8. The Depression-Crushing Superfood Big Pharma Won’t Talk About

Live kefir made from real kefir grains is one of the most powerful natural remedies for depression.  This episode piggy-backs on Episode 6 (“Got Milk, Got Depression?”), going deeper into how fermented foods can transform a person’s physical and mental health.  If you’re ready to stop just managing symptoms and start supporting your body’s natural healing systems, this episode is for you.

View all LINKS and supporting content mentioned in this episode HERE: https://imaquarius.com/miraculous-depression-remedy-kefir-probiotics-solo-8/

Consuming Kefir regularly has been associated with:

– Feelings of well being and support against anxiety and depression 
 – Improved digestion
 – Balanced blood sugar
 – Strengthened immune response
 – Reduced inflammation
 – Enhanced nutrient absorption
 – Reduced LDL cholesterol
 – Improved energy and metabolism

This episode of the Overcome Depression Podcast is for you if you want to learn:

• Why store-bought kefir is NOT the same as homemade kefir
 • How kefir supports serotonin production
 • The connection between gut health and depression
 • How kefir improves microbiome diversity (42+ strains of beneficial bacteria)
 • How Vitamin B deficiencies are linked to poor mental health
 • The cholesterol-reducing benefits of kefir probiotics
 • Valuable pro-tips for making your best kefir and keeping your grains alive
 • The best milk to use for your kefir (raw, organic, whole milk)
 • How to safely ferment without damaging the beneficial bacteria in kefir grains

