Water kefir?

(Thomi M) #1

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this.

Just wondering how/if water kefir fits into keto?

(Larry Lustig) #2

Does it contain carbohydrates or whey protein?

(jketoscribe) #3

It’s hard to know what the carbs are because they are measured in commercial water kefir before fermenting. Microbes will consume some of the carbs, but not all. You should watch your blood glucose levels and ketones to see if they cause you to spike or fall out of ketosis, if you’re trying to stay in ketosis.

#4

I make and drink water kefir. When I was fasting last month I had a 450 ml bottle and my BG went from 3.3 to 5.9 in an hour. I tested every 10 min then every half hour.
My Ketones went from 3.8 to 1.1 in two hours.

It took 4.5 hours to get back to 3.4 BG and longer to 12+ hours to get ketones back up to 2.8. Not even to 3.8.

I was not tossed out of ketosis.

This fast I had to drink a bottle of WK to get a spare bottle for bottling the current batch

My starting BG = 5.1 and K 0.5 (DAY 1)
An hour later BG = 5.6 and K 0.3

I felt bloated after consuming this kefir.

So my homemade kefir appears to raise my blood glucose and lower my blood ketones.

For what it is worth.

(Reesegilbert ) #5

Hi,

I make my own water kefir and using a refractometer, ferment it (1st & 2nd) until the brix measurement is 4 or 5. 1 brix = 1 gram of sugar per 100ml. That means 4 or 5 grams per 100ml, or just under a half cup. Ferment any longer for a lower brix measurement and you get a drink that is more sour, akin to a fizzy vinegar.
I don’t drink more than 100ml or at the most 200ml a day, keeping my carbs from Water kefir at only 5 or 10. This way I get the probiotic benefit and keep the carbs down. The key is not drinking more than that, which is difficult, because depending on how you flavored it during the 2nd ferment, it can be quite delicious. My mojito water kefir is especially difficult to resist!
So, if it’s home made, I’d take a brix measurement before drinking so you know what you’re getting. Hope this helps.

(Bob M) #7

Can you take a brix measurement of a store-bought version? I know they have something written on the outside of the container, but supposedly the carbs go down due to fermentation.