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Milk Kefir Cured My Acne

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(@riegn)

Posted : 08/18/2013 4:19 pm

Hello Everyone,

I have been suffering from acne for over 12 years (on and off). I have finally managed to eliminate it and have decided to share my findings for the benefit of others.

The type of acne I suffered from was acne vulgaris. Key points that aggravated my acne:

  • Oily skin
  • Sugary foods (this includes dairy) caused more oil production
  • Stopping sugary/dairy foods resulted in reduction of oil production

In my case, oily skin was the cause of my acne, so if I could reduce the oil production then I could stop the acne. I theorised that the lack of gut flora able to breakdown the sugars was causing excess oil production. This reason for lack of gut flora may be due to:

  • antibiotics
  • poor diet
  • foods that lack natural probiotic cultures
  • too much sugar which causes yeast/fungus growth

This is by no means an exhaustive list but it denotes some core instigators which inhibit gut flora.

The solution is consumption of probiotics. I don't mean the ones you can get over the counter. Reasons below:

  • They are NOT live cultures (many of them have a use-by date and God knows how many of the biotics are actually dead on consumption)
  • They are NOT able to colonise the gut
  • They do NOT provide enough probiotic strains
  • They are not inclusive of healthful yeasts

So what is the solution ? Milk kefir. Reasons below:

  • Has up to 40 strains of probiotics and yeasts
  • MUCH more potent
  • Can colonise the the gut
  • The cultures are live

The key point to note here is that the kefir breaks down sugars, that is how they grow/survive, hence you feed them milk because it contains lactose. Once they are in your gut, they will continue to feed on sugars and will contribute to breaking down your food. My oil production is back to normal which means no more acne. smile.png

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(@aanabill)

Posted : 08/19/2013 1:06 am

u mean the usual homemade yogurt/curd right?

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(@riegn)

Posted : 08/19/2013 4:11 am

u mean the usual homemade yogurt/curd right?

Correct.

Put the grains into milk and let it curdle for 24-48 hours, drain the yogurt, put it into the fridge and consume once cold. You can even make smoothies out of it, although I found drinking it as is (although quite sour) is the best way to achieve quick results. They will also help in bowel movements, fungus/yeast overgrowth and your general/overall health.

The best thing about the grains is they are a lifetime investment, pay 5 for a batch and they will serve you a good source of probiotics for life.

Whatever you do, do not purchase the kefir powder, buy the actual grains.

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(@aanabill)

Posted : 08/19/2013 4:24 am

i'll tell how we make it.

actually we buy it from a man who makes these at his home and then sells them in the neighborhood twice a week.

we use some curd/yogurt to make a new batch.

boil milk and pour in a bowl(clay vessel) which has some curd in it.

we dont disturb the set up for a day and the bacteria in the old curd thrives and grows on the new milk.

thus a new batch of curd is made.

the consistency is not as thick and even as the store ones because nothing extra is added(say milk powder or rice flour etc. which is a trick to save money and thicken the curd in shops)

so with thick curd, we get some fluid curd water as well.but i feel its better this way.i can just freeze it and stir to make it semi-fluid to eat.

for those who doesn't have any curd , i feel they only have one option and that is too buy the grains.

those who can get or purchase pure home made curd from sweet shops.just get the unsweetened one.we call it sour curd.

(yes!in india the simple curds are made manually at small/big sweet shops everyday.these are more famous than the packed store products.)

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(@riegn)

Posted : 08/19/2013 5:50 am

Do you know what grains the man uses ?

Boiling milk isn't necessarily a good idea since it will kill off vital cultures. In any case, using the actual kefir grains would probably be better than to simply mix the curdled yogurt with a new batch of milk. It is doable but you would probably need to leave it longer than a day.

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(@alternativista)

Posted : 08/19/2013 8:30 am

Most of you are talking about yogurt, for which you need a spoonfuls of yogurt from a prior batch as a starter to create the next batch. Kefir is different. You need 'grains' and you need to recover the grains each time you make kefir to save for the next batch.

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(@chrissy-cambell)

Posted : 08/19/2013 9:00 am

Milk kefir has brought me out is cysts all over my neck and temples, its now taken 4 weeks and they still havent fully reduced.

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(@aanabill)

Posted : 08/19/2013 9:24 am

what exactly is kefir?

and how different is it from plain yogurt?

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410
(@alternativista)

Posted : 08/19/2013 10:01 am

It's a complete

what exactly is kefir?

and how different is it from plain yogurt?

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(@aanabill)

Posted : 08/20/2013 12:25 am

It's a complete

what exactly is kefir?

and how different is it from plain yogurt?

It's not yogurt. It's a completely different fermented beverage with different probiotics. It's usually very thin and used as a beverage. And you don't have to make it with dairy. You can use coconut water or even plain water. Although you don't necessarily have to use dairy with yogurt either. i've even found instructions for using oats.

okay.

so did u post it(the oat think) on ur recipe thread yet?

if yes, then do give us the link.