Transcript

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Today we are going to be talking about my favorite depression crushing food in the entire universe, kefir. I used to call it kefir. The proper name is actually kefir, but whatever you call it, it is amazing. And it constitutes about a third or a quarter of my diet. I drink up to four cups of it per day and I love it. With that said, please do not buy kefir from the store. It's not going to be as good for one thing and If it doesn't say made from live kefir grains, then it really isn't kefir at all. Most commercial kefirs are made from freeze-dried powder or from a culture made from a culture, Then they pasteurize it, which kills the bacteria, which is totally stupid. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a probiotic, right? And then to remedy this, They'll add a little commercial probiotic to replace what they killed by the pasteurization process. And this way they can label it as a probiotic and put kefir on it because that's originally what it was. So yeah, you're not going to get the benefits of kefir from the store. I highly, highly, highly recommend making it yourself. And to be frank, it's so, so easy. I just make it a part of my daily routine. And the best part of it all is that my body absolutely loves it and I'm convinced that your body will too. So why is kefir so good for depression in particular? Well there's many reasons which we will go over today in this podcast but basically kefir help your body with its natural healing powers and maintenance functions as we all know that a healthy optimally functioning body and brain means also healthy mind. Speaking of a healthy of mind, one of amazing benefits of kefir is that essential amino acids are abundant in it. Tryptophan is well known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system, and studies have shown that those put on a kefir diet have consistently had less anxiety, possibly because the fermentation process produces so much of this tryptophan. and tryptophan converts into serotonin in the brain, this is a natural way to get that and quite a bit of it. Additionally, kefir also is an excellent source of vitamin B, specifically vitamin B7. which aids in the body's absorption of the other B vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B6. interestingly, not getting enough vitamin is associated with depression People who don't get enough vitamin B are often depressed. Phosphorus is another huge contributor to healthy life because it is the second most abundant mineral in our bodies and is abundant in kefir. Phosphorus helps us utilize carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for cell growth. It's good for maintaining energy. kefir also reduces cholesterol. And studies have shown that milk cultured for 24 hours with live kefir grains were found to have cholesterol reduced up to 63%. If it was fermented for 48 hours, 84 % of the cholesterol, gone. Milk that is fermented for shorter periods, like 24 hours, is kind of like a yogurt smoothie consistency. Very, very yummy. My 48-hour kefir sessions often result in something like a soft crumbly cheese, which is more hearty and more sour and really good for you, though I often will personally go for the more yogurt smoothie style of kefir. Now for the gut health part of kefir and the list is impressive. Kefir contains 42 different strains of friendly bacteria. That's a lot more than yogurt. The complete proteins in liquid kefir are partially digested and we talked about that in episode 6 Got Milk, Got Depression. I would suggest if you haven't listened to that one, go back and listen to it because one kind of piggybacks on that one. But because the proteins are partially digested, they become more easily utilized and absorbed by the body. according to Vivian Goldschmidt, Kefir is a potent source of calcium, approximately 300 milligrams per cup, that your body can absorb because unsweetened cultured kefir is acid neutral, which is not true of pasteurized milk. now yogurt's pretty awesome, ones you buy at the store will be pasteurized. Making your own yogurt is better, but even at that, I don't personally make yogurt. It's harder to make than kefir. more of a process. know there's yogurt makers out there. I've just never done it. But of yogurt contains about 1.5 trillion organisms The same amount of kefir, 500 milliliters, contains 5 trillion beneficial and friendly bacteria. That is huge, guys. But what's more, kefir actually kills harmful bacteria. I got this from orholam.com. It's O-R-H-O-L-A-M dot com. And it says, years ago, scientists tested the kefir in Tocastis mountains for any type of harmful bacteria, but to their surprise they found absolutely nothing. No harmful bacteria. in the mountains where sanitary conditions are much worse than ours, the scientists refused to believe there was no harmful bacteria to be found. Creating a possible scenario that a piece of animal fecal would fall into the milk, they injected E. coli bacteria into the kefir. And within 24 hours, the E. coli was destroyed by kefir's beneficial bacteria. That is pretty cool. Please put some of that in my system. Kefir has also demonstrated the ability to kill H. pylori infections when bacteria alone could not. In addition, the complex microflora of kefir has also shown a keen ability to greatly stimulate our immune system, ward off infections, because when kefir is consumed as a drink, It creates a healthy mucus lining in the colon, which acts as a good medium to support the growth of beneficial bowel flora, which helps to prevent parasitic infections and cancer as well as constipation. it has helped me with all of these things. So I'm now going to talk a little bit about how to take care of your kefir grains. I'm going to provide a video link in the description to instructions because I think it's just so much easier to show rather than try to describe here. I don't want to take more of your valuable time, but I have a few pointers here. kefir grains can theoretically live forever if you keep them fed, but they are living organisms. And so they must be loved and taken care of like you would any pet. And I've accidentally killed them by using non-organic milk. Now, why would non-organic milk matter? Well, because they put antibiotics. in the cows that produce the milk and there's antibiotics in the milk. And what do antibiotics do? They kill bacteria and kefir grains are a bacteria, friendly bacteria, but you don't want to kill them. So you got to use non-organic milk. uh I'm sorry. I said that all wrong. You want to use organic milk, not non-organic milk. You also don't want to put them in a jar that was hot if you're rinsing it out with hot water and then you put the grains in. They're heat sensitive, so you don't want to warm them up too much. They don't like that. I've also accidentally rinsed them down the sink or touched them too much. keeping the house too hot actually been a problem in the past. They like between 67 and 71 degrees. That's kind of their happy zone. was struggling financially, I would keep the house as hot as 87 or even hotter sometimes in the summer just to save money. And they weren't happy. So they're a lot happier now that keeping the house under 80 degrees generally in the summertime. And did you know that kefir grains are very social? They seem happier when I put them in large groups and don't just use a teaspoon. Like a lot of websites will suggest using a teaspoon And I've actually found that filling my jar up about an inch with kefir grains at the bottom or even more, they seem to grow faster, last longer, and they don't die. They also seem really big on workers' rights. In other words, they don't like it when they don't get a break. And they'll go on strike and stop working so hard for you if you don't give them a rest once a week or so. So I like to put them in water with some maple syrup, and I'm pretty generous with maple syrup, because they need something to kind of munch on while they're taking a break that isn't milk. And I'll put that jar. in the fridge until I'm ready to feed them milk again. I like to buy my grains from a regular person on Etsy. I don't go to the store and buy them off the shelf. It's very affordable there and you're helping people with their home businesses and their homesteads. Once your grains come in the mail, they will have endured quite a journey and will be a little