Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Undeniable Benefits of Water Kefir
- Critical Differences Between Milk Kefir and Water Kefir
- Powdered Starter vs Live Kefir Grains
- Beneficial Microbes in Water Kefir
- Beneficial microbes in Milk Kefir
- Most Beneficial Water Kefir Made with Fresh Coconut Water
- Other Benefits of Milk Kefir Compared with Water Kefir
- References
Comparison of the diversity and number of probiotic strains in dairy kefir versus water kefir. This is a key measure of how beneficial these fermented foods are to the gut microbiome.
My recent article comparing the probiotic potency and overall health benefits of kefir versus yogurt spawned a lot of emails to my inbox with questions about how water kefir fits into the mix.
After a bit of reflection on the subject, I came to the conclusion that the topic really deserved its own blog post, so here we go!
Which is really better, water kefir or milk kefir? Or, are the benefits between the two basically the same?
The truth is that water kefir is really not a good substitute for milk kefir even if you have a milk allergy.
Milk kefir, made with either dairy milk or coconut milk, far surpasses water kefir in probiotic potency. The benefits of milk based kefir exceed those of water kefir no matter if the water kefir is cultured with fruit juice, vegetable juice, coconut water, or filtered water and a whole sweetener.
Before you go throwing away your water kefir grains, however, let’s be clear on the benefits of water kefir which makes a fantastic base for homemade soda among other culinary uses.
Undeniable Benefits of Water Kefir
Water kefir, just like milk kefir, utilizes a beneficial culture of microbes that consume the simple sugars in the juice, coconut water or sugar water base to create a plethora of probiotics. The water kefir culture’s use of the sugar means that there isn’t much sugar left in the final product. This is good news for those with Metabolic Syndrome in that water kefir doesn’t add to problems with blood sugar fluctuations or feed those sugar cravings.
In addition, the fermentation process releases additional vitamins and minerals. Best of all, there aren’t any additives, chemicals or artificial anything in a kefir soda made with properly fermented water kefir. It even turns out a bit bubbly just like conventional sodas and can be bottled to add further effervescence. Water kefir can also be used as a base for dairy-free smoothies, popsicles, and homemade jello.
Water kefir can be added to non-dairy milks like almond milk too. Use 1/4 cup water kefir to 2-3 cups non-dairy milk, mix and serve. Extra water kefir grains may be used as starter culture for fermenting vegetables.
While the benefits of water kefir are clear and well established, this fermented beverage doesn’t hold a candle to milk kefir made with either dairy milk or coconut milk.
Critical Differences Between Milk Kefir and Water Kefir
According to Donna Schwenk, author of Cultured Food for Life, water kefir is her least favorite fermented drink. She says that she has never experienced the same health benefits from water kefir that she did from homemade milk kefir.
Why?
The most likely reason is that there are only 10-15 strains of good bacteria and good yeasts in water kefir made with live grains. This compares with the 30 to 50 in homemade milk kefir made with live grains. This video which shows the difference between dairy kefir grains and water kefir grains based on the live cultures that I use in my kitchen.
Powdered Starter vs Live Kefir Grains
Milk kefir grains and water kefir grains are not interchangeable which is why I always recommend obtaining them from reputable sources I list in my healthy shopping guide. I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received over the years from folks trying to ferment milk into kefir with water kefir grains they got from a friend (or vice versa) only to find themselves frustrated with repeated failure or inconsistent results.
What about milk kefir made with a one-time use powder? Be aware that, like water kefir, this is also not as beneficial as milk kefir made with live grains.
There are only 10-15 beneficial microbial strains in milk kefir made with powder compared with kefir made with live grains, not to mention it is more expensive too! Use live grains for making milk kefir – they are cheaper and the result is far healthier!
Let’s compare milk kefir vs water kefir strain by strain. See the lists below.
Beneficial Microbes in Water Kefir
- Lactobacillus brevis
- Lactobacillus casei
- Lactobacillus hilgardii
- Lactobacillus hordei
- Lactobacillus nagelii
- Leuconostoc citreum
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides
- Acetobacter fabarum
- Acetobacter orientalis
- Streptococcus lactis
- Hanseniaospora valbyensis (yeast)
- Lachancea fermentati (yeast)
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast)
- Zygotorulaspora florentina (yeast)
Beneficial microbes in Milk Kefir
Compare the number of probiotics in water kefir above to the more than double the strains in milk-based kefir made with live grains listed below.
In recent years, some sources have measured the number of strains even higher at 50-70 species!
