New Stance on Kefir
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Has the stance of the bioenergetic community on kefir changed recently?
The latest studies I've read offer some optimistic insights, and the anecdotal evidence has been fascinating. Yet, these fermented beverages seem at odds with Peat's critical views on probiotics and fermentation processes, specifically his "sterile gut" theory.
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Good question. I'm personally a big fan of a tall glass of kefir but have changed the way I consume it after learning more.
The benefits of kefir likely come from it pushing out populations of "bad" bacteria by nature of a flood of other "healthy" bacteria. It's worth noting that this is likely only positive for people without gut microbiome overgrowth like SIBO and those with strong gut linings.
It's also possibly due to the endotoxin-making "healthy" bacteria making their endotoxins with the abundant branched-chain fatty acids in milk(BCFA makes endotoxin significantly less immunostimulatory and can be easily broken down). Consuming kefir would then shift your body's endotoxin exposure from omega-6 endotoxin(highly toxic) to BCFA endotoxin(less toxic)
That being said, "Healthy" bacteria are still endotoxin producing and can migrate out of the intestine into the uterus, bladder, kidneys, spleen, liver, etc. and cause cancer due to endotoxin-mediated inflammation. If you have any kind of gut bacteria issues, then kefir is probably not the best option, tetracyclines are more likely to benefit you faster and more intensely.
If you are going to consume kefir, have it self-made with good quality milk and consume it while it's young. Lactic acid buildup in fermented foods could cause a localized issue in the gut with disrupted metabolism and lead to pre-cancerous metabolism in your stomach or intestines(assuming that you consume older kefir every day or close to it for some time).
In short, kefir is tasty and can be beneficial in limited situations but should be consumed with discernment and never if there's an overgrowth issue in the gut.
Greift nur hinein ins volle Menschenleben! Ein jeder lebt's, nicht vielen ist's bekannt, und wo ihr's packt, da ist's interessant.
Ray Peat first-ever interview(July 1987 on UofO Student Radio)
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@JulofEnoch Appreciate this post a lot, suffering from some overgrowth related problems, will likely just stick with normal milk until I fix my gut.
