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I know you guys must get totally sick of hearing me spout off about kefir,
but it seems the longer I drink it, the more benefits I experience from this
amazing beverage.  Several members of family have been been drinking kefir
off and on for 11 months now and these are the benefits we are enjoying:

(1) More regular bowel movements
(2) Less bloating & gas
(3) Ability to tolerate dairy foods.  I had not been able to enjoy ANY milk
products,  even including 24 hour goat milk yogurt, for 3 years prior to
drinking kefir.  I can now tolerate goat milk kefir, goat cheese, goat
yogurt and occasional ingestion of cow's milk cheeses & yogurt.  I'm lactose
intolerant & I have bonafide allergy to whey protein, so this is a miracle
to me!
(4) Kefir appears to have totally cured a very persistant case of tropical
jock itch my son picked up in the Philippines & suffered with for 3 years.
He drank one cup of kefir almost daily for only six weeks & it went away.
He's since moved out of state so he's no longer drinking kefir, but the itch
has not returned.  (I've heard of others people who's acne has improved from
kefir.)
(5)  Relief from chronic candidiasis.  I had it so bad before starting kefir
that my oral cavity was red with white patches and I had a burning rash on
my tush.  I also had constant bloating & lots of food intolerances.  Kefir
got rid of all & keeps it away.
(6)  Relief from multiple food intolerances/allergies.  I can now eat just
about anything I want (except gluten, of course) without paying dearly for
it.  I still must use moderation in my food choices, but I'm so much less
reactive than before.  I used to get heartburn & itchy rashes from
mushrooms, summer squash, almonds & many other foods.  I very rarely have
these symtpoms anymore.
(7) I've developed a higher tolerance for gluten accidents.  Before I began
kefir, the slightest little cross contamination would wipe me out.  But,
I've recently had 3 (or perhaps more) accidental gluten exposures in the
last month and haven't had any symptoms other than a little bloating & mild
belly ache a couple days after eating black barley.
(8) My youngest gluten sensitive son drinks kefir about once a week and has
experienced fewer sore throats & colds.
(9)  I guess the last benefit I should include about kefir is in my pocket
book.  I no longer buy expensive probiotic preparations anymore.  Kefir is
the cheapest & most effective source of probiotic bacteria I've found.  I
use real kefir grains which are self propagating, so my kefir costs only the
price of milk.  It's also very easy to make at home & requires no special
equipment other than a plastic strainer & a jar.

I'm not going to include websites about kefir.  Just do a web search &
you'll find TONS of information on kefir, including how to get real kefir
grains (some sources are FREE!)  Commercially prepared kefir is widely
available now in fancier grocery stores and many health food stores.  Kefir
can be made inexpensively at home using either commercially prepared kefir
starter or real kefir grains.  I prefer grains.  (I have enough grains right
now to share with the first three or four people who contact me.)

I have heard of one person who had a toxic reaction to drinking kefir, but
this individual has extreme multiple chemical sensitivies.  Most everyone
else tolerates it, especially if it's made with goat's milk.  If you have
substantial candidiasis or bacterial overgrowth, you may experience a
Herxheimer reaction as your intestinal flora battle with kefir micro
organisms for territory during the first week or two after you begin
drinking kefir.  But if this does happen, be assured that this is a sign
that kefir is doing what it's supposed to do for you.  For more information
about this, search the web for Herxhiemer reaction.

Valerie in Tacoma, WA

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *