Irritable Bowel Syndrome

[Jingthing]

...

But I don't think you can beat the live enzymes in the sprouted grains for overall health benefits.

Based on what? It sounds like there are many "true believers" about kefir vs. kimchi. I'd like to see some SCIENCE. That's all I am saying.

No this link doesn't really qualify but it's still interesting:

http://www.squidoo.com/Kimchi-Health-Benefits

Edited May 13, 2013 by Jingthing

[Tolley]

...

But I don't think you can beat the live enzymes in the sprouted grains for overall health benefits.

Based on what? It sounds like there are many "true believers" about kefir vs. kimchi. I'd like to see some SCIENCE. That's all I am saying.

No this link doesn't really qualify but it's still interesting:

http://www.squidoo.com/Kimchi-Health-Benefits

If by science you mean medically controlled studies you probably wont find that many as there is no money in it because you cant patent these products.

As I said you should try it yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

[Jingthing]

I am more interested in losing than gaining! Anyway, no biggie.

Perhaps a good time to share this article again. I think the info in this article may be massively life changing for many people:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/04/gut-microbiome-bacteria-weight-loss?page=1

Edited May 13, 2013 by Jingthing

[sucher]

Where can i buy Kefir in Phuket or Pattaya?

[Jingthing]

Where can i buy Kefir in Phuket or Pattaya?

You've come to the right place!

[robblok]

Where can i buy Kefir in Phuket or Pattaya?

Just give user tropo a message he will sort it out for you. You buy the grains and make your own.. i am doing it its quite easy.

[poanoi]

I got such a stomach pain from coffee so i had to give it up many years ago, i drink tea now, strawberry tea is nice

[Jingthing]

I got such a stomach pain from coffee so i had to give it up many years ago, i drink tea now, strawberry tea is nice

Coffee is known as one trigger for IBS. That doesn't of course mean you had IBS.

[tropo]

All Koreans must have the healthiest guts given that they eat kimchi for breakfast lunch and dinner.

If you read the article it mentions variety so kefir and kimchi together should be a potent gut healer.

Absolutely. There's no need to stop at one. I consume a fair bit of yogurt and sometimes kimchi too.

Kimchi is not really the kind of food that would be easy for non-Koreans to eat enough of to get the sort of benefit a small of glass of kefir can provide (as far as probiotics are concerned).

All Koreans must have the healthiest guts given that they eat kimchi for breakfast lunch and dinner.

If you read the article it mentions variety so kefir and kimchi together should be a potent gut healer.

Right but I doubt many Koreans do kefir but the majority of them do kimchi. Kimchi is very famous for these benefits. Not sure why it's seen as an attack on Kefir to mention Kimchi.

It's not. I mentioned kefir and YOU immediately came back with kimchi as though it was a competition.

I have no doubt that kimchi is a healthy food.

It's apple and oranges as far as I'm concerned. Does an orange make a good apple?

Edited May 13, 2013 by tropo

[tropo]

Since this topic is about IBS, I am not convinced that even going on a Kefir drip is going to help all people with IBS symptoms. I don't think there is ANYTHING that will help ALL people with IBS symptoms. But I approve of adding healthy bacteria rich foods to all diets and it wouldn't surprise me if it helps many people with IBS.

I reckon that kefir will help EVERYONE with IBS. It's certainly one of the easiest foods/supplements to try and very cheap. It's not going to do any harm either way.

I have had many reports of "cures" (or relief) for IBS over the last 2 years from dozens of people who have received my kefir... including myself. I use cure in parenthesis because IBS is not a well defined condition or disease. We've had long threads debating this not so long ago, so I don't want to go into it again right now.

Edited May 13, 2013 by tropo

[balo]

And where can you buy real kefir in Pattaya ?

[tropo]

And where can you buy real kefir in Pattaya ?

You can buy prepared kefir ready to drink at Friendship supermarket. The kefir grains aren't sold anywhere. You have to find someone who has them or order online.

