That has been my experience for the last month and a half I have been drinking 2 glasse of kefir a day. In the beginning it was fine but after the 2nd. week this started happening. (NOTE: I eat a high carb diet - mainly fruits and vegetables and greens, and eventually some "good" eggs). I usually drink 12 hour second brews. And usually drink the first glass one hour after breakfast (usualy one or two cantaloupes, depending on the size) and the second one 30 minutes after dinner (usually another big portion of fruit and greens).
I found interesting answers for this on the net:
Kefir is alive. If you consume kefir around a meal with carbs, simple or complex, the bacteria and molds in the kefir will dine to a massive extent. That is where the bloating comes from. If you eat with a protein meal, they still eat (that is their purpose, to digest your food for you) but much more slowly. Kefir is CO2 forming, the gas is CO2, and yes, it comes out both ends with a carb meal! After consuming kefir for many months I learned that I had to be careful of carbs because kefir actually attaches to the lining of your digestive track. That’s it’s “history”, kefir is in effect an amplification of the bacteria and molds in mothers milk which in turn is intented to establish the digestive track and much of the immune system. And so after consuming kefir for a long time they line your digestive track, and any carb meal with then trigger the problem. Put another way kefir tends to force you towards a protein diet and reduce your carbs. And many suggest that is a good thing. ;)
i’ve been drinking kefir smoothies for breakfast every day since i got my grains a few months ago!
For bloating/gas: try taking an enzyme to help digest the proteins and fats in the kefir. My doctor has me taking chewable papaya enzymes with every meal–even if i just have the kefir. it helps a lot. i used to get sharp pains in my abdomen from gas and i don’t get those any more since taking the enzyme. (There are other types of digestive enzymes out there too–papaya might not be the best one for you!) on the other hand, some peoples’ bodies just cannot accept the kefir because some bodies are very sensitive to fermented things. so if your body doesn’t respond well to wine and beer, it may not respond well to the kefir either. Kefir is very nutritious…but you need to decide if the health benefits outweigh the risks for YOUR body.
Do NOT use it if you have any condition that might reduce your immune function. (I have Hep C)
Do these make sense to you? Any other good explanations?
Or is it just herxheimer´s effect and I should hang on until it clears? If so, for how long?
Or, if it is actually fermanetation due to the sugars in my fruit meal, should I take it before eating or even going down on the amount?
Anybody with a similar experience that got over it by not stopping to drink it?