Frequently Asked Questions
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Water Kefir is a centuries-old fermented beverage made from water kefir grains which consist of bacteria and yeast existing in a symbiotic relationship. The term “kefir grains” describes the look of the culture only. Water kefir grains contain no actual “grains” such as wheat, rye, etc. We refer to the grains as crystals to avoid confusion.
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The kefir culture is left to ferment for 24 – 48hrs in water with organic sugar. Click here for our recipe and brewing instructions.
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Responsible for the absorption of all of your nutrients from your diet. And nutrients are what we depend on to fuel all of our bodies functionings.
Home to a colony of microbes known as the gut microbiota. These microbes communicate with our cellular biology and have the power to regulate our mood, hormones, ability to adapt to stress, and more.
Home to 70% of your immune system cells.
A barrier to the outside world and is in direct contact with the food that we eat and the bacteria that we are exposed to on a daily basis. We rely on our gut to not only keep us nourished, but also healthy and free of infections.
THE SECOND BRAIN - it contains 200 million neurons. The gut has the ability to function totally on its own because it has its own nervous system, the enteric nervous system, which works independently from the brain.
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The final sugar content depends on how long you let it brew.The culture feasts on the sugar converting it into a lively blend of carbon dioxide, acids, bacteria, and yeasts. Thanks to this magical process, by the time the sugar reaches your gut, it's been pre-digested, making it easier to be absorbed. No additional sugar is necessary; just the right amount for the culture to create gut-friendly goodness.
This makes our process a true, traditional ferment, not manufactured in a lab and then added to a drink. This is why you will only ever find us in a refrigerator, we do not pasteurize and by keeping our products chilled we can keep the bacteria alive and powerful. Water kefir requires sugar to ferment, it will not survive or continue the fermentation process with sugar substitutes. Most artificial sugars are not gut-friendly and are known to cause heartburn, bloating, and stomach upset.
We honour that nature knows best, allowing the synergy of the fermentation process to provide the highest quality probiotics and digestive enzymes.
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We use culinary food grade essential oils to flavour our Blood Orange, Lemon Ginger and Palmer flavours instead of juice, this helps us keep the sugar content as low as possible.
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There are roughly 15 strains of probiotics and billions of active bacteria in every bottle. Give or take.
A study found in the International Journal of Food Microbiology on the microbial diversity of water kefir can be found here.
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Nope.
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Nope.
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No. Our Palmer Lemonade flavour does have trace amounts of caffeine in it due to there being kombucha in the ingredients.
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Yes, absolutely. They do share some common strains, but have many unique ones of their own.
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Water kefir contains fewer strains of bacteria and yeasts than milk kefir. That said water kefir contains far more than other cultured products, like yogurt or buttermilk.
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While similar in concept (a fermented beverage made from a bacterial culture) and process, they are completely different cultures therefore contain different strains of probiotics and different digestive enzymes. Kombucha is a fermented tea, and is often caffeinated, water kefir has no caffeine. Kombucha is slightly higher in digestive enzymes and water kefir is higher in probiotics. While both fermented drinks are great digestive aids, they eachcontaindifferent levels of acids and bacteria. Kombucha is much more acidic than water kefir.
The flavours are quite different also; kombucha has a slightly sweet, tart zing to it and depending on the brewing time can range from having a mild taste to having a strong-vinegar-like taste whilewater kefir has a mild, more mainstream natural soda flavour.
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The origins aren’t known for sure though there are many ideas. One interesting concept is that they originally grew underneath the branches of cactus trees. There are also stories that place their origin around the late 1800s, or at least their use, inMexico, Tibet, theCaucasus Mountains in the former USSR, and the southern peninsula of the Ukraine. Water Kefir also goes by many other names including: tibicos (tibi), Tibetan water mushrooms, Japanese water crystals, aqua gems, and the list goes on...
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Some diabetics have no problem as the bacteria and yeast produce enzymes that break down the sucrose (the double sugar that sugar is composed of) into fructose and glucose. Fructose is digested by the liver and does not spike the blood sugar in diabetics like sucrose or glucose. Because of the fructose, it makes this drink a lower GL. Also, the added acetic acids and carbonation from the fermentation process lower the GL.
With all this said, we would advise diabetics check with their doctor before drinking water kefir if there is cause for concern.
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Fermented products such as kefir are considered functional foods because they offer enzymes, pre-digested nutrients, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, calories/energy and billions of probiotics. Probiotic pill supplements contain just one or a select variety of bacteria, and usually that's it. It's always better to eat something in its whole form when possible, because each part makes the other more digestible. This is why companies are now adding fiber back into cereals and fruit juices, and citric acid into calcium - you often need all the parts to assimilate nutrients correctly.
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Water kefir is loaded with billions of probiotics, valuable enzymes, easily digestible sugars, beneficial acids, vitamins and minerals.
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Most people are concerned with caffeine and alcohol in fermented products. Water kefir is caffeine-free and well below the 1% alcohol levels required by Canadian health authorities. The probiotics and digestive enzymes however are extremely beneficial and healthy for these life stages and often recommended by doctors. When in doubt, check with your doctor.
Fun facts:
We often hear from expectant Mom’s that our Lemon-Ginger flavour was their saving grace during morning sickness.
One Mom reported that she was able to ween her daughter from breastfeeding by offering her our water kefir instead.
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Yes, it’s been found in a couple studies to contain between 0.038%-0.08% (for a 48-hour ferment), which is below Canadian health regulations which state it must be below 1%.
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1/4 cup a day is a great start, then slowly work up as your gut adjusts to the bacteria rebalancing. As a replacement for a supplement, even this small amount contains millions of probiotics, the perfect amount for a daily dose.
