Re: Can I switch between cow's and goat's milk?

Hi,

> I've never made kefir, but I hope to start soon. I was just wondering if I could go back and forth between cow's and goat's milk with the same grains.

You can. All you need to know is that the kefir grains will need to reestablish themselves each time. That takes less than a week. It is all edible but won't be what you are used to every time you switch them over. I know people who use cows milk all winter, then switch to goats milk in the summer because goats milk is more seasonal. I make kefir from both raw cows milk and raw goats milk. I keep the kefir grains dedicated.

> I can't decide which one would be better for me. I have trouble digesting casein, so goat's milk would probably be easier for me to digest, right?

Yes

> (But then, if it's kefir, maybe it doesn't matter?)

If you are starting with raw milk, it is less of an issue also.

> Also, I've heard that goat's milk is alkaline forming while cow's milk is acid forming.

Once again the people saying this are comparing raw goats milk with pasteurized cows milk. They really need to compare raw with raw.

> The only downside to goat's milk, that I know of, is that it is a lot lower in vitamin B12.

And a few other nutrients. But don't let that stop you. You don't want to be relying on milk for B12 anyway.

> I do not eat meat very often, so if I were only consuming goat's milk, I'd be worried about not getting enough B12.

Everyone ought to be concerned about getting enough B12 even if they do eat meat. I suppose if you eat liver once/week that would cover it. I'm not that big of a fan of liver so I dissolved some B12/folic acid/ vitamin tablets into DMSO and apply that to my skin from time to time. I have so much more energy the days I do that that I can't help wondering if I am getting sub-optimum levels of B12 myself.

> Any thoughts?

I hope others will add to this thread.


Cheers,
Marilyn

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