Kefir Starter Culture

Kefir is an ancient cultured food known for its anti-aging and immune-enhancing properties. It aids digestion of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates; helps establish beneficial microflora in the intestines; and is an excellent source of amino acids, enzymes, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins K and B.

Superior to commercial kefir and yogurt, homemade kefir is easy and fun to make using Body Ecology’s kefir starter culture. Simply take one packet and combine it with milk—full instructions are included inside the box, and each box contains six packets. You can use about a quarter of a cup from your first batch to “transfer” the friendly bacteria to your next batch of kefir. Do this up to seven times with one package of starter.

Enjoy your kefir plain or flavored, mix it with fruit, or use it as a base for smoothies, dips, or salad dressings. You can also make a delicious, health-enhancing kefir from young green coconut water.

Regularly drinking kefir will:

• Increase lactobacillus bacteria and beneficial yeast in the intestines
• Restore beneficial microflora after antibiotic use
• Help regulate the body’s water balance and maintain proper internal pH
• Aid in vitamin and mineral absorption
• Lower cholesterol and help prevent cardiovascular disease
• Alleviate cravings for unhealthy foods, including sweets
• Provide excellent nourishment for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

Coconut Water Kefir

A young green coconut is really the same food as the mature (brown, hairy) coconuts most Americans are familiar with—it’s just younger. The green outer shells are sometimes removed before the young coconuts are shipped to U.S. markets, but you can still identify them by the white “husk” if the outer shell has been cut off. Although large-chain supermarkets may not carry them, you can find them easily in Asian, Latin, and other ethnic or farmer’s markets, and many health food stores will carry them upon request.

Young green coconuts have an abundance of minerals and a sweet flavor. Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet, sensed they would be a perfect medium for the growth of beneficial microflora. She combined the kefir starter with coconut water and created a “fizzy, sour, champagne-like drink, similar to a spritzer.” (Full directions for making coconut water kefir are included in the kefir starter box).

Soon people were reporting miraculous results from the coconut water kefir:

• Stops cravings for sugar
• Aids digestion of all foods
• Tonifies the intestines
• Appears to cleanse the liver
• Eases aches and joint pains
• Strengthens hair, skin, and nails
• Appears to have a beneficial effect on the endocrine system
• Increases energy and overall feelings of good health

You can use the young green coconut to make several delicious foods. Not only can you ferment the coconut water into kefir, you can also make a kefir “cheese” from the young green coconut meat. Although technically a seed, this meat is soft and pudding-like, and very easy to digest. It is rich in protein and enzymes, and is an excellent source of lauric and caprylic fatty acids. By adding the coconut meat to Body Ecology’s kefir starter, you can make a fabulous fermented base for salad dressings or dips—or just eat the delicious kefir “cheese” as is, as a dairy-free yogurt-like treat.

Coconut water kefir can be enjoyed in many different ways. Drink a half-cup with meals to aid digestion—with ginger, stevia, lemon, or lime, if you desire. A half cup at bedtime will help establish a healthy inner ecosystem, as microflora reproduce more quickly when you are lying still during sleep.

You can even use coconut water kefir and “cheese” to help overcome lactose intolerance caused by a lack of dairy-loving microflora in your system. Simply add the beneficial microflora to your system by drinking the kefir and eating the “cheese.” You’ll soon be able to choose organic dairy milk as one of your many options for making kefir.

To learn more about coconut water kefir and young green coconuts, see Donna Gates' book, The Body Ecology Diet, from which the above information was adapted.