5 replies to this topic

[FSAS]

I've recently started making water kefir (because i didnt wanna drink milk because of it being dairy). I have about 1 cup maybe more a day (have for a week). it got me wondering..how is kefir rated in the 'strength' department? I mean on pill probiotics it says how strong the pills are on the bottle but how are we to know using kefir? would it naturally be a lot more than the pills or could it actually be less? Just curious of the general opinion on kefir and how much better it is in comparison to pills . also, on some pill bottles they have like 3-12 different strains. Is kefir just one strain?
thanks

[corgisoulpower]

I think kefir has a couple different strains in it. Probiotic pills definitely have more of a variety of beneficial bacteria but the actual amount of all of them is lower that chugging a probiotic drink. Both are important, imo.

Someone I just met makes their own kombucha starters from the store-bought kind, which is a really cool concept to me. The bay area is diseased with kombucha, it's awesome.

[FSAS]

corgisoulpower, on 19 January 2012 - 12:55 AM, said:

I think kefir has a couple different strains in it. Probiotic pills definitely have more of a variety of beneficial bacteria but the actual amount of all of them is lower that chugging a probiotic drink. Both are important, imo.

Someone I just met makes their own kombucha starters from the store-bought kind, which is a really cool concept to me. The bay area is diseased with kombucha, it's awesome.

okay cool thanks, i was under the impression kefir was more concentrated but i guess i'll take a pill probiotic too. thanks for your help i heard that the pill types dont often make it to your digestive system alive and thats why kefir is 'better' but im still confused on all that stuff haha
im curious what kombucha is? ive heard of it before but not sure what it is exactly :0

[corgisoulpower]

http://www.synergydrinks.com/

This is the kind I see most frequently at places like whole foods, it's basically tea fermented with SCOBY, or "Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast" (hey, thanks wikipedia).

[chunkylard]

corgisoulpower, on 19 January 2012 - 12:55 AM, said:

I think kefir has a couple different strains in it. Probiotic pills definitely have more of a variety of beneficial bacteria but the actual amount of all of them is lower that chugging a probiotic drink. Both are important, imo.

Someone I just met makes their own kombucha starters from the store-bought kind, which is a really cool concept to me. The bay area is diseased with kombucha, it's awesome.

It matters on what the kefir is made with, but generally kefir may have MORE bacteria than a probiotic supplement, but not as many strains. Not all beneficial bacteria are suitable for lacto-fermentation, so that's why I recommend everyone take a high quality probiotic supplement. Kefir is the bare minimum, although it's very useful in its own right as both a luxury health food and probiotic.

[corgisoulpower]

chunkylard, on 19 January 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

corgisoulpower, on 19 January 2012 - 12:55 AM, said:

I think kefir has a couple different strains in it. Probiotic pills definitely have more of a variety of beneficial bacteria but the actual amount of all of them is lower that chugging a probiotic drink. Both are important, imo.

Someone I just met makes their own kombucha starters from the store-bought kind, which is a really cool concept to me. The bay area is diseased with kombucha, it's awesome.

It matters on what the kefir is made with, but generally kefir may have MORE bacteria than a probiotic supplement, but not as many strains. Not all beneficial bacteria are suitable for lacto-fermentation, so that's why I recommend everyone take a high quality probiotic supplement. Kefir is the bare minimum, although it's very useful in its own right as both a luxury health food and probiotic.

Yeah, I was trying to say that it has more quantity as opposed to say, idk a more variety of quality? I only get the goat kefir when I'm doing the dairy thing, and it has a lot more probiotic strains than most brands of kefir, so I guess I'm just used to seeing a ton on the label:

L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. lactis, L. diacetylactis, S. thermophilus, L. cremoris, Leuconostoc cremoris and B. bifidum (Redwood Farms Goat Kefir)