Comments on: Yogurt Power

By: seth

seth — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:27:14 +0000

I know little about kefir although I make it. It’s a good question and I don’t know the answer. My approach has been to try a large range of fermented foods and eat a lot of them.

By: Oceanesque

Oceanesque — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:07:13 +0000

I’ve been following your blog for a while now (I came here via Freakonomics),
and after reading this and other posts on the possible value of kefir in preventing both pathogen-caused and auto-immune illness (ie eczema), I started keeping an eye out for it.

A local supermarket sells a product called “Babushka Probiotic Kefir yoghurt”
which claims to contain “more than 12 billion live probiotic bacteria per 62ml serve”. Is this likely to be a worthwhile product from a fermented foods / health benefits perspective?

What qualities should I look for when purchasing commercially-produced kefir products?

(I have no connections, financial or otherwise, with any manufacturer of dairy products, I’m just feeling a little confused about which kefir/yoghurt products are worthwhile and which are a waste of time. The variety of Kefir yoghurt I mention above tastes okay, but not great – it’s a question of steeling oneself a little and saying “Well, it’s *good for me*” – so it is only worth drinking if it is likely to have a health payoff.)

By: Todd Fletcher

Todd Fletcher — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:56:00 +0000

I’ve had a similar experience with yogurt. I had a bad flu last winter and had lingering stomach problems from it. I started having Strauss whole milk yogurt for breakfast, and it completely went away. But I kept eating the yogurt and have lost 20 lbs since then, with very little effort.

I also started keeping kefir in the fridge at work. My excema, which I had for 15 years has disappeared also. I used have daily heartburn, for which I took Pepcid. I no longer have to take it at all. I’ve had my 14 year old son drinking it for the past month and his acne has gone away. I’m sold on it!

Also, I think an important part of the secret is that these sour flavors make a lot of other things taste too sweet, like soft drinks. I’ve completely stopped adding sugar to my coffee as well.

By: wcw

wcw — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:56:21 +0000

In re: preservation, that rings true to me. If bacteria are human pathogens, they probably like human pH. If you ferment with acidifying bacteria, voila, you have an environment more acidic than human, and pathogens probably like it less. Similarly, if you ferment with yeast that produces ethanol, you have an environment with an organic toxin, and pathogens probably like it less.

My relatives who farm in old Europe habitually drink watered hard cider (‘Most’, probably 5% ABV before dilution) with lunch. It’s both acidic and alcoholic. I don’t worry about anything infecting it.

By: seth

seth — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:29:12 +0000

Hmm. I will check with the person at Stonyfield.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:25:46 +0000

I’ve been having lots of difficulty with dairy as of late so I’ started taking Lactaid but it didn’t help whatsoever. I’m not sure if I’m lactose intolerant but right now I’m avoiding all dairy – except for yogurt, which doesn’t bother me whatsoever. I’ve read in other forums that lots of lactose intolerant folks find yogurt similar stomachable.

By: seth

seth — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:03:18 +0000

Evelyn, perhaps the problem is that not all the lactose is converted to lactic acid.

By: Evelyn

Evelyn — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:58:20 +0000

Are the lactose intolerant also intolerant of lactic acid?

By: seth

seth — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:08:51 +0000

Thanks, Charles. I always like to hear these stories… Yeah, kefir may be more powerful than yogurt. The kefir I make is a lot sourer than the yogurt I make and it takes much longer to make. More sour may mean more bacteria (more lactose turned into lactic acid).

By: Charles

Charles — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:48:53 +0000

Based on this series of posts, I’ve been making kefir at home. After two weeks of drinking it daily, some long-standing stomach problems have gone away, and I just feel better all around. From some of what I read, kefir seems even more powerful than yogurt, but that may be due to personal differences.

By: seth

seth — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:44:51 +0000

“Tends to retard bacterial growth”? Maybe I’m missing something. Fermented foods have lots of bacteria. I think the preservation argument needs to be more subtle.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:38:53 +0000

Fermented foods usually have lower pH, which tends to retard spoilage bacterial growth. It explains a lot of things, including why drinking weak beer was favored to drinking plain water before the advent of municipal water treatment. Wine, beer, cheese, yogurt, summer sausage, lots of foods are all fermented partially.

And they may persist because when people of long ago ate them, they did not get sick.

Maybe.