[Jingthing]

I've never heard of any medical therapy that helps everyone. I ain't anti-Kefir. Just skeptical of people going overboard in enthusiasm about anything.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Jingthing

[tropo]

I've never heard of any medical therapy that helps everyone. I ain't anti-Kefir. Just skeptical of people going overboard in enthusiasm about anything.

I know you're skeptical and that's fine by me. Kefir is a miracle of nature. The results are unbelievable, which tends to make skeptical people even more skeptical. It's the old "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is" feeling here.

I must reiterate that you won't find financed studies on kefir because it is not marketed and there's no profit to be made. Who's going to spend a lot of money researching something which won't yield profits. There's a few people around the world making peanuts selling grains by mail order, and that's about it.

This is one example of the best things in life being free.

All you need is to procure a teaspoon of live kefir grains and you're set for life. I got a teaspoon full from another forum member 2 years ago which came from Singapore, which came from Germany... but originated in the Caucasus Mountain region as all kefir grains do. That teaspoon has probably turned into 100's of kilos of kefir grains all over Thailand. Some even went to China and Africa.

Just the fact that you can turn milk left at 30 C for 24 - 48 hours (or more) into a healthful drink would seem like a miracle... and then you can even leave the finished product out in that heat for another day or two.

They did an interesting test. They dropped E.Coli bacteria into a batch of brewing kefir... after 24 hours there was no trace of it. You could drop a turd into a batch and drink it later without any negative consequences.

Edited May 13, 2013 by tropo

[Jingthing]

Good info tropo. Also good imagery.

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

Ah ha! I have reached the point of insight!

I always thought that IBS was an abbreviation for Irritable Bas.ard Syndrome!

[Tolley]

I've never heard of any medical therapy that helps everyone. I ain't anti-Kefir. Just skeptical of people going overboard in enthusiasm about anything.

I know you're skeptical and that's fine by me. Kefir is a miracle of nature. The results are unbelievable, which tends to make skeptical people even more skeptical. It's the old "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is" feeling here.

I must reiterate that you won't find financed studies on kefir because it is not marketed and there's no profit to be made. Who's going to spend a lot of money researching something which won't yield profits. There's a few people around the world making peanuts selling grains by mail order, and that's about it.

This is one example of the best things in life being free.

All you need is to procure a teaspoon of live kefir grains and you're set for life. I got a teaspoon full from another forum member 2 years ago which came from Singapore, which came from Germany... but originated in the Caucasus Mountain region as all kefir grains do. That teaspoon has probably turned into 100's of kilos of kefir grains all over Thailand. Some even went to China and Africa.

Just the fact that you can turn milk left at 30 C for 24 - 48 hours (or more) into a healthful drink would seem like a miracle... and then you can even leave the finished product out in that heat for another day or two.

They did an interesting test. They dropped E.Coli bacteria into a batch of brewing kefir... after 24 hours there was no trace of it. You could drop a turd into a batch and drink it later without any negative consequences.

I too reckon for sure it wil help anybody with any sort of digestive order.

If you cant get kefir you can use other grains and follow the sprouting and fermentation phase just google rejuvelac for details.

[balo]

And where can you buy real kefir in Pattaya ?

You can buy prepared kefir ready to drink at Friendship supermarket. The kefir grains aren't sold anywhere. You have to find someone who has them or order online.

OK so I need to buy kefir grains, where in Thailand can I buy it ? Do you have any links, thanks.

[Naam]

They did an interesting test. They dropped E.Coli bacteria into a batch
of brewing kefir... after 24 hours there was no trace of it. You could
drop a turd into a batch and drink it later without any negative
consequences.

and that's why Little Red Riding Hood, her belly filled with kefir,

was not afraid of the big bad wolf

[poanoi]

There is a time limit how log bacteria can survive without host, so not sure it actually tells anything

[NeverSure]

I like the idea of trying the kefir, but please let me tell you my story.

