If you’re looking for
a good probiotic supplement go for the best, Kefir. Many
manufacturers of probiotics claim that their pills contain 15 billion bacteria at the
time of processing. And that it would take tubs of yogurt or
gallons of kefir to receive the same amount of friendly bacteria.
First
of all, lets not forget that these companies acquire their
products directly from these whole food fermented-milk
products. As I mentioned before, they pull nutrients
out of whole foods and turn around and sell them right back to you.
So
for a fraction of the cost, you can have a more superior
product. I paid only a few dollars for my kefir grains, and if
you take
care of them properly they will multiply and last forever!
Numbers
don’t lie
- One capsule of
man-made probiotics normally contains about 15 billion
bacteria.
- One small bowl of
fresh yogurt (500 ml), contains about 1.5 trillion
beneficial organisms. – 100 times
more than a 15 billion capsule.
- And one small bowl of
fresh kefir (500 ml), contains as many as
5 trillion
beneficial organisms. Almost 400
times more than a capsule.
Kefir and
other fermented milk products contain buffering agents that
nourish and protect the lactobacillus from bile acids in the
stomach. This way they can make it into the intestines where they
produce Vit. B-12 and help to
breakdown and package food for excretion. Milk products are such
strong buffering agents that even poison control centers recommend
drinking milk when confronted with a poison situation.
Bacteria in
pill form are in a dormant
cycle and the bacteria in kefir and yogurt are alive and well,
making them much more fit to adapt to sudden changes in environment as
they enter the body.
These
fermented milk products are considered functional foods because
they function as health promoting foods. Probiotic pill
supplements only offer one
thing, bacteria. Fermented Milk offers much more; minerals, vitamins, amino acids,
L-carnitine, good fats, antimicrobial agents and more.
Scientist
tested the kefir in the Caucasus Mountains for any type of
harmful bacteria. But much to their surprise, they found
nothing. Deep in the mountains where sanitary conditions are much
worse than ours, the scientist refused to believe there was no harmful
bacteria to be found. Creating a possible scenario that a piece
of animal fecal matter would fall into the milk, they injected the E.
Coli bacteria into the kefir. Within 24 hours the E. Coli was
destroyed by Kefir’s benificial bacteria. Kefir has also
demonstrated the ability to kill H. pylori infections when bacteria
alone could not. In addition, the complex microflora of kefir has
also shown a keen ability to stimulate our immune system, ward off
infections from salmonella, and in some cases even fight cancer.
Fermented
foods such as kefir, yogurt, and sauerkraut are once again
superior to pills in a bottle.