Healthy food pick of the week: KEFIR

What is Kefir you ask? Some of you may know but for others like me I had no idea what it was until about 2 weeks ago. I was in Trader Joe’s with my BFF and I was talking out loud about ingredients to add to my morning smoothies and she said “hey try their Kefir”. I said “try their who?!” Kefir as it turns out is in the yogurt family and like yogurt has tons of the healthy bacteria stuff. Now I’ve never been a fan of yogurt, like ever, so of course hearing that description of it did nothing to sway me but I’m never one to say I don’t like something before I try it and boy am I glad I did! It makes the most delicious smoothies ever. It has a buttermilk like consistency so I also use rice milk or oat milk to sort of break up the thickness but boy oh boy what a yummy addition to my morning meal. But putting yummy aside, imagine my additional surprise of finding out just how super healthy this stuff is.

Kefir and Health

"Kefir has many reputed health benefits. It has antibiotic and antifungal properties. It's been used in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, and allergies, tuberculosis, cancer, poor digestion, candidiasis, osteoporosis, hypertension, HIV and heart disease. You might find it odd that that a drink containing yeasts would be good for treating candidiasis but it has been helpful to many people, both by restoring a better balance to the gut flora and because some elements of the microflora will kill off Candida Albicans. Not all yeasts are harmful.

In addition to beneficial bacteria and yeast, kefir contains many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, B2 and B12, vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin D. Tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids abundant in kefir, is well known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system. Because kefir also has an abundance of calcium and magnesium, also important minerals for a healthy nervous system, kefir in the diet can have a particularly calming effect on the nerves.

The abundance of enzymes brings more health benefits, especially to lactose intolerant people, many of whom can tolerate kefir without difficulty, as long as the kefir is raw and not cooked (cooking destroys the enzymes)."

Everything you want to know about Kefir can be found here, http://www.lifeway.net/ This is the brand I've been drinking (I have since moved on from Trader Joe's version, not because it wasn't good but Lifeway's version has additional prohibitics). For those who are moving to a healthier lifestyle Kefir may just be what you're looking for especially is appetite control is a struggle for you. This stuff is super filling. So give it a shot and let me know what you think, I promise you will love it!