- Bifidobacterium breve
- Bifidobacterium lactis
- Bifidobacterium bifidum
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Lactobacillus brevis
- Lactobacillus casei
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis
- Lactobacillus helveticus
- Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens
- Lactobacillus kefiri
- Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus
- Lactobacillus sake
- Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
- Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
- Lactococcus lactis
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides
- Pseudomonas
- Pseudomonas fluorescens
- Pseudomonas putida
- Streptococcus thermophilus
- Candida humilis (yeast)
- Kazachstania unispora (yeast)
- Kazachstania exigua (yeast)
- Kluyveromyces siamensis (yeast)
- Kluyveromyces lactis (yeast)
- Kluyveromyces marxianus (yeast)
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast)
- Saccharomyces martiniae (yeast)
- Saccharomyces unisporus (yeast)
The only benefit probiotically of water kefir compared with milk kefir is the absence of Streptococcus thermophilus.
Jordin Rubin, author of Restoring Your Digestive Health warns about this particular probiotic strain as studies have shown that people who suffer from autoimmune diseases run the risk of aggravating the symptoms of their disease if they consume more than two cups of yogurt or kefir per day that contains Streptococcus thermophilus.
Most Beneficial Water Kefir Made with Fresh Coconut Water
If you choose to make water kefir, note that making it with fresh coconut water is likely the best scenario according to Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet given that you will obtain a kefir that is rich in potassium and enzymes and contains sulphurated proteins that assist the body in cleansing.
Note that many sources claim that coconut water contains monolaurin, which is anti-fungal, however, this is not true according to my research. Monolaurin is in the fat of the coconut, not coconut water.
Other Benefits of Milk Kefir Compared with Water Kefir
Besides a superior probiotic boost, milk kefir also contains calcium and magnesium in high amounts which are absent in water kefir.
And, there are potential problems when brewing water kefir to make sure to watch out for. If you suffer from candida issues or diabetes, note that unless you are extremely careful to ferment the water kefir properly, there can be too much sugar remaining which could actually harm you rather than help. Properly brewed water kefir really should taste only mildly sweet. It is a slightly sweet but mostly sour flavor that does take a bit of getting used to at first.
If you want sweeter water kefir, brew for the full length of time until the sweetness is gone and then mix with plain juice. Use as little juice as you can get away with to attain the level of sweetness desired.
Note also that it is best to refrain from using 100% juice when making water kefir as you will end up with an alcoholic beverage! For more on making water kefir sodas with juice or sugar-sweetened water, check out this article and my how-to video on the subject.
So, what to choose? Water kefir or milk kefir?
The good news is that you don’t have to … you can make both even if you have a dairy allergy!
References
(1) Microbiological study of lactic acid bacteria in kefir grains
(2) Distinct actions of the fermented beverage kefir on host behavior, immunity and microbiome
(3) What is Bifidobacterium? How to get it?
(4) Modern perspectives on the health benefits of kefir in next generation sequencing era
More Information
How to Make Dairy Kefir (recipe plus video how-to)
How to Make Kefir from Coconut Milk (recipe plus video how-to)
I recently found out that I am lactose intolerant. We thought it as IBS but is not. Will this type of yougurt help me? Love yougurt but sets my stomach into a mess. I am frustrated as my food choices are very limited.
Thank you
Sandi
First, Kefir is not yogurt. Yes, it should be fine, because the lactose is eaten up. This is a very late reply..hopefully you have found your answer already 🙂
You have to leave the milk to fermet for a long time to make sure that there is no lactose left. The bacteria dn yeast of milk kefir feed themselves with lactose. A different issue is besides being lactose intolerant you also have an allergy to casein (the main protein of milk) then you cannot take keffir. But if you are only lactose intolerant kefir should help you.
Hi Sandi there is a product called herbal fiber blend made by aim which is really good. It conditions the bowel whilst helping to clear parasites. I also make water and milk keffir. I add coconut milk to my milk keffir. I don’t have any grains or dairy cut out all sugar honey and sweet fruits including dates. My tummy is now happy. Feel free to email me. Blessings Suizy
Kefir is a fermented milk product that originated centuries ago in the Caucasus mountains, and is now enjoyed by many different cultures worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia. It can be made from the milk of any ruminant animal, such as a cow, goat, or sheep. It is slightly sour and carbonated due to the fermentation activity of the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that make up the “grains” used to culture the milk (not actual grains, but a grain-like matrix of proteins, lipids, and sugars that feed the microbes.with my best wishes,melissa
Kefir is proven to be soo good for health and I have met several cases proving that ( i am phsycian myself !), especially diabetes 2 cases!
But there seems to be a potentially problematic aspect.
If the theory ( the subject is still very controversial amidst the medical society !) that too much saturated fat is risky for your health, how then if you, besides, eggs, meat, milk and other sources, drink lots of milk kefir?
I think we need to ask ourselves that and be watch out !
