Anybody tried kefir?

[keepswimming]

Hi, has anyone got any experience drinking kefir? How did you find it?

I'd heard some good things, so I got some grains and started making some using whole milk. The last two days I've started having just a little bit - 1 tbsp a day. It's given me a bit of stomach pain and I've been really thirsty and felt a bit "off" - but I believe this can be common to start with, and could actually be a good thing as it means it's killing off the bad bacteria? I've read you should just carry on taking it, the symptoms will die down and then you can gradually increase the amount.

So I need to decide whether to stick with it - to help me decide I wondered if anyone else has tried kefir, and if you found it helpful or harmful?

Thanks.

 

[sb4]

I remember making some years ago but can't don't think I got benefits or negatives unfortunately.

 

[godlovesatrier]

It does calm my gut down for sure and definitely keeps things regular and I think healthier to be honest. Whilst I don't have major issues with gut problems like I used to years ago. I don't think kefir helped my ME myself. That is I don't think it helped fagigue dizziness lethargy or weakness. Didn't help PEM either. @keepswimming

 

[keepswimming]

@sb4 thanks, glad to hear it didn't make you worse at any rate...

@godlovesatrier that's helpful to know, thank you. I'm not really expecting improvement in my CFS (although that would be lovely!) but I have some other conditions kefir is meant to good for - eczema, ibs and recurrent uti infections. If it helps any of those problems I would think it worth taking!

 

[godlovesatrier]

I had a nasty bacterial infection in July combined wirh reactivated ebv. All tested positive at hospital. My uti symptoms were heavily related to the bacterial infection it seems. But may be kefir knocks out certain types of bacteria? Also I do wonder if it works better for women than men. I wonder if I had a different issue but the symptoms were ultimately the same. I tested negative for bacteria in my urine at an urgent care centre so I think it was simply bacteria in my body thst was harmless which ultimately got out of control.

I've also been taking aloe Vera juice once a day and biokult probiotic capsules. I have no idea if the latter works. But kefir and aloe Vera juice do help my gut for sure.

Sorry about your ibs it's horrible. My mother has had it since her twenties. She's 60 now. Although she won't go on an exclusion diet and we know it makes a massive difference. But what can you do. Anyway sorry you've got it.

 

[wabi-sabi]

I've tried kefir and think it's delicious! But, no, no effect on the ME/CFS.

If it's giving you a tummy ache are you sure you want to take it? Do benefits outweigh that?

 

[Abrin]

So I need to decide whether to stick with it - to help me decide I wondered if anyone else has tried kefir, and if you found it helpful or harmful?

I use kefir when I can remember to take it. It is the only thing that I've found that helps with my bloating and constipation.

The downside to it, in my experience it that when you first start taking it you feel really awful for the next three to five days but that goes away when you start taking it on a regular basis and you need to take it on a regular basis to get it to work.

Of course, something always happens which gets in the way to making sure I take it every day so I spend a lot of time starting over in the 'feeling sick to my stomach phase'.

It has been worth it for me though when it comes to the improvement I've seen when it comes to my IBS.

 

[dannybex]

Hate to be a Danny-Downer, but kefir can be a disaster if one has histamine issues. In fact, if one has severe reactions, it probably indicates histamine intolerance and/or possibly mast cell issues.

But as others have said, it can be helpful. Everyone's different...

 

[Hip]

Filmjölk may be a better tolerated alternative to kefir.

 

[keepswimming]

Thank you @godlovesatrier and I'm sorry to hear you were so poorly earlier in the year, I hope things have improved for you since. I believe kefir is meant to reduce e.coli which is a common cause of UTIs.

If it's giving you a tummy ache are you sure you want to take it? Do benefits outweigh that?

Not if the tummy ache carries on long term, no! But from what I understand stomach ache is often just a temporary thing when you first take it, but with continued use should go away.

