Power Foods - Kefir - What is it?

8:35 AM

I have seen Kefir in the supermarkets and normally ignored them. Spoke to a few of my work colleagues and found out that they have been taking a lot of home made kefir products to keep their immune systems up. They say it works miracles on keeping them healthy when they are close to being sick. 

When you have kids, you are share the love and the sickness too...

What is Kefir? 

  • A sour-tasting drink make from cow's milk fermented with certain bacteria. 
  • Made from Milk Kefir grains mixed with milk (that has lactose - milk sugar) to allow the bacteria strains to grow.
  • Can buy Kefir milk products from supermarkets and the cost is about 3.8 to 5 dollars for 1 L bottle   
What are Milk Kefir Grains?

  • Milk kefir grains are a combination of live bacteria and yeasts that exist in a symbiotic matrix on a surface of a complex polysaccharide with a casein core. Kefir grain make-up can vary depending on culturing location and conditions, resulting in a highly variable community of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. 

    Following is a list of bacteria and yeast strains found to comprise kefir grains from different regions and through 2 different scientific studies.* The strains listed may include numerous subspecies and variants. 

    Bacteria Strains Common to Milk Kefir Grains

    Lactobacillus acidophilus
    Lactobacillus brevis
    Lactobacillus casei
    Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
    Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii
    Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis
    Lactobacillus helveticus
    Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens
    Lactobacillus kefiri
    Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei
    Lactobacillus plantarum
    Lactobacillus rhamnosus
    Lactobacillus sake
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
    Lactococcus lactis
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum
    Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides
    Pseudomonas
    Pseudomonas fluorescens
    Pseudomonas putida
    Streptococcus thermophilus 

    Yeast Strains Common to Milk Kefir Grains

    Candida humilis
    Kazachstania unispora
    Kazachstania exigua
    Kluyveromyces siamensis
    Kluyveromyces lactis
    Kluyveromyces marxianus
    Saccharomyces cerevisiae
    Saccharomyces martiniae
    Saccharomyces unisporus
Source Material: Link

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