Raw Food Spotlight: Coconut Kefir
by Melissa Fine
Creamy, coconut kefir is currently in the limelight for its potential to improve rosacea, a chronic skin disease affecting millions worldwide. Read on to learn more about the health benefits of coconut kefir for rosacea and other skin conditions. Or, if you’d like to make coconut kefir from scratch, check out the end of this post for an easy recipe…
What is kefir?
With the consistency of a drinkable yogurt, coconut kefir contains coconut milk and/or coconut water, along with formulated grains made from bacterias and yeasts. These kefir cultures convert the carbohydrates from the coconut milk or water into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This fermentation process gives kefir its tartness and fizz.
Coconut kefir health benefits
It has been found that coconut kefir may reduce the facial redness, bumps and watery-eyes common to rosacea…but how?
Put simply, your skin often reflects the state of your internal health.
Rosacea symptoms often worsen under certain health conditions – conditions which the nutrients in coconut kefir can improve:
- Stress can prompt a rosacea flare-up. Coconut kefir may decrease tension and subsequently, rosacea symptoms, as it’s rich in calcium and magnesium, minerals which maintain the nervous system. Also, coconut kefir is high in the essential amino acid ‘Tryptophan’ (a building block of protein), which has a calming affect on nerves.
- Vitamin B deficiencies may be linked to rosacea outbreaks. So if you’re low in Vitamin B and suffer from rosacea, try adding kefir to your diet – it’s loaded with Vitamins B2 and B12 for skin health.
- Lack of beneficial gut-bacteria (encouraged by factors like infection and pollution) can aggravate rosacea, along with eczema, psoriasis and acne. This is because good bacteria aid digestion, nutrient absorption and immunity, all required for healthy skin. Kefir cultures offer abundant microflora to balance your digestive system, which in turn, balances your skin.
How to make coconut kefir
In a glass or plastic jar, combine:
- 1L of coconut water
- a can of coconut milk
- kefir starter (available from health food stores)
Leave covered at room temperature for 24 hours. Stir and drink up!
If you find plain coconut kefir too sour, stir in some raw honey.
Or, add to a smoothie with banana and carob powder; their sweetness balances out kefir’s astringency…you’ll think you’re drinking a milkshake!
So treat your skin from the inside-out with some coconut kefir!