frontiers in Immunology, this process is eloquently described; including how probiotics like these kefir benefits will help prevent these diseases associated with a leaky bowel.^[7]

Likewise in Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis there is a marked drop of inflammatory markers, an increase in blood haemoglobin and feel-good scores; and significantly less bloating^[9] after taking kefir.

20. Obesity

In a fascinating study scientists took live bacteria from faeces of obese mice and fed them to their healthy brothers and sisters; they soon started putting on weight.

Most significantly they found that feeding animals with more fibre encouraged those bacteria that helped maintain a healthy weight.

The obese have an overabundance of the Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, but a decrease in Bacteroidetes species; this changes intestinal permeability increasing the absorption of lipopolysaccharide (fat-sugar molecules) which activates inflammatory pathways and impaired insulin signalling.

Consequently there is decreased phosphorylation of the insulin receptors on cells. They cannot absorbe glucose from the plasma as they ought, promoting diabetes.

21. Recurrent urinary tract infections

Probiotics have an important role to play in the management of stubborn recurrent urinary tract infections^[20], and kidney stones.

• Spinach, oxalates and kidney stones

22. Improve insulin sensitivity

In type-2 diabetes the cells of the body become less sensitive to raised blood glucose; insulin does not promote the absorption of sugars into the tissues as it should.

In technical terms the insulin receptors on cells are not phosphorylated as they should be; it's caused by low-grade levels of inflammation. The net result is yet higher blood glucose and the likelihood of becoming diabetic.

Furthermore researchers have shown that a refined carbohydrate diet, particularly if also associated with high levels of fat and low fibre reduces the more beneficial Bacteroidetes species in the gut, promoting this inflammation.

23. Intestinal homeostasis

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of the immune system; these bugs are essential for the emergence of T-cells and IgA-producing plasma.

They also promote homeostasis, preventing the overabundant inflammation of the autoimmune diseases.

24. Better response to cancer treatment

Researcher Jennifer Wargo, MD at the Anderson Cancer Centre reports that patients with a diverse microbiome respond far better to treatment^[21].

Resistant starch

Starch and carbohydrate in general have received bad press in the last few decades as the cause of obesity and diabetes type-2. Absorbed in the very long small intestine in humans refined carbs produce an abnormal surge in blood glucose, and ultimately insulin resistance.

However resistant starch has the capacity to pass through the SI undigested, reaching the colon where it fermented by the microbiota producing not glucose but beneficial short-chain fatty acids. Obviously one of the great kefir benefits is promoting this natural breakdown of carbs and fibre reaching the large bowel.

These SCFAs are the source of energy that the epithelial cells of the colon require.

Read more about resistant starch at this link.

Here is a thought; find a diabetic friend with a glucometer and before and after a full glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice prick your fingers and take your blood glucose before and then at 30, 60 and 120 minutes, with no real exercise.

I am prediabetic; could you be too? Some of that starch may not be as resistant to small intestine digestion as we think. That would raise blood sugar levels more than anticipated.

In my case, if I take a ten-minute brisk walk after a starchy meal, I am fine; it has little effect on my blood glucose.

Kefir sourdough bread

Take a little test; have a slice of your usual bread with only butter; is it tasteless and dull? Never use margarine, by the way; butter is back, and should never have been banished to Coventry in the first place. Heart attack has far more to do with refined carbohydrates that stress your pancreas repeatedly ending up in insulin resistance than saturated fat.

If your slice of bread and butter is so utterly boring that you simply must have a slice of ham or a tablespoon of jelly, then it is time to try kefir sourdough bread; you will be astonished just how wonderful it tastes.

You are using kefir benefits as the starter to predigest the starches and gluten.

Even more important than the taste is the low GI; it should not cause the dramatic rise in blood sugar that a slice of refined bread does.

There is a disgraceful law in place that allows millers to describe their loaf as wholemeal provided they do not remove more than 40 percent of the goodies; that is the germ where the precious oils, protein and vitamins are found, and the bran where the lignans are located. They are the gems that help prevent breast tumours. Is it any wonder we live in a sickly world?

