Raw Milk Kefir Benefits: The Real Superfood

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Probiotics are an essential component of holistic healing and homemade milk kefir (herein referred to as simply kefir), made from raw milk, is the best way to obtain them. Wondering about the incredible raw milk kefir benefits? We’ll dive into the basics and beyond. It is a fermented probiotic drink that is renowned for its healthful properties. It is a thick and slightly effervescent drink with a sour taste and creamy texture – like an unflavored yogurt drink. Kefir itself goes all the way back to biblical times and the people of the Back Sea regions and the Caucasus Mountains. In 1907 it was the conclusion of the Russian immunologist Dr. Ilya Ilyich Metchnikoff in his publication The Prolongation of Life that Kefir products, a dietary staple in that region, were a key to these people’s longevity, with one of the highest proportions of centenarians in the world, and health [14].

The process of turning raw animal milk into raw milk kefir benefits us in multiple ways. This simple-to-do process, which can be completed from the comfort of one’s own home, can achieve the following three-fold benefits. First, it is an excellent way to preserve the dairy to ensure it can be consumed before it spoils. Secondly, kefir produces a high-quality, advantageous probiotic for the human gut, demonstrably influencing gut microbiota composition in healthy individuals by increasing beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acid production [1, 2]. It is even considered a more powerful probiotic than yogurt, containing a wider array of bacteria and yeast strains [3]. And the final advantage is that the process of making it consumes upwards of 90% of the milk’s lactose or milk sugars. This significant reduction in lactose makes kefir generally well-tolerated by individuals with lactose maldigestion, allowing many who are lactose intolerant to consume it without adverse side effects [4, 5]. Raw milk itself contains digestive enzymes that aid in the digestion of lactose, and when kefir fermentation drastically reduces the lactose content, these enzymes can more than compensate for the remaining milk sugars. This product is so nutrient-dense it is considered a superfood, providing a rich source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and various bioactive compounds [3]. This makes it an excellent addition to aid in gut health and digestion [4].

Kefir is made from combining milk and kefir grains and the application of time to complete the fermentation process. These grains are living organisms of probiotics and yeasts trapped in a complex matrix of polysaccharides and proteins [15] that look like milk-soaked pieces of cauliflower. Making this drink from raw milk takes this probiotic powerhouse to the next level. Raw milk contains natural enzymes and beneficial bacteria which work in harmony with the grains to create a more nutrient-dense and productive fermentation process. The result, an even greater raw milk kefir benefits to digestion, immune support, and overall gut health [15, 16]. Let’s look at the nutritional benefits of this fortified fermented fortress of nutrition. Raw milk kefir benefits us in in the production of an especially nutrient rich food because it is made from one of the most nutrient-dense whole foods known to humans – raw milk. Known to contain fat-soluble vitamins such as D, A, E, and K, it also contains vital nutrients such as vitamin C, B12, B6 and B2 [15, 16]. There are abundant essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sodium that are found in this beverage which support the body’s immune system, cell function, metabolism and more [15, 16] (see also How Holistic Healing Works).

The live probiotics and prebiotics of raw milk kefir benefits the repopulation of the gut microbiome with the following beneficial probiotic bacterial strains. These strains have been shown to survive digestion and colonize the intestines [17]:

Lactobacillus strands of acidophillus, brevis, delbreuckii, fermentum, kefiri, kefirgranum, kefiranofaciens, and parakenfiri.
Lactococcus strands of lactis cremoris, and lactic biovar diacetylactis.
Leunostoc mesenteroids strands of cremoris and mesenteroids.
Streptococcus thermophilus.

Furthermore, studies suggest that raw milk kefir benefits extend to offers a multitude of additional health benefits. Research indicates its potential to lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, particularly in individuals with dyslipidemia [6]. Kefir also contains natural anti-inflammatory compounds that may help modulate inflammatory responses and improve gut permeability [7, 8]. Pre-clinical and animal studies have explored kefir’s potential to reduce asthma and allergy symptoms [9, 10] and demonstrate anti-cancer properties, including inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in various cancer cell lines, though more human clinical trials are needed to fully understand these effects [11, 12, 13].