I had IBS for 2 or 3 years about 10 years ago. It is a miserable thing. I had all kinds of tests with specialists and all they could come up with was IBS. They said there was no cure. They did the colon thing where they filled me up with that junk and did x-rays. They took stool samples to the lab. Nothing, nothing.

Then one day I got pneumonia. It tested as bacterial, and I got a round of antibiotics. No help for the pneumonia so I got a different antibiotic. Still no help for the pneumonia and I got yet another med which I think was Cipro.

The pneumonia cleared right up and so did the IBS. No joke. Within a couple of days I've never had another spell with IBS.

Do you recall the breakthrough discovery not that long ago that ulcers were caused by bacteria? Forever, it was blamed on stress. People were told to quit stressful jobs, move to a better climate... Then one time a doctor was treating something else with an antibiotic and it cured his patient's ulcer as a byproduct. He started trying on ulcer patients and they got well. There was a bacteria that could burrow to the point of not shedding and showing in a lab sample, and that most antibiotics wouldn't get. Now they cure ulcers with an antibiotic.

So I absolutely would not rule out some burrowing bacteria and I would get several antibiotics and take them until I was convinced it didn't work, or until it worked. This is one time I wouldn't listen to a doctor who is, after all, "practicing" medicine.

When I told my own doctor that my IBS had been cured, he didn't believe the Cipro (I think) was the reason. I really didn't care what he thought if he didn't want to hear about it.

Something is wrong. It has to be something. Yes, rule out allergies and intolerances and all else, and maybe the antibiotic effect of the kefir would do it, but I wouldn't stop trying to kill off any possible bug until I knew it wouldn't happen. Something is doing it and if it isn't a food intolerance, then guess what?

I'm no doctor so this is just my story, but IBS is so miserable and debilitating that I would fight like crazy to get rid of it. It isn't normal and there's a cause.

[Mobi]

It seems that Kefir is usually made with cow's milk, so as I am lactose intolerant, will the benefits outweigh the lactose downside?

(I am assuming the kefir sold in Friendship is made with cow's milk)

[Sheryl]

If you are lactose intolerant, anything made with cow's milk will worsen matters.

Strongly advise against self treating with multiple antibiotics, it is much more likely to worsen matters than improve them. in fact there are some serious types of chronic bowel disease specifically caused by certain antibiotics...and of course it will wipe out the normal gut flora.

Not unusual to encounter people who started with simple diarrhea, over-treated with antibiotics and progressed to chronic problems as a result. Unfortunately Thai doctors are very prone to prescribing antibiotics for diarrhea without first identifying the causative agent.

As previously mentioned, OP should have a good medical work-up with a specialist, including stool cultures (not just tests for ova & parasites) if he has not already.

[NeverSure]

It seems that Kefir is usually made with cow's milk, so as I am lactose intolerant, will the benefits outweigh the lactose downside?

(I am assuming the kefir sold in Friendship is made with cow's milk)

The kefir somehow buffers against that. You can also make it with goat milk.

You might like to read This

[robblok]

I am no expert about kefir, but as I understood the kefir grains eat / use the lactose so you get left with protein and fat. That was at least what i thought.

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/reducing-lactose-content-kefir

below it is explained better as i can.

[NeverSure]

If you are lactose intolerant, anything made with cow's milk will worsen matters.

Strongly advise against self treating with multiple antibiotics, it is much more likely to worsen matters than improve them. in fact there are some serious types of chronic bowel disease specifically caused by certain antibiotics...and of course it will wipe out the normal gut flora.

Not unusual to encounter people who started with simple diarrhea, over-treated with antibiotics and progressed to chronic problems as a result. Unfortunately Thai doctors are very prone to prescribing antibiotics for diarrhea without first identifying the causative agent.

As previously mentioned, OP should have a good medical work-up with a specialist, including stool cultures (not just tests for ova & parasites) if he has not already.