You may think it is crazy but, by taking only five minutes, I think we should all get back to baking our own bread. The taste is to die for and it is far more nutritious.

Maintenance dose of kefir

The question arises as to how often should you be having kefir benefits to maintain the diverse microbiome in your alimentary canal. Is a tablespoon okay, or should it be a whole glass?

I have not found a satisfactory answer in the literature, but really it all depends on your lifestyle, general well-being and the food you eat.

For those regularly on medicines, especially antibiotics, or drinking sodas artificially sweetened frequently which we know are bad for the colon, and the pancreas, then a daily dose of kefir benefits is probably mandatory; but that is just an opinion.

For the rest, one good shot a week, or better still a more dilute half-glass periodically is probably fine. Let us be honest, it is sour stuff so, for a maintenance dose of kefir, I now keep it in the refrigerator once the milk has curdled; then it is a lot more palatable.

I am happy to report that four years down the road, my heartburn is still gone; it would seem that the kefir bugs have overcome the unfriendly helicobacter pylori in my stomach simply by their numbers, but that could only be confirmed by another gastroscopy which obviously I am not going to undergo since I no longer have pain.

Read more about how to re-establish the normal intestinal microbes.

Cost

The cost of maintaining a happy colon is that of one cup of milk a day (R3.00 in 2022), or about R100 per month; less than ten dollars. The maintenance dose of kefir benefits would be half of that.

A commercial supplement containing just Lactobacillus rhamnosus, only one specie, costs R600 per month.

Over and above the bacteria you get calcium and protein as an additional kefir benefit which you would not obtain from the supplement.

Is about five minutes work worth the saving and extra benefits of kefir over the supplement? Does well-being come out of a capsule, or from enjoying nutritious food? In addition there is the matter of disposing of the single-use plastic bottle. Both we and the planet pay a hefty price for our insistence on getting our nutrition from a pill; which might have virtually no live culture whatsoever.

Take-home

The take-home from all this is that we can all enjoy protection from a host of nasty diseases from Lupus to Parkinson's, and perhaps the coronavirus by taking only five minutes every day to ferment milk and enjoy all these kefir benefits.

Or you can pay a lot of money to a probiotics company that will happily supply you with far fewer of these friendly bugs and help boost their bottom line. One child in the home could be given the responsibility to make sure there is a small jug of kefir on the table each morning at breakfast.

It is a soured-milk product and as such an acquired taste; add it to fruit, a sprinkle of cinnamon or half a teaspoon of raw honey. However you manage it, make sure your family has all these kefir benefits. Greater wellness is not rocket science; it is about sticking to the basics.

Remember that the best food in the world, and litres of kefir benefits will not help the calcium status of your bones if you are not active; that is what stimulates the bones to take up the mineral from your nosh.

This kefir salsa is one of our favourite ways of enjoying the probiotic; it takes away much of the sourness.

Ineffective bacterial species

A meta-analysis of a large number of studies concludes that probiotics have a generally beneficial effect in gastrointestinal diseases; however the bacterial species L. acidophilus, L plantarum and B. infantis were not effective.

If you decide to choose the capsules route rather than natural kefir, benefits then read the label. Lactobacillus acidophilus is the main bacterium in most strains of yoghurt, yet it is the least effective in ensuring greater well-being of the gut^[2].

Kefir benefits include over 30 different strains.

From a reader

Thank you so very much for your gift of the kefir starter and plastic sieve.

The Kefir benefits soon solved all my painful stomach bloating and gas; and has made my bowel movements very regular. I have been using the small peanut-butter jar with the seed in it, filling it with milk. I then leave it for about 24hrs, strain and drink the whey last thing at night. I wash the bottle well; place the granules in another and start again.

I would just like to ask whether you use full cream, or low-fat milk? Should it be raw,  or pasteurised and homogenised; or powdered? When I first started, I had not bought dairy for years and was stunned by the array of choices.

The kefir seed grows so fast that I have been freezing the excess and do not know what to do with it. I have found that I need to use more of the culture in cold weather and less when it is hot as I do not have temperature control.

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