Fermented Dairy Basics #1

There are many fermented dairy that can help you if you have intestinal lymphangiectasia, mainly:

(a) kefir
(b) buttermilk
(c) sour cream
(d) kefirized sour cream
(e) creme fraiche

Kefir is the simplest in terms of what you have to do to make it.

What you need is:
*whole organic milk
*1 tablespoon of kefir grains
*2 Mason jars with lids
*a plastic strainer
*a funnel
*a wooden spoon

What you do is:

put 15gr grains (1 tablespoon) in a Mason jar
put 450 ml whole organic milk (1 pint) in that same Mason jar
put the lid on without tightening
put in the cupboard for 22-24 hours, till curd and whey separate
put the funnel in the second Mason jar
set the strainer in top of it
pour the first Mason jar content into the strainer
stir with the wooden spoon
retrieve the grains from the strainer for your next batch
drink the kefir from the second Mason jar or store it in the fridge for later consumption

Variants:
50/50 coconut milk/organic milk (total 800ml) plus the juice of half lime

Bacteria in kefir:
A mix of homofermentative and heterofermentative bacteria (the former convert lactose into lactic acid without producing gas, the latter convert lactose into lactic acid and CO2 and ethanol aka alcohol), and yeasts.
Main bacteria:
Lactobacillus acidophilus (like in creme fraiche and acidophilus milk)
Lactobacillus bulgaricus (like in yogurt)
Lactobacillus spp
Streptococcus lactis var diacetylactis (like in buttermilk and sour cream)
Leuconostoc cremoris
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Sacchoromyces cerevisiae (like in beer)
Acetobacter aceti (like in vinegar).
On top of that, kefir has a whole range of bacteria that only grow in kefir, such as Lactobacillus kefiri, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus kefirgranum, Lactobacillus parakefir, and Candida kefir.

Tastes like:
acidic (lactic acid), sour (ethanol) and frizzy (CO2).

Uses:
anti-hearburn (it's like taking milk, with alcaselzer and bicarbonate... it does work wonders!), anti-constipation (young kefir), anti-diarrhea (old kefir), immune boosting (because of the probiotics), anti-UTI and anti vaginal infections (does change intestinal pH!).

Cautions:
when baking with it, beware of the fact that baking powder, baking soda, cremor tartar doses need to be adjusted because of kefir's pH or else the batter either won't leaven or will become twice as big as expected.

I kid you not!

I went to McDonald and had a McRoyal Deluxe sandwich, together with 400 ml tea (a "medium" one), 150 ml kefir and 6 pills of soy lecithin.

Well guys, NO PROBLEM.

Of course my stools still have visible fat in them, and a lot. But, NO SYMPTOMS.

Coconut Kefir Recipe

I've also tried whole milk kefir. I like them both, but prefer the coconut version.

My way of doing it is:
*15 gr (1 tablespoon or 1/2 oz) kefir grains
*200 ml (0.8 cup) coconut milk
*200 ml (0.8 cup) whole milk
*50-100 ml (1.7 to 3.4 fl oz) coconut kefir from the previous batch
*5 gr (1 teaspoon) key lime juice

It is good and the grains keep on growing.

Experimenting Probiotics and Prebiotics on Myself #4

At the moment I am on:
FOSs: 7 grams/day
VSL#3: 1 envelope a day
Yomoplus: Bifidobacterium longum BB46, Bifidobacterium bifidum BB02, Bifidobacterium BBR8, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG
Saccharomyces boulardii (1 pill/day - 5 days)
In Forma (Continente): Bifidobacterium lactis BB12

I've tried both milk kefir and coconut milk kefir. They both tend to constipate me (hoooray!) meanwhile I can go out for dinner, and even have meat (I only tried the raw one).

Daring Ro' also had french fries at McDonald's without problems (small portion). Tonight I tried 15 grams (1/2 oz) fritos... we'll see how it goes. I'd say kefir has occupied my fridge and dislodged most food but hey so far it's all worth it!