Kefir made with cows milk is said to not bother lactose intolerant people "as much" as milk. Somehow kefir buffers that. Link

I wouldn't use any antibiotic without a doctor, and I would of course have every available test done. But my IBS didn't show up as bacteria in a lab culture. It wasn't shedding live bugs so they must have been burrowing like ulcer bacteria do. Yet after all of the specialists with all of their tests labeled it IBS and said there was no cure, an antibiotic completely and immediately cured it. I really think, but I'm not sure, that it was Cipro.

If I had IBS again, knowing how debilitating it is, I wouldn't give up without a fight. Geez, I almost didn't dare go anywhere for fear I have a bout of dire-rear. I bought a van that had a porta-potty in it. It's a seriously bad lifestyle.

[Mobi]

It seems that Kefir is usually made with cow's milk, so as I am lactose intolerant, will the benefits outweigh the lactose downside?

(I am assuming the kefir sold in Friendship is made with cow's milk)

The kefir somehow buffers against that. You can also make it with goat milk.

You might like to read This

Thanks, I read it already.

I just wanted to try a 'ready made' kefir first to see if worked before I started up a production line.

The trouble with Thailand is that you can't get things like unsweetened soya milk, (I'm diabetic) or yoghurt made from soya - all available in the west, so I doubt I could find goat's milk to ferment the kefir either.

I will have a look at the product sold in Friendship but I bet its made from cow's milk. I just wondered, like Robblok, if the kefir 'removed' the lactose...

[NeverSure]

I don't think that kefir grains are a grain like wheat, but are a culture that grows from yeast and bacteria.

I would be seriously interested to know if a person could make it from a starter of those organisms and keep it going, the way you would sourdough. I always keep a sourdough starter going and I've had it for years and years. I just use a small amount of it to inoculate a new batch of flour and water. I wonder if kefir would just keep growing if fed fresh food in the form of milk.

I'm not saying either way, but I wonder.

[NeverSure]

It seems that Kefir is usually made with cow's milk, so as I am lactose intolerant, will the benefits outweigh the lactose downside?

(I am assuming the kefir sold in Friendship is made with cow's milk)

The kefir somehow buffers against that. You can also make it with goat milk.

You might like to read This

Thanks, I read it already.

I just wanted to try a 'ready made' kefir first to see if worked before I started up a production line.

The trouble with Thailand is that you can't get things like unsweetened soya milk, (I'm diabetic) or yoghurt made from soya - all available in the west, so I doubt I could find goat's milk to ferment the kefir either.

I will have a look at the product sold in Friendship but I bet its made from cow's milk. I just wondered, like Robblok, if the kefir 'removed' the lactose...

You could go to the farming forum here and ask. Some of the members have goats IIRC, and they might know where to get milk.

[robblok]

It seems that Kefir is usually made with cow's milk, so as I am lactose intolerant, will the benefits outweigh the lactose downside?

(I am assuming the kefir sold in Friendship is made with cow's milk)

The kefir somehow buffers against that. You can also make it with goat milk.

You might like to read This

Thanks, I read it already.

I just wanted to try a 'ready made' kefir first to see if worked before I started up a production line.

The trouble with Thailand is that you can't get things like unsweetened soya milk, (I'm diabetic) or yoghurt made from soya - all available in the west, so I doubt I could find goat's milk to ferment the kefir either.

I will have a look at the product sold in Friendship but I bet its made from cow's milk. I just wondered, like Robblok, if the kefir 'removed' the lactose...

It does but if you buy ready made you can't decide how long to let it "brew" I do know if i let it brew longer more lactose is removed and it has a different taste.

But I can understand your problems about setting up a production line.. but once you get used to it its really not that much work. At first i thought it was but now.. Once a brew is done i have it in a container and separated (and dishes done) in 10 minutes. At first it goes a bit slower of course.