Where did kefir ORIGINALLY come from?

[3inclothdiapers]

I just read a good chunk of the archived kefir thread. This is totally new to me. I have a question- where did kefir originally come from? Way back a long time ago was there a "first batch" of kefir grains? Is it something that someone developed, or is this particular combination of bacteria and yeast found somewhere naturally? I just need to learn a little more because I was trying to tell dh about it and he's asking about the safety, etc.

Does Whole Foods sell the grains, or just finished products?

Thanks!

[mamajessica]

I have always wanted to know this too, but have been too lazy to google it!
Whole foods sells starter and finished product, but not the grains.

[Shell_Ell]

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/...#Kefir-history
Does that help?

[3inclothdiapers]

I ended up doing a search and found some sites with the history. Very interesting!

Dh is interested since one site said it could help his psoriasis. He's been putting prescription creams on his hands for YEARS and it never goes away completely.

Dh is making me ask my ob if it's okay for me to drink kefir. Will my ob even know what I'm talking about? Once I asked a doctor about probiotics and he didn't know what they were! I'm going to an ob appointment tomorrow; I guess I'll go ahead and ask and see what he says.

Is there a measurable alcohol content in kefir from the fermentation? That would be my main concern.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by 3inclothdiapers

Dh is making me ask my ob if it's okay for me to drink kefir. Will my ob even know what I'm talking about? Once I asked a doctor about probiotics and he didn't know what they were! I'm going to an ob appointment tomorrow; I guess I'll go ahead and ask and see what he says.

Is there a measurable alcohol content in kefir from the fermentation? That would be my main concern.

It is not likely that your OB has ever heard of kefir,

The alcohol content in milk kefir is so low it is not even worth worrying about. At all. With some very sweet fruit juices you can get the content in range of alcoholic, but I've even added some sugar and they haven't been as alcoholic as beer or wine.

[Shell_Ell]

Oh gosh, I drank alot of Kefir while pregnant and when I first had my son. Probably 2 cups a day. The alcohol content is nothing to be worried about. Kefir is perfectly safe in pregnancy.

[xenabyte]

If your ob doesn't have a problem with you drinking / eating yogurt, then kefir is fine. It's just a wider spectrum form of yogurt.

[3inclothdiapers]

My ob had never heard of kefir! I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I basically told him what it was and he said that's fine. He said just stay away from unpasteurized soft cheeses from Mexico!

I went to the Whole Foods today for the 1st time in over 2 years; it's so far from my house but I just figured out it's only a few minutes from my doctor (I drive pretty far for that because I REALLY like my doctor!). All I bought was some kefir, strawberry-banana flavor. I figured that would be a good way to get started for now. I've NEVER liked yogurt so I'm not sure I"ll like the taste of this, but I figure I can always use it in place of milk when I make milkshakes or smoothies. If we decide to make homemade kefir it'll be a while from now after we finish summer vacation. The stuff I bought only has 10 varieties of microorganisms, so a far cry from the 30+ that is supposedly found in the homemade. But for now this might be a better sell with dh, since it's been refrigerated (at least after it was bottled, anyway), as opposed to me leaving milk sitting out on the counter for 24 hours! It's hard getting used to new ideas! Anyway, thanks for all the great info.

[Ruthla]

According to tradition, the first kefir grains were a gift from G-d.