While giving my presentation, “Live Vibrantly! 5 Steps To Maintain Youthfulness, Increase Energy and Restore Your Health”, last week I noticed the strange look on my audience’s faces as I was talking about water kefir, bone broth and traditional ferments. I stopped to ask who didn’t know what these things were and it turned out no one in the audience was familiar with them so we backtracked and went into a discussion of what those things were.

That moment inspired this blog post and the next few to come. I realized that many of you might not know what some of the things I talk about are and so will start by breaking them down for you in a series. Today we’ll start with water kefir.

Water Kefir – What Is It?

Water kefir is a probiotic beverage made with water kefir grains. Water kefir grains can be used to culture sugar water, juice, or coconut water. The grains make up cultures of various strains of healthy bacteria and yeast, held together in a polysaccharide matrix created by the bacteria. The symbiotic relationship of the microbes produces a stable growing culture. The microbes feed on sugar and produce lactic acid, alcohol (ethanol), and carbon dioxide, yielding a fermented carbonated beverage. The alcohol content is usually very minimal, less than 1 %. So bottom line is it’s a healthy dose of probiotics in its natural form.

Water Kefir Is Not The Same As Milk Kefir

There are two types of kefir grains – milk and water kefir grains. Though they are similar in function, milk grains are quite different than water grains. They are white, cottage cheese-looking with a slimy feel to them. Water grains, however, are translucent, cauliflower-like and easily break apart under pressure. Where milk grains feed on the lactose in milk, water grains feed on sugar.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive tract. Probiotics refers to the healthy bacteria that usually feeds on the “bad” unhealthy bacteria in our stomach and intestines. Bacterial overgrowth can lead to many illnesses some of which include fungi, yeast infections, indigestion, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, skin disorders, etc. Drinking water kefir will support you in feeding the good bacteria which in turn can support not just your digestive system, but also your immune system, help prevent allergies and keep your mind sharp.

Where To Get Water Kefir Grains

My favorite place to get them is Cultures for Health. Wise Choice Market also carries them. I purchased my grains then followed the instructions on the Cultures for Health site to rehydrate the grains and get my batches going. Use this link for the video instructions on how to activate your grains and this link for making your water kefir.

Ways To Use Water Kefir

It has been my goal to develop as many uses for water kefir as possible to share with my audience and clients. I hear from my friends and clients all the time how busy they are, how they don’t feel they have the bandwidth to add one more thing to their routine and how time consuming starting your own fermenting sounds. Well if you can only commit to one thing then I recommend water kefir. It’s a 10 minute commitment every 24-72 hours depending on the climate where you live. And with that one thing you can open up so many other doors for yourself and your family to take supporting your health to the next level. Here are some of the things I recommend doing with my water kefir.

Use Water Kefir To:

I would love to hear how you use your water kefir besides drinking it so please do share in the comments below!

Join me again next week as we break down bone broth.

Live Vibrantly!

ps. Curious to know more about how to get the most nutrients from your food and make the best choices? Then I invite you to check out my book: “Live Vibrantly! 10 Steps to Maintain Youthfulness, Increase Energy and Restore Your Health”. Go here for more information and how to get your free bonuses.