Kefir for Health: A Fermented Alternative to Yogurt

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Broad Benefits
Posted by Ruthie (Largo, FL) on 05/27/2022
★★★★★

My husband has made homemade milk kefir for about 4 years now and we are both benefiting from it greatly. I was diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus after many problems and an endoscopy. I started the kefir and went back 2 years later for a follow up endoscopy and they did biopsy's. They found no evidence of the Barrett's that time. I'm due again in the fall for a follow up and I'm hopeful they will not find Barrett's again.

My husband has always had many polyps when he has his colonoscopy. He had 13 one time and several were cancerous. He started the kefir, and 3 years later he only had 4 polyps. His doctor told him to keep drinking the kefir.

I get through the taste by making mine into a fruit smoothie. I put frozen red cherries, blueberries and every now and then add a few slices of frozen banana. Blend it in my nutribullet and enjoy!

*Note My husband has used regular whole milk to make his kefir but we are about to try the organic 2% milk. Hopefully with it being ultra pasteurized it will still process. Also, I drink a 1/2 quart in the morning and he drinks a 1/2 quart in the morning and 1/2 quart at night. Try it!


Broad Benefits
Posted by Amit (Delhi, India) on 10/19/2015
★★★★★

Hello All

Lowering of blood pressure is the first thing that happened to me after the very first consumption of home made milk kefir( 30 -40 ML). It has a sedative like effect, maybe thats what people are calling brain fog...( actually I experience a kind of sleepyness which goes away after 20-30 minutes). But the blood pressure remains lowered for a long time. This is very good for someone like me who has high blood pressure. I almost dont feel the need for my BP meds but I stay on them to be on the safer side.

Once the sleepyness goes away, the head clears up and feels sharper and more alert.

The skin look and feels better.

My Breathing is better.

(Initially after taking kefir, my sinuses started clearing , a lot of mucous came out. for a couple of days.)

Another good effect of the milk kefir which I observed upon myself was that my acid reflux was GONE! This happened inside 2 days. I have a feeling that taking too much of kefir brings back some acidity. So now I just take about 5-6 tea spoons at a time(1 mouth full).twice in a day and give a break of 1 -2 days after every 5-6 days.

I would recommend taking the milk kefir fresh and directly after straining the seeds/grains. It did not seem so potent when I had it after keeping it in the fridge.So if I want to have it after an hour, I cover it and let it sit in tumbler at room temp.

incidentally the kefir I make comes via a "milk kefir "culture I bought from someone who got it from Australia.

I would recommend Milk Kefir. I think its heart friendly too.Its definitely lowered my Blood pressure.

Google> Dom Kefir to go to Dom's site. A load of Info there on Kefir.

Warm regards ,

Amit Nayar


Broad Benefits
Posted by Lynn (Racine, Wi) on 08/04/2011
★★★★★

I am an avid fan of kefir and have been drinking it for almost a year now. I grow so many grains that I have been able to start over 20 people on it. They are starting to call me the kefir lady. We have gotten great results on it in our family. My 11 year old twin daughter has Type 1 Diabetes and getting great results with blood sugars. It is as though her body is trying to work, We also have celiac disease in our family and it soothes the gut and helped heal the gut. We havent gotten sick on this except for mild detoxifying My twenty year old daughter had mrsa and had great results on a natural supplement with no scarring or reaccuring bouts it was scabbed over in a week to the doctors amazement. She did not take kefir but I wanted that info for the mrsa patients.

All I can say is that kefir is part of our daily healthy living along with supplements and all natural antibiotics. Lynn


Broad Benefits
Posted by Dawn (Holland, NY) on 03/23/2007
★★★★★

Kefir is great for lots of things. I've been using it to help my daughter's LGS. It helps you lose weight, detoxes your liver, restore intestinal flora, allergies, and so much more. It coats your intestines and helps your body break down foods. I drink 2 C a day. If you are just trying it out you might want to start with 2 oz a day and slowly increase it. I wouldn't recommend the store bought kind in the US. It only has 4 different bacteria in it. If you make your own Kefir it was over 30 things that are great for you. Plus if you are lactose intolerant, you can handle Kefir.


Broad Benefits
Posted by Emilia (Vancouver, Canada) on 02/13/2007
★★★★★

I am using kefir (fermented drink) for a long time. I am making it by myself. From the country where I am coming (Macedonia) it is very a popular drink and considered very healthy. But also you can find it in the healthy stores. It helps with constipation, regenerates intestinal flora. It is very good for the skin. When you apply on the face before going to bed, after few days you will notice the results. Clean and more firm skin. Looking very youthful.