Galactose is a byproduct of the break down of lactose in the gut. Chronic exposure of mice, rats, and Drosophila flies to galactose caused them and their cells to age (Journal of Neuroscience Research, 2006;84(3):647-654). The cells had signs of aging: shorter telomeres and DNA damage. Whole milk, skim milk and other non-fermented milk products contain galactose. Fermenting milk breaks down galactose, so fermented dairy foods such as yogurt and cheese do not contain galactose and therefore appear to be safe. Another recent study from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austra shows that higher intake of high-fat dairy products lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by 23 percent in the highest consuming 20 percent of participants (eight portions per day) compared to the lowest consuming 20 percent (one portion per day). People who consumed 30ml of cream per day lowered their type 2 diabetes risk by 15 percent compared to those who consumed 0.3 ml per day. Drinking 180ml of high-fat fermented milk also reduced type 2 diabetes risk by 20 percent compared to not drinking any. I drink a 50/50 mix of whole milk kefir and skim kefir to reduce the caloric content (getting fat on anything is bad) but otherwise, it is weird that full fat milk kefir might be one of the healthiest things one can drink especially for type 2 like myself.
Why is it that sometimes I get zippy effervescent milk kefir and other times I don’t? I was thinking maybe sometimes I have more space at tye too of my jar. I dont use mason, but just a large glass jar, and coffee filter secured by rubber band.
This was a very interesting read! I’ve been making water kefir for several months now. I always add a little bit of 100% juice after it is brewed. Can you explain how this leads to an alcoholic beverage? What would you suggest flavoring your water kefir with to avoid alcohol? I breastfeed so drinking alcohol makes me nervous. Thanks!
I think she means if you do the first fermentation in 100% juice. I read an article/blog recently (sorry, don’t have the link but it came up when I searched for alcohol content of water kefir) in which they said the typical alcohol content of water kefir (I think it was the second ferment where I would put maybe 2-3T of lemon juice in a qt of first ferment) is under .67 and it’s only that high if it’s a fizzy/bubbly as a can of Coke. Mine has never been that high. I am also pregnant and drink it nearly daily, as does my toddler. I don’t think it’s got enough to hurt anything, especially if it’s not especially fizzy. Running the grains through straight juice is supposed to be really hard on the grains, so I have never done them that way anyway.
You can add a fruit T bag to the second ferment to flavour instead of juice this lowers the risk of any alcohol content. Ginger and Lemon t bags are my favourite you can add fresh ginger to the second ferment or two t bags if you prefer a stronger ginger taste, when you pour a glass to drink you can squeeze fresh lemon to suit your pallet. Or stir in honey, but don’t put this in when fermenting as it will kill your water grains. Hope this helps.
I realize this is an old post, but I noticed several other posts with this question without seeing an answer.
My answer is as follows: I believe that it depends on how much of the ‘100% fruit juice’ you add to your ferment as the more sugar you add I believe the more alcohol is produced.
Hi Sarah,
When making coconut milk kefir, do you have to use fresh,canned or can you use carton coconut milk such as So Delicious?
I’m allergic to dairy and coconut. Can I make kefir out of homemade nut milks?
How long can RAW milk kefir be kept in the fridge? I made some a month ago and it smells sour but not off
Oh wow … it really does last a long time. It keeps getting stronger in flavor, but doesn’t actually go off for many many weeks.
Hey Sarah,
We are making baby formula out of pastuerized milk. How long should the milk be cultured with kefir grains, 12 or 24 hours, to make it good for the baby formula??? Any other details about making the kefir milk that we should follow?
Thanks so much for your help.
Libby
Oh, also how long does a bottle of formula make with pasturized/kefir milk last once it has been taken out of the fridge?
Thanks again!
24 hours would be best.
There are two issues there. One is how long does milk keffir last as a drink? And there I agree with Sarah that it last very very very long. The other issue is how long does the drink have the boom of probiotics alive and ready. That is, how long does the probiotics last in the drink? I ignore the answer. However, Dr. David Servan-Schreiber (Anticancer) says that home-made yogurts last very long, but if you really want to benefit from the probiotics, yogurts should be taken before 10 days. This does not apply to industrial made yogurt, that last shorter. I assume that in the case of keffir, being richer in probiotics than yougurt, the probiotics last longer than that. This seems to be confirmed by the fact that the drink continues fermenting and geting more sour in the fridge for a longer than that. Nevertheless, in my house, we follow the rule of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber for yogurts and we always drink it before ten days..
Can you get as much benefit from the envelope starter packets for kefir as you can from the kefir grains?
This is covered in the post … the answer is no. The starter packets are not as potent probiotically.
If you have a kombucha culture growing very close to a kefir culture, could they interfere with each other? I found that my kefir grains die off over time but the kombucha seems to be doing ok. Thanks.
I’ve always heard to keep a min of 3′ between different culturing/fermenting things.
The main problem of contamination between kombucha and water keffir are the instrumens you use for making them. Never use the same instruments. So buy double sets and mark them to make sure that you never use them with wrong culture. Having them both in the same room is not a problem as long as you keep a good hygene in the room.