What we eat for breakfast can set the tone of our food choices and eating habits for the day. Chosen well, breakfast can set a powerful president for positivity. Chosen for convenience, it can wrong foot us from the offset. So what constitutes a ‘good’ breakfast? There’s a growing school of thought that (aside from ensuring the correct protein / carb ratio and nutrient content etc), we could all benefit from paying attention to the ‘LIVE’ element of our breakfast. ‘Live’ relates to the presence of active living cultures, or probiotics as they are better known. These are found in kefir, kombucha and some yoghurts, to name but a few food sources. The benefit of going ‘live’ The main benefits of starting the day with a dose of live cultures is that the active yeasts and bacteria help to restore the gut microbiome, which can easily become damaged by antibiotics, sugar, stress or environmental toxins. The result is better absorption - and enhanced usage - of some key nutrients found in the food you eat. There’s never a truer saying than ‘you are what you absorb’, and a balanced diet is only ever half the picture. Through these digestion-enhancing effects, regular ‘live breakfasts’ can help to to address many issues, including low energy, digestive symptoms and even sugar cravings.
Kefir, in particular, has also been found to have profound effects on IBS, mood disorders and skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis and rosacea. Kefir: the low down Kefir is a cultured drink, similar in consistency to drinkable yoghurt, with a tart and tangy flavour, but it is extremely versatile and can be incorporated into many recipes, including smoothies, muffins and mueslis. It is made by combining kefir grains with milk and storing it in a warm area to "culture," The grains are not typical grains, such as oats or rice, but rather a ‘grain’ composed of symbiotic microorganisms in a matrix of sugars, proteins and lipids. One of the leading UK suppliers of kefir - Chuckling Goat - make their product with a base of fresh pasteurised goats milk and live cultures, making it superior to those kefirs which are made with powdered sachet starters. Live kefir continues to work inside the bottle, becoming stronger in taste and separating into curds and whey over time.
Ways with Kefir Embracing a kefir-based breakfast programme opens up the potential for a multitude of tasty ways to start the day!
Why not try our Mango, Papaya and Oat Kefir Pots (pictured), which combine all the benefits of kefir with the goodness of fruit, oats, avocado and pumpkin seeds, for a perfectly balanced (LIVE!) breakfast or snack. Want to try it for yourself? The Chuckling Goats want to give you 15% OFF your first box of powerful kefir - enter the code HEALTHMAG15 at the checkout.
Sponsored by Chuckling Goat
We do not recommend that you consume kefir if you are taking blood thinners or immunosuppressants.
