Probiotic Kefir..does anyone else drink this stuff?

[oblongmelon]

I've become addicted to this stuff..full of active cultures, and kind of sour like buttermilk..mmmm..right now I've having some Cappucino flavored..but I must admit the strawberry Banana is tasty too..I just wish it had LESS sugar-or splenda.. www.kefir.com

[johnnymk]

I seriously doubt that the cultures in those mixed drinks offer any health benefit. From what I have read, as soon as you add fruit or flavorings to active cultures, they die. That's the reason that yogurt should be bought plain and then the flavorings added right before you eat it.

[welfareloser]

hmmm... do you remember where you read that? i'm interested in finding out more. my friend nodamnedsense is the resident yeast expert, so this'd give us yet another boring topic to talk about :P

[oblongmelon]

hmmm... do you remember where you read that? i'm interested in finding out more. my friend nodamnedsense is the resident yeast expert, so this'd give us yet another boring topic to talk about :P

boring, but delicious!
and Psst..don't worry about JohnnyMk.unless it states that it's going to make him take a huge sh*t then he poo-poo's things..(no pun intended)


I seriously doubt that the cultures in those mixed drinks offer any health benefit. From what I have read, as soon as you add fruit or flavorings to active cultures, they die. That's the reason that yogurt should be bought plain and then the flavorings added right before you eat it.

well, kefir isn't yogurt-it's a "cousin" of yogurt with roots that go back 2000 years..hmph.

[nickel]

I seriously doubt that the cultures in those mixed drinks offer any health benefit. From what I have read, as soon as you add fruit or flavorings to active cultures, they die. That's the reason that yogurt should be bought plain and then the flavorings added right before you eat it.
i don't know think i've ever heard that, but i do know that the fruit did nothing to kill the active cultures in this yogurt:

http://images.usatoday.com/money/_photos/2006/01/23/inside-yogurt-activia.jpg

it gave me the sh*ts --- i'd say that was TOO MUCH culture for me going on in there. :P

[johnnymk]

hmmm... do you remember where you read that? i'm interested in finding out more. my friend nodamnedsense is the resident yeast expert, so this'd give us yet another boring topic to talk about :P

'Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit', by Adelle Davis. A 30 year old book which I use as my dietary bible.

My sister is my resident yeast expert. She claims that yeast infections are destroying bodies left and right, not just women but everyone who consumes sugar in any form.

Google "yeast" and you will find a ton of info linked to health problems. Go to your local health food store: Major topic---yeast.

[oblongmelon]

I seriously doubt that the cultures in those mixed drinks offer any health benefit. From what I have read, as soon as you add fruit or flavorings to active cultures, they die. That's the reason that yogurt should be bought plain and then the flavorings added right before you eat it.
well, kefir isn't yogurt-it's a "cousin" of yogurt with roots that go back 2000 years..hmph.

wierd-how did this repost?


'Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit', by Adelle Davis. A 30 year old book which I use as my dietary bible.

My sister is my resident yeast expert. She claims that yeast infections are destroying bodies left and right, not just women but everyone who consumes sugar in any form.

what makes her an expert? please explain. And if it's because she "reads" alot..that does not an expert make.

[kgsilvas]

I've tried kefir, but it is an acquired taste that I haven't acquired just yet.

Kefir vs Yogurt Both kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products...but they contain different types of beneficial bacteria. Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria that keep the digestive system clean and provide food for the friendly bacteria that reside there. But kefir can actually colonize the intestinal tract, a feat that yogurt cannot match.
Kefir contains several major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt, Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species.

It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir and Torula kefir, which dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by penetrating the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and strengthens the intestines. Hence, the body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites.

Kefir's active yeast and bacteria provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods that you eat and by keeping the colon environment clean and healthy.

Because the curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, it is also easier to digest, which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food for babies, invalids and the elderly, as well as a remedy for digestive disorders. http://www.kefir.net/kefiryogurt.htm

[johnnymk]

what makes her an expert? please explain. And if it's because she "reads" alot..that does not an expert make.

She has had a problem for nearly three years. Some people think it's interstitial cystitis. It's a very long story. Well, the first diagnosis was that she had a yeast infection. She tried colon cleansings, probiotics and I can't recall every other drug and treatment. She has had about 60 tests, been to every specialist imaginable and still no relief. She is in constant agony and prays that her life will be ended.

Anyway, she has thoroughly researched and talked to specialists in both the medical field and the alternative medicine field concerning yeast problems as well as other possible links. It is mind boggling what she has learned and still no relief.

Since very few medical doctors have the time or knowledge concerning yeast problems (and she has proof of this through her numerous visits), she is as much of an expert as anyone that she or I have come in contact with.

[oblongmelon]

She has had a problem for nearly three years. Some people think it's interstitial cystitis. It's a very long story. Well, the first diagnosis was that she had a yeast infection. She tried colon cleansings, probiotics and I can't recall every other drug and treatment. She has had about 60 tests, been to every specialist imaginable and still no relief. She is in constant agony and prays that her life will be ended.

Anyway, she has thoroughly researched and talked to specialists in both the medical field and the alternative medicine field concerning yeast problems as well as other possible links. It is mind boggling what she has learned and still no relief.

Since very few medical doctors have the time or knowledge concerning yeast problems (and she has proof of this through her numerous visits), she is as much of an expert as anyone that she or I have come in contact with.
What do you mean "very few doctors"? that is a typical response of someone who isn't getting doctors to tell them what they want to hear. I have a sister like that too-can never find a doctor who knows enough to tell her whats wrong with her..I suggested a "DIFFERENT" type of doctor-perhaps one with a nice comfortable couch..and yeh, it cured most of her ailments. I'm still not seeing where your sister qualifies as an expert. Why doesn't she take a trip to the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre Pa..or better yet, Geisinger (Aren't you closer to that?)I'm sure they'll find out what's wrong with her.

