Kefir, elixer of youth?

The Germans have a saying: 'Jain', which is a combination of Ja (yes) and Nein (no). I guess in English we can make it Yeno?

In our very modern world we eat a lot of junk food and sterilised food. Jung food is, by extension, sterilised food. One of the biggest issue that people that eat mostly plant based have is they have low levels of Vitamin B12, which is a bacteria actually that's ubiquitous on the top layer of the soil. This bacteria is removed through washing thoroughly the plants that we eat. We're so careful not to get sick, that we drive ourselves sick.

In addition, it is my assessment that the consumption of fermented foods (apart from beer) is declining. Most fermented foods are sour, not sweet and we crave sweet stuff. Yogurt, when I was a kid, was not sweet, was rather sour.

We have removed from our foods the bacteria that we grew together with for millennia.

To get to the point: yes, Kefir may be better than other foods for your gut microbiome, and no, Kefir may not be the elixir or the only food that will help your gut flora. Fermented cabbage and cucumbers for example are also rather good - but there's no industry behind it, so you don't see advertisements.

 

Where I live people are pretty health conscious, so we see plenty of fermented foods at the market. Of course, this is in a commercial context where you buy a product at the store.

I remember reading the initial findings of the NIH Human Microbiome Project - we have something like 1,000 species in us at any given time, and a lot of them you simply cannot put into a pill. (they've actually put strained feces into a pill following the success of fecal transplants, though - which is in itself interesting to read about) No matter what food product or multi-strain probiotic supplement, you're not going to get 1,000. Also, it's not like there's a specific list of 1,000 that's good for us, one healthy persons environment may have a different combination from another healthy person. The Yanomami who have been untouched by civilization was also found to have greater diversity.

Anyway, I guess what I go back to is the fact that everything has an ecological context, naturally speaking. These days natural may be a label on a food product rather than a way of life.

 

What is this elixer of youth you speak of.

 

I started making my own kefir drinks this week. Mainly because a female friend advised me to try it. And it gives us something to talk about.
I must admit it's pretty fun, feels like brewing my own potion.

But the comments of others here are right. There's no 1 fix or single secret to good health. It's more about doing as much as you can, all the little things combined, to live a healthy, balanced life. Diet is only a part of that.

A good health is key to recovery, for people like us.

 

Prof. Zdanow from Russia made a lecture in which he pointed out that kefir is freakin' bad for you as well as for children. He is a prof. focused on alcohol problems.
10:33 - 15:21

* Try generating english automatic subtitles

 

I have deep red wine before bed. Not a good choice. But marijuana blended into a drink works fine. I still look like 15, though. But you seem to prefer legal methods i presume?

 

Thanks for pointing out the concerns due to Kefir's alcoholic content. As a recovering addict, alcohol is definitely a trigger I try to avoid.