Kefir Kommunity

Frozen Kefir For Kids' Dental Health?

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:53:00 GMT

By now we hope you already know what makes frozen kefir so great. Need a quick refresher? Well, our frozen kefir is:

home to 10 live & active cultures
high in protein and calcium
made from all natural ingredients
only 90 calories per serving
gluten free
99% lactose free

But did you know eating frozen kefir might also prevent tooth decay? A recent study conducted by The College of Dental Sciences and Research in Mullana suggests that children between the ages of 12-14 who consumed ice cream containing Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis (just two of 10 live and active cultures found in our frozen kefir) showed reduced levels of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in their saliva than a control group consuming conventional ice cream.

Mutans streptococci and lactobacilli, FYI, are the bacteria most commonly associates with tooth decay and plaque.

While we don’t exactly recommend brushing your teeth with Tart & Tangy Strawberry quite yet, it’s just one more reason to give one of our newest good-for-you products a whirl!

Update: More good news! Researchers in Spain are now saying that probiotic milks and yogurts can help to combat gingivitis, bad breath and cavities. Check out the report here.

Kefir: For the bun in your oven

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:27:00 GMT

Between morning sickness, bizarre food cravings and researching every single car seat on the market, pregnant women have plenty to worry about. Now, thanks to probiotics, we might be able to take pre-eclampsia – a dangerous blood pressure condition – off their list of worries.

According to a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, pregnant women who regularly consume milk or yogurt containing probiotics - aka "good" bacteria - may be less likely to suffer the late-pregnancy complication, which affects about 5% of all pregnant women. In the study, moms-to-be who drank probiotic milk or yogurt every day during pregnancy were 20% less likely to develop pre-eclampsia. The theory (which remains to be proven): The good bugs work on the immune system and help reduce system-wide inflammation.

Lifeway Kefir naturally brims with 12 strains of probiotics – more than yogurt and milk combined. While the study’s lead author said his results should not be interpreted as a reason for pregnant women to change their eating habits, this is potentially good news for preggos who already keep a bottle of kefir stashed in their fridge, right next to the pickle jar.

Who’s your dream celeb kefir spokesperson?

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:51:00 GMT

Danny DeVito hawks Limoncello, Rachel Bilson swears she eats Magnum ice cream bars every day and Mr. T pitied the fool who didn’t eat his namesake cereal in 1984.

Now, John Stamos has joined the celebrity food endorsement game, appearing in commercials for Dannon Greek yogurt. Says Uncle Jesse of his creamy new gig: “I am a proud Greek and a proud yogurt eater. And when the call from Dannon came in, and after I tasted Dannon Oikos, I couldn't say no.”

Which got us thinking: Who would be the perfect celeb to endorse Lifeway kefir? A few ideas:

Heidi Klum If you’ve ever watched Project Runway, you know the supermodel is a big fan of immunity, meaning a contestant cannot be kicked off the show. Lifeway kefir is all about immunity – our probiotics keep your immune system supple and strong.

Angelina Jolie The drop-dead gorgeous actress and mother of six recently revealed that her kids like to eat crispy crickets for a snack - a Cambodian tradition. If Pax and Maddox are that into bugs, they’ll love kefir, which is full of “good bugs,” aka probiotics.

Mila Kunis The Russian bombshell should have been chugging our stuff while filming Black Swan – our carbs could fuel her endless hours of dancing, while research shows low-fat dairy can help people stay slim…a prerequisite for psycho ballerinas.

Maxim Chmerkovskiy We can totally envision this Russian Dancing With The Stars personality sashaying across the stage, swiveling his hips, and ripping open his black silk button-down shirt, to reveal a giant Lifeway Pomegranate Kefir chest tattoo.

Kiefer Sutherland For obvious reasons – his first name!

Who are we missing? Tell us your pick and why!

Kiddie Kefir

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:01:00 GMT

Here at Lifeway HQ, we receive lots of messages from parents telling us how much their kids adore our kefir and ProBugs. There’s just one issue: Lots of kids have a difficult time pronouncing “kefir,” or simply prefer to call it by another cute name. We’ve gathered a list of some of our favorites – please add your kiddos’ kefir nicknames to the list in the Comments section!

Carollee: “My three-year-old son loves your strawberry Kefir. He calls it "Bieber,” like Justin Bieber"!

Eric: “One of our sons can't get enough "Bug Juice" and our younger son will NOT go anywhere without his blanket and “Keyoh.” Kefir is a staple in our house like bread or milk is to everyone else.”

Eden: “My two boys call kefir ‘special smoothies.’”