@Abrin thank you for your experience, it sounds like hopefully if I stick to it the bad effects should improve and hopefully I might start getting some benefits... If it helped my IBS that would be great...

Hate to be a Danny-Downer, but kefir can be a disaster if one has histamine issues. In fact, if one has severe reactions, it probably indicates histamine intolerance and/or possibly mast cell issues.

Thank you for the warning. I'm not aware of having histamine issues, I eat other high histamine foods no problem, but if the unpleasant side effects carry on that could be an explanation. I think I might stick with it a few days more and see if the side effects improve or not.

@Hip that's good to know, thanks! I will stick with kefir a little longer to see if things improve, if not I will definitely look into your suggestion

 

[Shen]

If you don't have Histamine problems and no clear infection in your gut then sure.

 

[friendlycat]

Tried Kefir some while ago and which made not one jot of difference to my symptoms.

 

[Abrin]

@keepswimming:

Just checking in with how you are doing? Did the side-effects you were experiencing ever wane?

 

[Sarahloudobby]

@keepswimming i haven’t tried it myself but I accidentally improved my IBS when I cut out red meat, my intention had been to have a detox on holiday and only eat fresh fish as my meat (as the fish was so nice there) But eighteen months later I’m still off red meat and I’ve not had a reduction in IBS this good from any meds x

 

[andyguitar]

i haven’t tried it myself but I accidentally improved my IBS when I cut out red meat

So have lots of other people @Sarahloudobby it's thought by some to be the fat in red meat that causes the the IBS.

 

[Sarahloudobby]

That wouldn’t surprise me. It made me look at my diet overall to be honest

 

[Abrin]

i haven’t tried it myself but I accidentally improved my IBS when I cut out red meat, my intention had been to have a detox on holiday and only eat fresh fish as my meat (as the fish was so nice there) But eighteen months later I’m still off red meat and I’ve not had a reduction in IBS this good from any meds x

I cut out meat for a long time to go vegetarian but never did get any gains when it came to IBS. :/

 

[Sarahloudobby]

Sorry to hear that. I guess I just got lucky with this one

 

[Mary]

@keepswimming - kefir is great for my digestive tract. About 5 years ago I had a bout of diarrhea which lasted for 6 months (!) I tried several different probiotics, both expensive and cheap, with no results. SIBO test was negative. Finally it occurred to me to give kefir a try and within a week it was gone. I've taken it periodically ever since, any time anything goes wrong with my gut, I use kefir and it generally clears it up quickly. Though it hasn't done anything for ME/CFS (PEM etc.)

I don't know what to say about your stomach pain etc. It might be die-off or it could be kefir's just not good for you! I'm afraid the only way I know to figure these things out is to carefully experiment --

 

[keepswimming]

Just checking in with how you are doing? Did the side-effects you were experiencing ever wane?

Yes they did, I've been able to build up slowly to a full cup a day, I'm still splitting it into three doses at the moment so now I'm slowly building up to taking it all in one go!

I feel like it's too early to be sure if it's helping me in any way, I will update when I've been taking it a bit longer. One thing I have noticed is my eczema on my hands hasn't been as bad, I've also had a couple of slightly better weeks with fatigue, but those things may just be coincidences. I will keep you posted!

I accidentally improved my IBS when I cut out red meat

Thank you for the tip - I don't eat much red meat anyway, I probably have red meat once or twice a week. I used to eat more vegetarian food but I found pulses make my IBS worse, so I tend to eat a lot of chicken and fish now.

kefir is great for my digestive tract. About 5 years ago I had a bout of diarrhea which lasted for 6 months (!) I tried several different probiotics, both expensive and cheap, with no results. SIBO test was negative. Finally it occurred to me to give kefir a try and within a week it was gone.

Thanks for the tip! I haven't noticed much improvement with the ibs yet, however as I've been slowly building the kefir up and getting side effects as I do, I'm not sure yet how it will help me once my stomach is used to it! I will keep you posted 😊