Has anyone been taking kefir long term?

[CustardD123]

If so, please let me know how long for, what dose, homemade/store-bought (brand), and what benefits and/or side effects you're getting.

Thanks :)

Following as I have heard good things about Happy Goat? (I think).

Looking to improve my microbiome. Medical colleagues are v excited about the science and are urging me to try it for my crohns but it's v expensive.

I used to make my own. Was given a few active grains to start, then carried on. Felt the benefit early on, but then it seemed to level off, and I haven't bothered lately. There is a lot of stuff on Youtube about looking after keffir grains.

I’m a bit obsessed with the microbiome and have done loads of reading on the subject. Annoyingly, drinking kefir or kombucha whilst certainly pretty good for you, doesn’t seem to have any big effect on the microbiome. Eating lots of a good range of microbe friendly foods, fibre and live foods will. Variety of foods will create a variety of microbes. Kefir can be a part of that, but don’t try and treat it like a medicine.

Dh has been on it for about 9 months or so; chuckling goat. He doesn’t take it consistently but it helped a lot when he was recuperating from a nasty appendix/small bowel resection. His testimonial: “first firm shit I’ve had in 18 months”.

I have been taking it for over 6 months. I make my own with kefir grains I bought online. I use whole organic cows milk. My skin has improved (psoriasis) and my digestive system is more regular. I think I feel a bit calmer and less stressed but that might be antidotal.

I use a coconut version from The Live Kefir Company.
I’ve previously used Symprove also.

I can’t say I notice any difference but then I’m always really healthy and eat well.

I find so much conflicting opinion the regarding the benefits but not really read any harm

So whilst I can afford it I’ll keep using.

Uterus, see if you've got a Polish shop nearby. Should have a good selection of cheap kefir.

I wouldn't ever think of 'taking' kefir - that would be like 'taking' yoghurt. It's just another thing to enjoy as part of a healthy diet.

Try to get some grains from someone on Freecycle/FB local etc. Failing that you can buy on Ebay. It’ll save you a fortune (and a ton of plastic). I started drinking kefir around the end of last year, I had crippling depression and social anxiety. I’ve since joined a social club and been able to do other stuff I’d built up huge mental blocks around.

Also try other ferments like kimchi & sauerkraut. Not the supermarket kind, which is pasteurised & inert, buy fresh from a farmers’ market/health store chiller cabinet or make your own.

I use kefir to very successfully manage dreadful IBS.

I got some grains via "Next Door" ap 2 years ago, & they are still going strong. It's ridiculously easy to "make" and works very well.

I've never used the shop brought stuff but if they pasteurise it it will surely kill off much of the beneficial bacteria? Same as sauerkraut in a jar will be pasteurised and you need to source freshly made stuff.

I have given kefir grains to many many friends, who have passed it on in turn. It really works wonderfully well if taken regularly. I have had times when for a variety of reasons I've stopped taking it regularly and my IBS does come back.

I make it with organic blue milk. If you make it with SS milk it will be sharper.

Kefir can be a part of that, but don’t try and treat it like a medicine.

Kefir is certainly the only treatment that has worked for my dreadful IBS (aside from the hugely restrictive lowFODMAP diet). So I do consider it medicine/treatment and very effective one at that.

re dose I aim to drink a small glass daily - or I have it on top of muesli or in a smoothie. Some days I have a lot more. Advice is to start with a small dose and build it from there.

It doesn't pay to get too caught up in the details - its an inexact organic process with lots of variables - trust that you will work it out. Just source some grains and get them going. (I'm in south Kent - in case you are local PM me, I am happy to share some grains)

I've some kefir grains which have been sitting in the fridge in a bit of milk for a couple of months.

Do you think they'll be ok to start making kefir again or should I get new fresh grains? They're in a covered jar and life got too busy so I couldn't keep up with making fresh every few days but I do want to eat it regularly if I can make it myself otherwise it's too expensive to buy all the time.

I make my own and drink it every other day or every 3rd day, it's cheap and cheerful. It's the best hangover cure I've ever found, also I have found that I tend not to get hangovers at all, or at least very mild ones! I also feel like I have more energy. I mix it with frozen/fresh fruit and honey.

I have about 100 ml a day with porridge or seeds.

I make my own, culture is from a friend.

I take around two shot glasses per day, that's enough to "treat" my IBS. I find if I take too much I get a UTI, unsure if that is coincidental.

I've some kefir grains which have been sitting in the fridge in a bit of milk for a couple of months.

Advice I've read says 3 weeks. But I have left mine in fridge for longer and they have been fine. Give them a good rinse in cold water and give them a lovely organic full fat milk drink and see how you go from there?

villageshop when I want to slow things down I actually make it in the fridge. Which again goes against advice but works very well esp in summer.

If you get too much you can strain it and make "cheese".

when it's warm I often put the jar in the fridge until I finished the current batch.
if I get too much, cheese is good (draining it through coffee filter or cloth) or make a lassi type drink with a tin of fruit.

Thanks everyone so far :)

Can anyone suggest a good place to buy some Kefir grains from to start making your own please?

@LuluBellaBlue There's loads on amazon - I've bought from there in the past.

I use amazon but never thought to look on there for it! Thank you

@LuluBellaBlue haha no problem. yeah seems an odd thing for amazon to stock but they seem to have everything now :)

I was making my own, but produced much more than I could drink. I found it good when I had a couple of courses of antibiotics...maybe TMI but it seemed to keep me regular, when otherwise I wouldn't have been.

I've just bought some genuine ready made Polish stuff in Sainsbury's....hoping it's good or I might have to buy more grains.

If you are going on holiday or want a break from making it for a few weeks it is fine to keep in the fridge but you really should feed the grains with fresh milk every 2 weeks at least. If you are having a longer break then you can freeze your grains in a small amount of milk. I have some in the freezer as a back up incase my grains get contaminated.

When you start to make kefir again your grains may be sluggish for a few days. Just keep feeding them with fresh milk every day and they will soon become active again.

I got my grains from Happy Kombucha.