Erika: “I just wanted to write and tell you how much my 22 month old son, Drake, LOVES your kefir yogurt smoothie in every flavor! Every time he wakes up, gets home from daycare and many other random times throughout the day, he yells "Smoothie, smoothie!" and that's what he is asking for! He has special cups that he brings to me that we only use for kefir smoothies and he just loves it! He just tried the new birthday cake flavor and loved it!”

Melanie: “We call it ‘Strawberry shake’ in our house.”

Charlotte: “My four kids just call it ‘Yogurt drink.’ Not too original, but they love it!”

Some more ideas from our crack team of researchers:
-Milk Slushees
-Bottle o’ Bugs
-Dream Cream
-Morning Mojo Milkshakes

Speaking of kiddos, we were poking around BabyCenter.com and came across this:

“Kefir” as a boy’s name is ranked #30326 out of all names. Rather inexplicably, the web site suggests Cooper, Asher and Wes as like-minded alternatives. We beg to differ – and we think Kiefer Sutherland would agree.

Kiddie Kefir

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:48:00 GMT

Carollee: “My three-year-old son loves your strawberry Kefir. He calls it "Bieber,” like Justin Bieber"!

Eric: “One of our sons can't get enough "Bug Juice" and our younger son will NOT go anywhere without his blanket and “Keyoh.” Kefir is a staple in our house like bread or milk is to everyone else.”

Eden: “My two boys call kefir ‘special smoothies.’”

Erika: “I just wanted to write and tell you how much my 22 month old son, Drake, LOVES your kefir yogurt smoothie in every flavor! Every time he wakes up, gets home from daycare and many other random times throughout the day, he yells "Smoothie, smoothie!" and that's what he is asking for! He has special cups that he brings to me that we only use for kefir smoothies and he just loves it! He just tried the new birthday cake flavor and loved it!”

Melanie: “We call it ‘Strawberry shake’ in our house.”

Charlotte: “My four kids just call it ‘Yogurt drink.’ Not too original, but they love it!”

A few other fun suggestions from our crack team of researchers:

-Milk Slurpee
-Breakfast milkshake
-Dream cream
-Bottle o' bugs

Speaking of kiddos, we were poking around BabyCenter.com and came across this:

“Kefir” as a boy’s name is ranked #30326 out of all names. Rather inexplicably, the web site suggests Cooper, Asher and Wes as like-minded alternatives. We beg to differ – and we think Kiefer Sutherland would agree.

Teed off about autism

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:00:00 GMT

Ready for a mind-blowing statistic? One of every 110 children born are affected by autism. The developmental disorder affects boys at an even higher rate: One out of every 70 boys will struggle with it. In fact, more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined.

A model cause

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:41:00 GMT

She’s caused billions to wonder, “Maybe She's Born With It?” with her trademark Maybelline ad campaigns, strutted down countless catwalks, starred in George Michaels’ infamously sexy Freedom music video, and authored a book, Living Yoga: Creating A Life Practice. Now, supermodel Christy Turlington Burns http://christyturlington.com/ is embarking on a new project: Every Mother Counts, her global campaign to raise awareness and improve the health and lives of mothers and children everywhere. And Lifeway is beyond thrilled to be a part of it.

Run, Lifeway, Run!

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:53:00 GMT

If you’re a runner, you’ve definitely had Lifeway cheering you towards the finish line – we love to support local races and hand out kefir as a refreshing post-race snack. And if you live in Chicago, chances are you’ve seen our CEO, Julie Smolyansky, running around town (often pushing a stroller with her daughters Leah and Misha inside) She’s completed four marathons, countless charity 5 and 10Ks, and just last weekend, ran in the Fleet Feet Sports Soldier Field 10 Mile.

What's up with Celiac Disease?

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Wed, 25 May 2011 01:47:00 GMT

Set foot in any grocery store these days and you’re likely to find a host of specialty foods with the words “gluten-free” splashed across the label. “Going gluten-free” has become the trendy thing to do, spurred on by celebrity followers like Gwyneth Paltrow, The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz and former Spice Girl Victoria “Posh” Beckham. But what exactly does it mean? Considering May is Celiac Awareness Month, take a few minutes to find out.

Are Scientists Playing With Your Food?

LifeWayKefir LifeWayKefir — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:51:00 GMT

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is a food, seed, plant or animal that has had its genetic material altered in a lab for some perceived benefit – typically to help it resist insects, viruses, or pesticides. That means a tomato can be tinkered with to flourish in harsh conditions or fish genes can be spliced to boost population numbers.