Kefir, properties and health benefits

Melanie Ramos 4 min. of reading Functional foods Leave a comment

Kefir is considered one of the best prebiotics.

Index

1 What is Kefir?
2 Why is it beneficial for athletes?
3 Benefits of Kefir
4 Kefir and Diet
5 Recipes made with Kefir
6 Recipe Tips: Tofu, Apple and Kefir Salad
7 Ingredients
8 How to make: Tofu, Apple and Kefir Salad
9 Other options to include Kefir in your diet
10 Related Entries

What is Kefir?

You have surely seen it at some point, even without knowing exactly what the product was. We find it in the refrigerator aisle, next to the liquid yogurts. We are talking about kefir.

It is a probiotic dairy product that contains an enzyme called lactase that is responsible for breaking down the sugar in milk; making it ideal for coeliacs or lactose intolerance. It is especially beneficial for diabetic people, as it helps regulate blood sugar level. It simply can’t be missing from your sports diet.

Although it looks similar, it has a completely different taste from yogurt, and its consistency is much more liquid, since its fermentation is different. Made from fermented cow or goat milk, its flavour is much more acidic and intense than that of regular milk since it converts lactose into lactic acid to facilitate digestion and therefore avoid the upset stomachs that the natural sugar in milk can cause.

In addition, it improves our intestinal flora and strengthens our immune system since it has beneficial bacteria that help our body to fight against the germs and bacteria that attack us

Why is it beneficial for athletes?

Although it is beneficial for everyone, athletes can take great advantage of the use of kefir since it is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants, which provides us with countless advantages, especially if we want to increase volume or are on a diet to lose weight.

Its main characteristic is that it contains 14 grams of high-quality protein, in just one cup! This means that it can become your new source of protein to increase your muscle mass. If you also make your protein shakes from Kefir milk you will benefit from both its immunological and protein properties and the nutritional properties found in the protein powder.

If your goal is to lose weight, your best ally is kefir, since it blocks the genetic signals that stimulate the growth of fat cells, eliminates glucose in the blood and eases the digestion and elimination of fats.

At the same time, it accelerates your metabolism, regulates your intestinal transit and strengthens your defenses

Benefits of Kefir

Increases your muscle mass.
Increases the physical ability of athletes.
Eliminates muscle pains.
Improves oxygen performance in cells.
Facilitates the absorption of minerals.
Eliminates blood glucose.
Regenerates the intestinal flora.
Blocks the growth of fat cells.
Cardiovascular health: Helps clean blood vessels and regulate pressure.
Strengthens the defences of our body in a natural way. Its antibiotic properties protect our lungs thereby reducing the risk of respiratory diseases.
Helps us to lose weight: facilitates the digestion of fats by accelerating our metabolism and generates a greater consumption of energy.
Anti-inflammatory: helps us with gastritis or pancreatitis-type diseases and reduces joint pain.
Helps regulate intestinal transit.

Kefir and Diet

We can incorporate kefir into our diet in several ways, allowing us to obtain its benefits

You can easily find it in health food shops or large supermarkets in the dairy aisle, both liquid and in granules. If you decide to try liquid kefir, it is usually consumed at breakfast time with fruits or nuts, as you would drink milk or liquid yogurt; and if you prefer to consume it in granules, it is usual to take about 100 grams a day with honey and nuts.

Adding nuts will increase the grams of protein, minerals and unsaturated fats that you consume per day, and honey has antibacterial properties that will strengthen your immune system

Here we show you a couple more recipes so that you can easily make it part of your diet:

Recipes made with Kefir

Tofu, Apple and Kefir Salad

Kefir is an ideal ingredient to replace the unhealthy sauces we usually incorporate in salads, and its acidity combines perfectly with the sweetness of apples.

Recipe Tips: Tofu, Apple and Kefir Salad

Preparation time: 12 minutes
Cooking time: 1 minute
Portion size: 1 Plate
Number of servings: 4
Cooking style: American

Ingredients

4 apples
200 gr of tofu
1 pomegranate
75 g of peeled walnuts
2 spring onions
1 cup of kefir
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 sprig of mint
White peppercorns, as you please
Other nuts: sultanas, goji berries... to your taste!

Nutritional Information per serving
Calories:	366,5kcal
Fat:	18,9g
of which saturates:	1,9g
Carbohydrates:	34,2g
of which sugars:	25,8g
Fiber:	5,8g
Proteins:	14,9g
Salt:	0,4g

How to make: Tofu, Apple and Kefir Salad

Peel the apples. Set aside half to decorate the plate and cut the rest into small strips.
Cut the tofu in small cubes.
Chop the nuts and keep some for decoration.
Cut the spring onion.
Thresh the pomegranate, no breaking the grains.
In a salad bowl, add the apple, cheese, spring onion, nuts and pomegranate.
Separately, mix the kefir, lemon juice and chopped mint, (optionally add the ground pepper) stir well until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.
Add it to the salad and stir.
Place the sliced apple and walnuts as a garnish and serve.
Remember that you can add the nuts you want and create your personalised version!

Kefir is an ideal ingredient to replace the unhealthy dressings that we usually use on salads, and its acidity combines perfectly with the sweetness of apples