traumatized. So once you start using them, you'll probably want to toss the first few batches of milk that they culture because the grains aren't settled yet and your kefir will just look like sour milk. doesn't taste very good either. So your grains are not deffective They just need a little time to balance out and kind of regroup before they'll start making you that delicious yogurt like kefir. Also, you want to keep your milk and kefir out of the sun. Again, heat sensitive as far as that goes, but also milk will lose vitamin if you keep it in the sun. So I keep it in a dark corner of my kitchen and I cover it with a towel to protect it from artificial lighting in the house. I also unscrewed all of the light bulbs in my fridges so the light doesn't come on when I open it. And for some of you that might seem annoying, you left the light in your fridge, well, your kefir doesn't. So that's just a suggestion. you want to have optimal vitamin D intake in your kefir. As far as what to use, what kind of milk, first choice is raw organic goat milk, which I produce on my land and I milk them morning and night. I literally got my goats so that I could make my own raw goat milk kefir. If you don't have access to raw goat milk, raw cow milk is also very good, you can usually find raw milk at the store. It's quite pricey. but I would say worth it if you can manage it even sometimes. The other option would be organic pasteurized milk. And I do that from time to time if my goats are between producing and making babies so forth. I also want to mention, this is kind of important, never screw the lid of your jar that's holding your kefir and or the kefir grains completely closed. You want it to just kind of sit there. I screw mine on just a tiny bit so that when I lift the jar it doesn't pop off or anything. But if you screw it tight, the jar could explode. They breathe. know, the fundamentals of a living organism is they eat, they breathe, they grow, and they do all three of these things. So again, make sure never to put it in an airtight container. I do like to store completed kefir in containers and that has seemed to be just fine. This is also kind of important. So when you rinse your kefir grains, you don't want to do it with tap water. really does have to be purified water because tap water has chemicals, specifically tap waters have bleach in it and bleach kills bacteria and it will kill your grains. So don't use water out of the tap to rinse your grains off. I do like to rinse my grains. They seem to like it. And if you don't have access to purified water, don't rinse them. Just do the best you can to clean them off as you sift the milk from the kefir grains and then put them back in a jar and cover them with milk again. Do not under any circumstance rinse them with bleachy tap water. Also, I want to mention that my favorite strainer for my grains is an old Tupperware strainer. don't think... is Tupperware even in business anymore. I don't know, but you can usually find them online used to third party the holes are the perfect size and it's the perfect size to put in a little Tupperware and strain it. I don't know. It just works so well better than anything else I've ever tried or used. You don't want to use any wire strainers because it will cut the grains and damage them. As far as how to eat your kefir, You can just put it in a smoothie and blend with fruit to make it delicious. You can also add pieces of apple with cinnamon and pumpkin spice, something like that, a little stevia. I personally keep a small bag in the fridge full of superfoods. We're talking like spirulina, chia seed, hemp seeds, turmeric. all kinds of stuff and I'll leave a link in the description to my website where I'll just put a whole list of the things that I typically put in this combination I buy them in bulk and then combine them. So it's just kind of a easy way to get so many good things into my system by mixing them into the kefir. I also add a product that ASEA makes, A-S-E-A, called Radiance, Approaching that time of my life where need extra collagen to keep our skin beautiful. In the wintertime, I often add a little scoop of vitamin C powder just for kicks. at any time of the year, I try to add seasonal fruit. And sometimes real fruit juice powder like beet or super fruit blends vegetable and fruit blend powders a little bit sweet. it taste really yummy, like a yogurt you might buy at the store, except there's no artificial sugars in it or any sugar in it other than the fruit. if you like it simple, just add some lemon juice to your kefir and some stevia. And you've got yourself like a Yoplait Lemon Yogurt Lookalike special. I loved Yoplait when I was a kid. I haven't had one in years, but I think they make the best yogurt. At least for taste. So now I'm going to end this episode with a long, long list of known health benefits. of live kefir made with live kefir grains. Again, not from the store guys. You got to make this yourself and it is so easy. Please trust me on this one. Okay, so Kefir is the strongest natural remedy against any allergy and it can be very helpful in treating asthma. It is the strongest natural antibiotic without side effects. It dissolves gallbladder stones, clears the body of salts, heavy metals, radionuclides, alcoholic products. It also cleanses the body of chemical antibiotics and replenishes the body of good bacteria after treatments. It fights off pathogenic microorganisms. It lowers the level of LDL cholesterol in your body, cleanses the gastrointestinal tract, treats and helps with liver disease, kidney stones, irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, arthritis colitis, pancreatitis, lung infections, ulcers, heart disease, gum disease, specifically periodontosis? Not sure. Gout, yeast infections, psoriasis, diarrhea, sleep disorders, rheumatism, anxiety, depression, mm-hmm, that's what we're here for, ADD, constipation, eczema, tuberculosis, stomach cramps, chronic intestinal infections, liver infections, bronchitis, sclerosis, anemia, hepatitis, leaky gut syndrome, and all inflammatory diseases. But that's not all. It prevents and treats colon cancer, improves the immune system. It can cure candida, hypertension, migraines, and acne. Kefir stops the growth of cancer cells and reduces the size of tumors, speeds up the healing processes of the body, reverses calcination of blood vessels, boosts energy, and is a natural feel-good food, again helping with depression, Normalizes metabolism, thereby assisting with weight loss. And it's interesting that this is a high fat food, assuming you use whole milk. Do not use skim milk, guys. Please, use whole milk. And I talk about that again in episode six, Got Milk, Got Depression. Kefir contains antioxidants and other anti-aging properties. It nourishes hair. It can lessen the side effects of medications. Kefir also balances the microflora of the body's digestive system, regulates blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, promotes bowel movement, reduces flatulence, yay, improves the brain's neurofunctions such as reflexes, memory tension, attention, and the five senses. The lactic acid fermentation enhances the digestibility of milk-based foods, which we talked about also in episode number six. People who cannot otherwise digest milk can enjoy kefir. Kefir eliminates vaginal odors as well as breath odors, which I actually really noticed in myself when I started taking it years ago. It helps lessens wrinkles, detoxifies the body, improves protein quality of milk, and enhances absorption and digestion. It prevents mastitis, awesome for lactating mothers, and can help heal and reduce behaviors associated with autism. So again, I warned you, it's a pretty extensive list, and it's why I make this food a huge part of my diet. my challenge to you is to stop drinking milk. and start fermenting it. Make some kefir. It is a miracle food and a powerful food. Make kefir a regular part of your diet, guys. I eat it almost every day. Again, and it has made a huge difference for my physical and my mental health. So with that said, I would love to hear how this food, as you start to use it, affects and helps you. So please leave a comment or feedback or a review about this podcast and let others know about it so that they can benefit as well. Thank you always for listening to the Overcome Depression podcast. I am your host, Jennifer Stirling-Campbell. We'll see you next time.