Re: stomach cramps from kefir?/crosspost

[Guest guest]

Hi Belinda,

I've been having a cup of kefir a day too without any problem.

I'be been making mine with half-cream goat's milk - I'm wondering what you use.

There's far more acid in a normal person's stomach than you'd get from the kefir

- the fact that the soda works makes it all sound like an indigestion problem

which could come back to the milk you use.

The kefir pre-digests the sugar and the proteins so you could be looking at

something upsetting you from the milk fat. (Correct me if anyone know's better).

How long do you give the kefir to ferment? If by some chance you are lactose

intolerant leaving the kefir to ferment longer might help.

My advice would be to change something - the sort of milk seems the most obvious

- and see if that makes a difference.

The sodium bicarbonate shouldn't hurt you unless you are sodium sensitive and

don't excrete sodium properly (it would be bad for me) most people just lose

excess sodium in their urine without any noticable effect.

good luck

stomach cramps from kefir?/crosspost

I have been drinking about 8oz of kefir a day for about 2 mos. now with

no problems until last week. I started getting severe stomach cramps

within about an hour of drinking it. I also had a severe case of

diarrhea for 24 hrs. after drinking it. Well, I took a break from kefir

last Wednesday until today, Monday. No stomach cramps. I had other

dairy and no problems. This morning I made a kefir smoothie and bam,

within an hour I had horrible stomach cramps. From what I've read

(correct me if I'm wrong, please!) kefir is an acidic beverage. So I

made myself some baking soda and water and drank it down. My cramps are

gone.

Now, my question is, what is going on?! lol. I have never had a problem

like this before and am perplexed. I have just been learning about

eating better, ie. nourishing traditions and following more of a

biblical based diet, so I am a bit ignorant on the effects of different

foods on our bodies. Can anyone tell me what I should do? I do not

want to give my beloved kefir up as it has helped me in so many ways

(anxiety, weight loss, recurrent skin yeast infections). Do I have to

take an antacid everytime I drink it? Is baking soda bad for you? Any

help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Belinda

[Guest guest]

>Now, my question is, what is going on?! lol. I have never had a

>problem like this before and am perplexed. I have just been learning

>about eating better, ie. nourishing traditions and following more of a

>biblical based diet, so I am a bit ignorant on the effects of

>different foods on our bodies. Can anyone tell me what I should do?

>I do not want to give my beloved kefir up as it has helped me in so

>many ways (anxiety, weight loss, recurrent skin yeast infections). Do

>I have to take an antacid everytime I drink it? Is baking soda bad for

>you? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

>

>Belinda

Your stomach is very acidic: the amount of acid in kefir shouldn't

make all that much difference. But if it DOES make a difference,

how about making the kefir a little less sour? If you don't age it

as long, or let most of the kefiring happen in the fridge, it won't

be so sour. My kefir grains got mixed with viili, which makes

a not-so-sour thick kefir, which my family likes better than

the sour kind (there is a PDF on it in the files section).

That said, some folks don't get along with the casein or some

other part of kefir. In that case, you can get the same probiotic

effect by using some of the grains to " kefirize " something else,

like coconut milk, apple juice, or molasses water. The grains

so used will die eventually, so you have to keep some in

milk for replacements. This is what I do, since I'm casein

sensitive but do enjoy the probiotic effects of kefir.

However, if baking soda solves your problem, then your problem

probably isn't casein.

Heidi Jean