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410
(@alternativista)

Posted : 08/21/2013 3:18 pm

It's a complete

what exactly is kefir?

and how different is it from plain yogurt?

It's not yogurt. It's a completely different fermented beverage with different probiotics. It's usually very thin and used as a beverage. And you don't have to make it with dairy. You can use coconut water or even plain water. Although you don't necessarily have to use dairy with yogurt either. i've even found instructions for using oats.

okay.

so did u post it(the oat think) on ur recipe thread yet?

if yes, then do give us the link.

Yeah, it's in that fermented food thread I just bumped. http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/159595-kefir-ginger-root-for-stomachs-stripped-from-antibiotics/?p=3127724

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(@quetzlcoatl)

Posted : 08/21/2013 4:54 pm

I tried making my own Kefir. It was incredibly pungent, and I couldn't bear to drink more than a couple glasses. I might have been doing it wrong, though.

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(@riegn)

Posted : 08/23/2013 10:02 am

Milk kefir has brought me out is cysts all over my neck and temples, its now taken 4 weeks and they still havent fully reduced.

Did you start off small and build up gradually ? If not then that may have been your problem. When you eat probiotics they will kill off a lot of nasties in your gut which will naturally release toxins, its called the "die off effect" and demonstrates the culture is doing its work by clearing out your gut. Some people develop flu symptoms, others break out in acne, some will sweat, others will get gas/cramps/feel bloated and so on. When you have a reaction you must immediately stop taking the kefir, allow time for the symptoms to subside and restart the process. Over a matter of weeks/months the symptoms will lessen until they completely disappear and that is when it is safe to drink it in large quantities.

I suspect you might have some yeast/candida problem. I advice you start off with a spoonful and very slowly build up to a cup or however much you want to drink.

I tried making my own Kefir. It was incredibly pungent, and I couldn't bear to drink more than a couple glasses. I might have been doing it wrong, though.

It can become pungent for three reasons,

1) The grains have gone "off". This usually happens if you leave the kefir out in the light. NEVER leave kefir out in light otherwise the grains will go off and produce a very foul smelling drink. Always put your kefir in a dark place when fermenting.

2) You are drinking it straight away. My advice is you put it into the fridge, let it cool down and it will smell like yogurt although it will taste quite sour.

3) You are leaving it to ferment for too long (more than 24/48 hrs) which is producing a very sour drink.

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(@samuraijack)

Posted : 05/31/2019 10:36 am

@riegn Thank you!Thank you!Thank you!Thank you! ^ 10^6 times infinity 🙂

You saved my life. Yours is the most plausible, simple and spot-on explanation for oily skin acne on the internet. Turns out I have been suffering from IBS since my childhood .becauseI took lots of strong antibiotics for pinworms during that time and didn't replenish my gut flora. My digestion has never been normal since then.

Yesterday after reading your post, I had the epiphany. It all makes sense now. I always eat healthier and cleaner than other people but still, I break out and they don't. The reason, my hormones go haywirewhen the raw undigested food (due to the absence of good bacterias)enter my small intestines which cause high levels of sugar and other undigested proteins to enter my bloodstream triggering auto-immune (hence rosacea) and sebum production (bam acne)!

Homemade kefir, note, "homemade kefir" is the only thing that works for me. It is said to have around ~60 probiotic strains that survive the gut acidand colonize the gut which keeps eating and breaking down all the food (sugar, lactose) which make the small intestine absorb only what it's supposed to. My bowel movements are like ecstasy. The face is now hydrated (not oily) with natural skin-toned complexion. Acne is non-existent. Digestion is heavenly. The mind is happy. No anxiety. I feel more alive now.

God bless you! I hope this helps someone and everyone.

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(@onefatalgoose)

Posted : 08/14/2022 3:44 pm

Kefir has long been a miracle worker for my gut, skin oil balance, and mental peace of mind.. Like the OP riegn said, if OTC pro-biotics have failed you in the past....it wasn't your fault. They are largely useless. Living pro-biotics that can actually thrive in your gut are also a massive producer of Serotonin, which is responsible for a sense of calm and your ability to deeply sleep.

I use kefir with every meal personally. I still use literally nothing on my face, but if you're determined to continue to wash your face, you can actually use greek yoghurt as a face wash. And freshly brewed green tea bags (cooled off) as a natural toner.

Anyway getting off topic, Kefir is a food I would personally not ever go without. I'm sorry to those who have had negative experiences with it. Raw Kombucha also contains a host of living probiotics in case anyone is extremely sensitive to dairy.

Green smoothies, which have gotten so much praise for their acne healing effects, can also be made more potent by adding Kefir, which aids in the digestion of the greens immensely

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