Kefir For Better Sleep - Dr Berg Recommended

Below is a video by thehappyherbalist.com with Dr Eric Berg explaining an natural remedy sleep better.

How Kefir Can Help Improve Your Sleep

Below is a complete transcription of the video.

Eric Berg: I want to share a very exciting natural remedy that you can take to enhance your sleep. As you know, sleep is so important and there's one remedy that I think will work really good and you just take a half a cup of this before bed, and you will sleep better.

That thing is Kefir. Now, what is Kefir? Well, it's similar to Yogurt, but it's better than yogurt. It has a lot more microbes. It has between 12 to 50 different strains whereas yogurt only has between 1 and 3, maybe 4 or 5. As far as the quantity of microbes, not just the strains, Kefir has 5 times more microbes than yogurt and a lot of these microbes survive the stomach acids, whereas they don't with yogurt. Now, the real unique thing about Kefir is that it has not only friendly bacteria but it has friendly yeast. The combination between friendly yeast and friendly bacteria is very important in their functions.

With Kefir, you're going to get less problems with lactose intolerance because those microbes in Kefir eat lactose milk sugar. You're going to have less mi sugar and you're just going to have fewer symptoms, especially gas, when you have Kefir versus when you have yogurt.

Melatonin

There's a lot of other benefits with Kefir. You'll have less liver fat, fewer allergies, less constipation, an improved immune system, better blood sugars, and blood pressure because of how it acts as an ace inhibitor, and fewer pathogens. Now regarding sleep itself, let's talk about what Kefir can do directly for your sleep benefits. Your microbes make serotonin. I

In fact, 90% of all the serotonin in your body comes from your microbes. The more direct microbes, the more serotonin, and serotonin is a feel-good hormone. It is a hormone that can affect your mood. It can help reduce stress, not to mention Kefir makes microbes that can make melatonin directly.

Now, there are several things in your body to make melatonin. In fact, all your cells can make a melatonin but mainly people think of the pineal in your brain that makes melatonin but your gut also makes melatonin both the microbes as well as certain cells, specifically an interesting cell called Enterochromaffin cells. That's a kind of interesting cell because it's a neuroendocrine cell. So it's kind of a half neurological and half hormone and those cells make melatonin and they control inflammation. They also control acids, and kefir makes microbes that make the amino acid, tryptophan. Tryptophan turns into serotonin and then it turns into melatonin. So again, it's another thing that will help you sleep.

Calcium

Kefir also has a really good source of bioavailable calcium which can also help you get to sleep and stay asleep. Now, the microbes in Kefir also make certain B vitamins, including B1 thiamine, which greatly helps stress, especially if you're trying to go to sleep and you're thinking and your thinking and you can't turn it off, B1 is what you need. The lactobacillus microbe and kefir help reduce cortisol. Now, try to sleep when your cortisol is too high. It's impossible. Anything you can do to reduce cortisol will help you sleep. So that's quite a few things that directly help your sleep, that stem from Kefir.

Now, as far as the type of Kefir that I'm going to recommend, I highly recommend that you make your own. There's a really great website where I get my Kefir crystals from. It's like a starter little group of microbes. It's called Kefir Live Grains, but there's no grains in it. The website that I go to is called happyherbalist.com and I don't get any cut or I'm not affiliated with this website, but it's just a really good source of high-quality, very inexpensive starter kefir grains. If you have the choice, I would highly recommend using goat's milk but you can use cow's milk.

On their site, they explain how to do it. They send you a little guide and I will put the link down below. What we do is just take one tablespoon and you put it right into two cups of milk and you don't need to heat it or anything.

You just take it out of the fridge. You put it on your counter, put a little cloth top or even a paper towel with a little rubber band and you just wait for a day, 24 hours and you have kefir which is not as thick as yogurt but you're going to have a huge benefit of all these great microbes and you can experiment with the temperature to make it a little bit warmer, or a little more concentrated or leave it out for a little bit longer to make it more sour, which means there's going to be less lactose in there and more lactic acid. The cool thing is you can take these grains out and keep them in a little bit of milk and then keep reusing them over and over and over.

This way, you have a fresh batch of kefir regularly. And I think the next best video for you to watch would be the one on using other things to help yourself sleep better.

See our article an video on living longer with better sleep.

If you're having trouble getting a good night's rest, you may want to try kefir. This fermented milk drink has been shown to have a positive impact on sleep quality. Here's how:

1. Promotes Relaxation: Kefir contains a significant amount of tryptophan, an amino acid that is known to help promote relaxation and calmness. Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and sleep. By increasing serotonin levels in the brain, kefir can help improve the quality of your sleep and promote feelings of well-being.

2. Reduces Stress: Kefir is also rich in probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that help support a healthy gut microbiome. When the gut is healthy, the body is better able to manage stress and inflammation, both of which can negatively impact sleep quality. By reducing stress and inflammation, kefir can help improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.

3. Enhances Nutrient Absorption: Kefir is a good source of vitamins and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and B vitamins. These nutrients are essential for proper muscle and nerve function, including those involved in sleep regulation. By enhancing nutrient absorption, kefir can help promote more restful and restorative sleep.