[welfareloser]

well, i wouldn't go that far... she may well know quite a bit on the subject - all the books that doctors read are available to anyone with the time and interest.

and her probelm may well stem from stress, but there is a lot we don't know about GI problems, plenty of stuff out there that goes wrong and docs don't know why, so it's not really fair to dismiss her claims out of hand.

anyway. a 30-year-old diet book needs to be thrown out. period. i know enough to know that it ain't worth a poo. pretty much every nutrition paradigm that was rock-solid 30 years ago has since ben shaken to rubble. and most of the health "info" you find on the web is crap. and by crap, i mean lies, stupidity, misconceptions, misunderstandings... i'm barely comfortable with discovery channel health and major news outlets reporting of science and medicine, let alone even less qualified sources. if it ain't in a major medical reference book or peer-reviewed journal, it's best to be skeptical, no matter how many people seem to agree with it.

i'll see what nodamnedsense has to say... he has a phd (research was in candida albicans) and an md on the way in a few weeks, and has had several docs who wrote him letters of recommendation say something to the effect of "i'd bet my firstborn that this is the guy who will be presenting the star paper at the international yeast conference within the next ten years." so i'll stick with what he says... even though i know he's ten pounds of sh** in a five pound bag when it comes to any other subject, i have yet to catch him spinning any tall tales when it comes to science and medicine. :P

[johnnymk]

Oh well, you can believe what you want to believe. Practically everything that Adelle Davis discovered through her practical experience has been verified through the years.

And my sister is looking for an answer, she has no biases. She just wants to feel normal again. She's heard it all: stress, yeast, it's just in her mind :all of the typical well meaning responses that laymen offer up.

And she is not even sure that it's interstitial cystitis. And neither do doctors. She has gotten about twenty different opinions as to what her condition is from 50 different doctors. It is very frustrating.

Like I said, it's a long story. I eMailed molecularfire a shortened version of her story and he said that doctors are unsure of what causes her problem and there probably is no cure.

[zenbooty]

probiotic kefir? Sounds like something you smoke :bandit:.

[Showtime]

probiotic kefir? Sounds like something you smoke :bandit:.

I believe that is reefer (sp). Kefir is a term old folks used to use... "Get off your kefir and go do some chores" or something.

[Jeffbx]

I thought that was 'keister'?

[welfareloser]

Oh well, you can believe what you want to believe. Practically everything that Adelle Davis discovered through her practical experience has been verified through the years.


i don't believe one way or the other about a book i haven't read... if she was going against the grain of the times, then maybe it did all get proven. that happens. interesting. now i want to look into it...

has your sister tried smoking tons of pot? apparently that'll do wonders for a few conditions, possibly hers. (i'm not quite joking, either... though she may want to move to kinder, gentler place like canada if she proceeds with plan P.)

heroin will dull the pain, but it has nasty side effects. ask kurt cobain. (again, not quite joking... one of the reasons he did a lot of heroin was an undiagnosable stomach condition that left him in agony most of the time.)

anyway... what an awful illness, whatever it may be. hope your sister finds something that helps.

[Burzhui]

extremely popular in russia, we drink it from birth :)

[oblongmelon]

extremely popular in russia, we drink it from birth :)

Mmmm..do you still drink it?

[modena]

in my advanced biological studies we have grown up active cultures from flavored yogurts in lab, and the flavored yogurts have living active cultures in them. If someone would like proof of this, i could possibly get into the lab next week and take a look again to verify, it is as simple as plating some or using a microscope.

[johnnymk]

in my advanced biological studies we have grown up active cultures from flavored yogurts in lab, and the flavored yogurts have living active cultures in them. If someone would like proof of this, i could possibly get into the lab next week and take a look again to verify, it is as simple as plating some or using a microscope.


Yes, I am very curious, especially after assuming that the sugar kills the cultures. And why would anyone do this test unless there was a suspicion that they weren't alive?

[modena]

well it was earlier on in my studies, we were identifing various types of pro and eukaryotes. looking specifically at whether we could "catch" them at different stages of meiosis or mitosis.

Also, acidophilus grows fine in completed media, which was glucose in it. You question of whether "active cultures" can live in sugar and be answered very simply by going into the scientific literature.

[johnnymk]

So I checked the book that I referred to concerning the presumption of sugar killing the bacteria. I must have read this "fact" somewhere else, because the only reference that the author noted was cows which had been injected with penicillin could kill the bacteria.

I know that I read this somewhere, or else I wouldn't have been suspicious of flavored yogurts all these years. Maybe it will surface some day when I least expect it.:idea:

[Burzhui]

Mmmm..do you still drink it?


yep all the time, and none of that fruity stuff either. Just unflavored good old kefir


well it was earlier on in my studies, we were identifing various types of pro and eukaryotes. looking specifically at whether we could "catch" them at different stages of meiosis or mitosis.

Also, acidophilus grows fine in completed media, which was glucose in it. You question of whether "active cultures" can live in sugar and be answered very simply by going into the scientific literature.


heh i remember doing that too :)

[oblongmelon]

yep all the time, and none of that fruity stuff either. Just unflavored good old kefir




heh i remember doing that too :)

mmmmmmmmmm

[Lolita]

extremely popular in russia, we drink it from birth :)

It's true...and I'm the freak Russian that can't stand the stuff.

[Markel]

extremely popular in russia, we drink it from birth :)
Does this give anybody else an odd idea about Russian women? :heh:

[Burzhui]

Does this give anybody else an odd idea about Russian women? :heh:


umm, if i'm thinking what you're suggesting, then ... no it's still kinda of odd... it's kefir man