How To Use Water Kefir Grains To Heal Your Gut
Did you catch my Facebook Live where I ate 10-year old RAW cabbage and lived to tell about it? We talked about the importance of fermented and cultured foods, getting over the fear of both making and eating them! Make sure to check it out here!
What are Water Kefir Grains, and How Do You Use Them?
In this article:
- How to Use Water Kefir Grains
- Why You Don’t Need Sugar To Make Water Kefir
- Masterclass to Rehabilitate Your Gut Health
How to Use Water Kefir Grains
Making water kefir is one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to get tons of live probiotics to your gut. Water kefir “grains” are actually little cultures of good bacteria that eat prebiotic sugars, creating live probiotics and enzymes that are essential for gut health. (You use them over and over. Generally, you don’t have to buy more but I keep giving them away so, I bought a new package. And, wow are these good.)
The directions on water kefir tell you to:
- Make a sugar water solution.
- Add the grain.
- Let it sit for a few days while the fermentation process supposedly eats up all the sugar.
This will leave you with the resulting probiotics and enzymes. That’s the marketing premise behind store-bought kombucha, by the way. But if the probiotic organisms consume all the sugars, why does it taste so sweet?
Why You Don’t Need Sugar To Make Water Kefir
I don’t EVER use sugar to make my water kefir grow, despite what the directions say. First, I use the BEST SOURCE for grains, and second, I use organic coconut water. The coconut water provides natural prebiotic “sugars” to feed the culture.
Need proof? Check this out!
In about a week, these kefir grains formed a MOTHER on top. I’ve never seen any store-bought grains do this. (They’ll still ferment stuff even without a mother, but this is so cool!)
The Mother | Scoby
The mother, called in some applications, a “scoby,” is a colony of live probiotic organisms that form into a mass, actively making more kefir grain babies and clear evidence that culturing is going well.
How to Make Water Kefir Without Sugar
I pour a new box of organic coconut liquid into the jar, and a day later, I pour the liquid OUT into my blender to make me and my son a Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie, leaving the grains and this beautiful jelly-fish-looking large, flat “mother” (almost as big as the diameter of the jar) in. Then I add another box of coconut liquid for the next day.
Best Water Kefir Grains
The coconut liquid is so fermented, in just one day, that it’s fizzy like soda and wonderfully tart when I pour it out! Best grains ever!
Here’s the Amazon link again, if you want to get some.
Masterclass to Rehabilitate Your Gut Health
And if you don’t know WHY you want to culture foods to rehabilitate your gut health, you really need to join us for my FREE VIDEO MASTERCLASS going on right now. You’ll also learn about:
- What foods fight inflammation and which cause it
- Foods that rehab your gut
- How to beat your food addictions fast
- My 5 best tips to eat super healthy–super cheap!
- How to make 12 simple shifts in a year, for the healthiest year of your life
How do you like your kefir? Share your tips with us in the comments section below!
Up Next: What Does ORGANIC Mean? (Should I Pay More For It–Or Not?)
Join the FREE Masterclass now while it’s still available!
Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on March 28, 2017, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
Posted in: 12 Steps To Whole Food, Health Concerns, Immunity
41 thoughts on “How To Use Water Kefir Grains To Heal Your Gut”
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I’m a little confused about the directions as I have never made water kefir before. Am I right in assuming the one adds the kefir grains (how much?????) to the carton of coconut water? Put a lid on the jar and leave on the counter for about a week. By this time the "mother" forms on the top. I can then pour the liquid off to make a smoothie, leaving the mother and grains in the jar. Now I add another carton of coconut water to feed the mother and grains for 24 hours, then pour off liquid, and keep repeating the process.?
Is this procedure correct OR am I missing something?
Thank you for your time.
It is very easy actually. I ordered my water kefir grains off amazon from a company called florida sun. 1/4 cup of grains per each quart jar. Add 1/4 cup dissolved sugar water to that and then fill the remaining with more water until its full. Cover loosely to let the grains breath and keep in a warm dark spot for 2-3 days. Then take another empty jar and fill it 1/4 full with your choice of juice, pour off the fermented water kefir liquid you started with into the juice and cover tightly, put in a warm dark place for 24-48 hours. Burp the jars regularly to release pressure. This is called the second ferment. You can find videos online. Then start the whole thing again adding the dissolved sugar to the jar with the grains, the grains will eventually multiply as well if you take good care of them. The second ferment should be fizzy and even though it tastes sweet the kefir water eats all the sugar.