Tips and Advice - Healthy Lifestyles

Kefir and yogurt are both cultured milk products.  We have eaten yogurt for years, but wondered how kefir differed from yogurt.  We also wondered if one or the other was more beneficial for us in any way.

Benefits of Kefir

We decided to do some research on why we would want to drink kefir instead of enjoy our regular cup of yogurt.  Turns out, kefir has both friendly bacteria and beneficial yeast strains that will populate our intestines.  These strains not found in yogurt, will help to digest the food you consume and keep your colon healthy.  Many people who are lactose intolerant can enjoy kefir as almost all of the lactose is consumed during the culturing process.  The size of the kefir curd is smaller than that of yogurt, making it easier to digest.

Differences in Yogurt and Kefir Culturing Process

When making yogurt, the milk and culture is heated to a temperature of around 115º  and kept there for several hours.  Kefir is made by keeping the culture at room temperature for several days.  This is what allows different strains of bacteria to thrive in each final product.

Kefir is Easy to Make at Home

My first experience with keifr was when I was given a jar of little gelatinous globs and told to add them to my fresh milk, place it on the counter for a few days, strain it, and drink.  The taste was a bit more tangy than yogurt, but the addition of some fresh fruit and honey made it taste pretty good.  I found out that those gelatinous globs were called "grains" and they were the culture needed to make the kefir.  I just saved the grains I strained out and added it to more milk every few days.

Bacteria Differences in Kefir and Yogurt

The bacteria in yogurt will not repopulate the intestines, but the bacteria in kefir will.  The strains in kefir will populate and grow, but once you stop drinking kefir, these strains will cease thriving within a few days.  When examined under a microscope, the bacteria in yogurt spin left, but the bacteria in kefir spin right. Studies have shown that the right spinning bacteria are more beneficial.

Kefir Becoming More Popular

As word gets out about the benefits of kefir, it is becoming more popular.  Our family still prefers yogurt as the taste is more mild and the texture is more creamy than liquid, but we do have kefir occassionally, especially when we need a little intestinal boost.

Jodi and her family own a natural food store in a small Arkansas town.