The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive track. 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. By drinking water kefir you will bring balance to your internal microflora. Many people take a probiotic supplement daily for this particular reason but I prefer to drink the water kefir. It’s much tastier and more affordable in the long run.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a leading expert in the raw food community, writes in his book “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine“:
“Kefir grains produce right-rotating L(+) lactic acid, which is an important constituent of the human body. It is particularly important in the prevention of cancer and has been used experimentally with success in the treatment of cancer. In addition, right-rotating lactic acid may help maintaining healthy functioning of the heart. According to some researchers, the cells of the heart muscle obtain their energy primarily from right-rotating lactic acid.”
Another health advantage of water kefir is that people who do not wish to consume dairy or have a vegan type diet may find that water kefir provides the living probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha.Vegans also may like to know that through the fermentation process kefir becomes an excellent source of vitamin B12, and is high in vitamins B1 and B6.
Diabetics, in particular, could greatly benefit from drinking kefir. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks. In that sense, anyone from children to adults can enjoy water kefir guilt-free.
Water kefir grains consist of a complex polysaccharide matrix, upon which live a combination of live bacteria and yeasts existing in a symbiotic matrix.
These include 57 lactic acid bacteria strains, some acetic acid bacteria strains, and at least four yeast strains. Up to 453 different bacterial strains have been identified in water kefir! (Some of these are different subspecies of a single strain, however.) Not all strains are present in all water kefir samples. Differences in the behavior of the grains, the speed at which they multiply, and the type of sugar they perform best with may be due to variations in the bacterial makeup of the particular grains.
Bacteria
Species Lactobacillus
L. brevis
L. casei
L. hilgardii
L. hordei
L. nagelii
Species Leuconostoc
L. citreum
L. mesenteroides
L. brevis
L. casei
L. hilgardii
L. hordei
L. nagelii
Species Leuconostoc
L. citreum
L. mesenteroides
Species AcetobacterA. fabarumA. orientalis
Species StreptococcusS. lactis
Yeasts
Hanseniaospora valbyensisLachancea fermentatiSaccharomyces cerevisiaeZygotorulaspora florentina
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