Kefir and Ketosis

('Jackie P') #21

I used to drink kefir but stopped when I started keto due to the high carb content. I got confused about how much sugar had been used and I really missed it.
Then I found Biomel, a probiotic made with coconut milk with 2.5g carbs per serve. May just be a uk thing but check them out at www.biomel.life.

(M M) #22

I am new to keto (1 week) and want to keep keifir, itā€™s just to good,

So Iā€™ve been trying to find out and so far it seems-

ferment the sugar out
then strain the whey out to make cheese.
you can store the cheese under olive oil for a good while.

I havenā€™t had any yet, but have been having a mixture of cheese and they seem all right.

There are vids on how to do these things in u tube

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #23

Welcome to the forums!

The key is to keep your carbohydrate intake under 20 g/day. If you can fit kefir within that limit, then go for it. The only reasons to avoid dairy would be (a) if the product contains lactose and you are lactose-intolerant; or (b) you have a sensitivity to one or more of the dairy proteins. Otherwise, dairy products are fine on keto.

(Todd Allen) #24

The ā€œcarbsā€ in kefir is mostly lactic acid and a little alcohol neither of which are carbohydrate. Nutrition data typically attributes all calories which are not protein or fats as carbohydrates.

(M M) #25

Thank you very much for the welcome and help :slight_smile:

Starting is pretty overwhelming, so many new ways to think at once, but I am sure it becomes simple like driving a car in the end.

I feel fine with dairy it seems to do me good.

On the carbs, I think I am over as I am piling in cheese now there is no wheat product. I havenā€™t started counting them yet, but looked up fetta (thinking it is about the same consistency as kefir cheese,) on reading this advice and it is 4 carbs a cup.

I have lost some weight (which is part of my aims,) but I think that is more from fasting days.

@BrownFat Youā€™re saying it is not carb but just gets counted as carb by default?

Anyway thank you both for info.

(Todd Allen) #26

Yes for kefir sufficiently fermented to convert most of the lactose. And without added flavorings such as fruit.

(M M) #27

Thanks :slight_smile:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #28

Thus far, the conversation here seems to center on whether or not eating kefir is ketogenic because it may (or may not - depending on extent of fermentation - longer is better) contain some carbs. And whether whatever benefits of consuming kefir outweigh the carb cost.

I think the carb issue, as well as whether or not ā€˜feeding your microbiomeā€™ with pre/pro biotics is or is not useful - are side-tracks. Interesting, useful to some extent sure, but ultimately trivial. Regarding kefir specifically thereā€™s an elephant in the room. Is Kefir Ketogenic? In other words does consuming kefir directly affect ketosis and if so whether the effect is good, bad or indifferent.

Consider, if you will. Kefir contains lipases, proteases and amylases - all three groups of digestive enzymes. What if lipolysis just ā€˜ainā€™t what it used to beā€™, maybe your pancreas just isnā€™t producing enough lipase to digest all the fat, maybe youā€™re not extracting all the energy from the food youā€™re eating because part of it is just going down the toilet. Maybe ketones are ā€˜lowā€™ because your liver is not getting enough excess fat to produce it any more.

What if we could consume a relatively small amount of something - made cheaply, at home - that would boost fat metabolism, help us get more energy from the food we eat and increase the fat getting to the liver to enable it to produce measurable ketones again? What if it also assisted fat to migrate out of adipose tissue? I would call that particular food ketogenic.

That particular food might be kefir. Hereā€™s a pretty inclusive intro to digestive enzymes and some of the things that inhibit their synthesis in the body.

An intro to kefir specifically:

(Bob M) #29

I have heard that digestive enzymes go down as we age. Iā€™m coming back to fermented foods maybe being beneficial.

One place that sells the starter grains:

I wonder if you use raw milk? It looks like you can:

https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/milk-kefir/raw-milk-kefir/

I have ordered from cultures for health before, too.

#30

We have been making kefir with raw milk for several years.
We are lucky enough to have three raw milk suppliers locally. Weā€™ve found that if you change milk the kefir ā€˜sulksā€™ for a bit (doesnā€™t grow) until it gets used to the new one so thereā€™s some interactionā€¦

(Bob M) #31

Anything special you have to do when using raw milk?

#32

We just put the milk in with the ā€˜grainsā€™ and leave for two days at room temperature. Sieve out the grains and refrigerate the kefir.

We use 250g of ā€˜grainsā€™ for 1 litre of milk. Yes, 250g. Grows by about 25g per batch, we just put that in the compost.

It gives a really creamy kefir, but the milk is about 6% fat.

We get the milk from Addersonā€™s dairy in North Crawley just outside Milton Keynes.

The flavour is sharp, but we like it. My mother used to make yoghurt in the 1970s, tastes a lot like that did (i.e. too sharp for most people).