Yogurt Versus Kefir
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I had a full blooded Russian lady in my Kefir, Kurds and Whey class, so I thought she would be able to explain the difference between Kefir and Yogurt, not so. I just finished reading Klaus Kaufman's "Kefir Rediscovered", available from www.hoeggergoatsupply.com, it has as much info as Dom's website with a different perspective. Most informative to me is his comparison of yogurt to kefir. Analogous to grapes and wine, yogurt is wine and kefir is champagne. The health benefits are all in favor of kefir, while yogurt is simply a more digestible form of milk. Kaufman's reasoning for this is the mirrored molecular composition of kefir and yogurt.

The yogurt good ship "Enterprise" rotates left or counter-clockwise, while kefir goes right in a clockwise direction. They are both lactic acid cultures comprised of the same number of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen elements only mirror opposites. Kefir acts like a door latch, locking into the cells to deliver oxygen for curative benefits as well as nutritional ones. The Russians use kefir for cancer treatment because the runaway cancer cells are starving the body of oxygen. The primary reasons for drinking a pint of kefir a day are:

1) Transient Yogurt - Kefir sticks to your immune system 
Both kefir and yogurt are cultured milk products but they employ different methods to deliver their cargo of beneficial bacteria. The digestive enzymes in yogurt help digest the yogurt and only the yogurt. Kefir comes with a load of excess enzymes that attach themselves to the walls of the colon. The yogurt nutrient express is gone in 24 hours, while kefir's stay is indefinite. A healthy immune system is at least 70% dependent on a healthy intestinal tract.

2) 30 plus good bugs for Kefir - a mere handful in Yogurt
Kefir contains 30 - 35 major strains of friendly bacteria not commonly found in yogurt, Lactobacillus Caucasus, Leuconostoc, Acetbacter species, Streptococus species. Kefir is a turbo charged energy-anti-biotic-colonic cleanser drink. Yogurt is a mild nutrient rich drink that pre-digests the lactose helping the body better assimilate the good stuff and if it's raw it's all good.

3) It's the Yeast - it puts the fizz in Kefir
It also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir, Torula kefir, which dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by penetrating the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming a virtual SWAT team that housecleans and strengthens the intestines. Hence, the body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites. The www.bodyecology.com lady got into kefir because the friendly candida yeast in kefir destroys candida albicans the yeast infection culprit.

4) Digestion - If Kefir Can't Digest It - Forget It! Kefir's active yeast, good bacteria and excess digestive enzymes provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods you eat. Constipation is a thing of the past. If you drink Kefir at night no acid reflux and insomnia.

Because the curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, it is also easier to digest, which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food for babies, invalids and the elderly, as well as a remedy for digestive disorders".

The Kefir you buy at "Whole Foods" or health foods grocers is by law made with pasteurized milk, most often cow's milk. I have made Kefir with fresh from the cow milk, homogenized store bought milk, skim milk and of course our fresh, raw goat's milk. There is no comparison - anybody can taste the difference. Kefiring pasteurized milk helps make the milk digestible but it can't reincarnate cooked carrier enzymes. Kefir helps you assimilate the remaining active ingredients of retail milk. This is another reason why you can't kefir Ultra-Pasteurized milk. teg@analagoatcompany.com