Oh what a controversial video this is going to be
with yogurt lovers in one corner
and milk kefir fans in the other.
I feel the tension brewing.
(upbeat music)
Thankfully for you,
our research team has done all the hard work
to figure out the real pros and cons of both,
and we're not going to pull any punches.
Welcome to the the Ultimate Fermented Dairy Fighting
Championship!
Now, before we start the battle,
I think it's important to quickly show you how milk kefir
and yogurt are different.
After all, if you look at them side by side,
you think these two cultured dairy products are
pretty similar.
In fact, most patients tell me kefir
simply looks like a watery version of yogurt,
but that's like saying Brad Pitt is just a watery version
of Robert Redford.
So not true.
So the big difference is in how they are made.
With kefir, you have to add a complex colony of bacteria
and yeast known as kefir grains to fresh milk
and allow to ferment for 24 hours at room temperature.
By contrast, with yogurt, you typically add existing yogurt
or a yogurt starter culture
which both contain only a simple selection of bacteria
to heated milk, and then let it culture
for around 8 to 12 hours
at 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit
or 37 to 43 degrees Celsius.
In other words,
these two probiotic dairy products use the same liquid
but very different bacteria and fermentation processes.
Now, let's see which one is better.
Let's cut to the chase here.
Yogurt tastes amazing.
And I'm not even talking
about the flavored yogurts jam packed with sugar
or artificial sweeteners.
After all, plain whole milk yogurt
which is creamy in texture, taste sweet,
and has a slight tang, is delicious on everything
from muesli to fresh fruits,
and even works great as a salad dressing.
Meanwhile, milk kefir often tastes more like
slightly sour milk or buttermilk
due to the presence of beneficial yeast.
And it can take some time to get used to.
Of course, you can flavor it with some honey
or vanilla extract or even mix it into shakes
while you're getting used to it.
Overall though, when it comes to taste and versatility,
yogurt is the clear winner.
So here's trophy number one.
These days, you can easily buy both kefir and yogurt
at your local health food store or supermarket,
but assuming you want to make the healthiest versions
of each by making them at home, which one is easier?
Well, if you have a yogurt maker machine,
then yogurt is going to be your clear winner.
Everything is so simple from buying the starter culture
to fermenting it to the right point.
By contrast, with kefir milk,
you have to hunt out quality kefir grains
and then you have to go through the whole process
of activating them, setting up your fermenting equipment,
and doing a few initial batches
till you get the kefir just right.
Once you're up and running though,
kefir is really easy to make
as you can turn plain old milk into milk kefir
within 24 hours day after day.
Best of all, kefir grains can be used indefinitely
to make more kefir milk,
whereas yogurt can only be recultured a few times.
If you balance it all up here, I'd call it a draw.
Apart from taste and convenience,
I'd say tolerance is the next big deciding factor
on which one is best for you.
And this is where kefir is the clear winner.
You see, unlike yogurt, kefir contains much less lactose,
the sugar and milk that many people find hard to digest.
And that's because kefir grains eat up more the lactose
sugar during fermentation compared to yogurt.
This also explains why kefir has less sugar
and taste less sweet than yogurt.
So if lactose is an issue for you,
then kefir is the friendliest of the two.
Obviously, thanks to the cow's milk itself,
you'll enjoy a lot of nutrients such as minerals, vitamins,
and even a good serving of protein in both kefir and yogurt.
But the difference as I hinted at is
that milk kefir will be lower in sugar.
So while a cup of plain yogurt might have 6 to 10 grams
of sugar, vanilla yogurt might have 22 grams of sugar,
whereas kefir has anywhere
from 3 to 4 grams of sugar or even less,
depending on how long it's being fermented.
So kefir is the clear winner here.
Up until now, I think you'd agree,
the battle between milk kefir
and yogurt has been pretty even.
But when it comes to probiotics,
milk kefir is ready to take the gloves off.
And that's because milk kefir grains contain a much richer
and diverse world of beneficial microorganisms compared
to yogurt starter culture.
And so unsurprisingly,
they are able to produce so much more good bacteria
as well as beneficial yeast in the kefir drink itself.
In fact, in a single cup of homemade milk kefir,
you can typically find between 100 to 300 billion CFUs
of good bacteria in yeast
which can come from 30 to 100 different probiotic species.
That's huge.
And let's compare that to yogurt
which typically has only 1 to 5 billion CFUs per serving.
And usually, from only two
to four different probiotic species.
Apart from being so much more potent, the good bacteria
in yeast and kefir are also much more useful
as they're able to stick around the gut much longer
which means they can have a greater impact
on your intestinal health especially when it comes
to crowding out both bad bacteria and yeast.
With all that said,
the bacteria in yogurt are still worth our attention
as they can help in different ways.
You see, they move through the gut quicker
and they can help clean out your large intestine
and feed existing bacteria.
But let's be real here.
If your main reason for consuming culture dairy is
to help nourish your gut with large servings of probiotics,
then milk kefir is your undisputed champion.
Well, as you've seen in this video,
they both have their pros and cons.
For some of you, the taste maybe the deciding factor
and for others, the probiotic content might be.
For me personally, I prefer milk kefir
as it has an extraordinarily higher probiotic count,
both in terms of the amount and diversity.
Having said that, I think there's a place
for both of these fermented dairy kings.
For example, you can enjoy a huge glass of probiotics
by putting one cup of milk kefir in your morning smoothie
and then a nice glass of probiotics by eating some yogurt
with fresh fruit as a healthy afternoon snack,
giving you the best of both worlds.
I want to hear from you.
Leave a comment below
on which fermented dairy you love the most and why.
Is it kefir or yogurt?
And if you enjoy this video
as part of our fermented food series,
I'd love for you join our Essential Stacks community
by clicking the subscribe button below.
We research the most important ways you can improve your
digestive health so you can love your gut again.
Bye for now.
(upbeat music)