From its ancient origins to today, milk kefir is a superfood that has enriched the health of humanity. Currently, many health-conscious consumers use the grains to easily produce their own product at home. The commercially prepared products on the market today that is mostly made from direct-set powdered cultures and pasteurized milk. Both products contain considerably fewer pre & probiotic and beneficial yeast strains than do the power duo of kefir grains and raw milk, but they do produce a more consistent commercial product, so I suppose they have their benefits. As for those who wish to maximize the raw milk kefir benefits of this product for your long-term holistic health, you will need a continual source for raw cow or goat milk and a one-time source for purchasing quality Kefir grains. From my previous experience with making this product at home I knew that the source of the grains was critical to the overall product. A good source will produce good tasting and nutritious product while a poor source, one that has not handled the grains well, can produce an inferior product both in taste and nutrition. I therefore purchased from 3 sources; a small price to pay for ensuring a good source. One was another local, homemade producer, the second was a commercial buy of raw grains from a company called Fusion Teas, and the final was a commercial buy of freeze-dried grains. The local source produced a poor-quality product for 3 days running so I discarded them. The raw commercial gains from Fusion Teas began producing a quality product from the first batch and has not disappointed since. The freeze-dried grains are still in a drawer in case I foolishly damage my current stock of well producing grains.

Finally, we come to the process of making milk kefir at home – simple. Just add as much raw milk to a wide mouth canning jar as you will consume in 24 hours. I recommend not making more than 1-2 cups for the initial 2-3 batches until you are sure that your grains will produce a quality product. Match the liquid with roughly one Tablespoon kefir grains per cup of milk. Adjust the amount of grains as you go depending upon the quantity of liquid and the activity of the grains. Just let the grains do the talking. You will need to secure a breathable lid, a cut t-shirt rag stretched across the top of a canning jar and secured by a canning ring to keep out contamination works well, to allow for the breathability of the fermentation process. Simply take the jar filled with raw milk and kefir grains and place it in a warm, dark cabinet or pantry area to ferment for 36 hours for the first cycle, 24-36 hours for the second cycle, and then a continual 24-hour fermentation cycle should be adequate. Your end product should be a thick and slightly effervescent drink with a sour taste and creamy texture – similar to an unflavored yogurt drink. Some folks like to take this product and add flavoring to it or make it into a smoothy, but I promise you, within two weeks you will become accustomed to the taste and even begin to look forward to it. But either way, just be sure to consume the product because the long-term raw milk kefir benefits are well worth the effort. Enjoy!

Peace be with you,

Thomas Storey

Sources:

Evaluation of kefir consumption on gut microbial diversity in a healthy young population using full-length 16S rRNA sequencing https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1587831/full
Effects of Kefir Consumption on Gut Microbiota and Athletic Performance in Professional Female Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/3/512
9 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Kefir https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-health-benefits-of-kefir
Kefir improves lactose digestion and tolerance in adults with lactose maldigestion https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12728216/
Kefir May Bolster Lactose Tolerance In Intolerant People https://news.osu.edu/kefir-may-bolster-lactose-tolerance-in-intolerant-people/
The effect of kefir consumption on the lipid profile for individuals with normal and dyslipidemic properties https://www.scielo.br/j/rn/a/9hmwgFsPJD3nxrj9HWpjpyh/
The Effects of Kefir and Kefir Components on Immune and Metabolic Physiology in Pre-Clinical Studies: A Narrative Review https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362547042_The_effects_of_kefir_and_kefir_components_on_immune_and_metabolic_physiology_in_pre-clinical_studies_a_narrative_review
Kefir and Intestinal Microbiota Modulation: Implications in Human Health https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.638740/full
Effect of kefir on total IgE level in BAL fluid. BAL fluids were… | Download Scientific Diagram https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Effect-of-kefir-on-total-IgE-level-in-BAL-fluid-BAL-fluids-were-collected-48-h-after-the_fig5_5970789
Milk kefir: nutritional, microbiological and health benefits https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nutrition-research-reviews/article/milk-kefir-nutritional-microbiological-and-health-benefits/1393DC2B8E5F08B0BE7BD58F030D387B
Kefir: a powerful probiotics with anticancer properties https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320066936_Kefir_a_powerful_probiotics_with_anticancer_properties
Kefir: a powerful probiotics with anticancer properties https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344340784_Kefir_a_powerful_probiotics_with_anticancer_properties
Kefir and Its Biological Activities https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/6/1210
The Fascinating History of Milk Kefir https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/updates/the-fascinating-history-of-milk-kefir
Homemade Raw Milk Kefir Recipe https://nutritionwithconfidence.com/blog/homemade-raw-milk-kefir
Kefir 101: Nutrition Facts, Health Benefits, and Side Effects https://www.nutritionadvance.com/kefir-nutrition-benefits-and-drawbacks/
Microbiological, technological and therapeutic properties of kefir: a natural probiotic beverage https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3833126/