Puppy Culture Potluck: Episode 33 - Fruit Kefir for Puppies: Double the Ferment, Many Times the Benefits

This episode’s question is about giving puppies double fermented fruit kefir: "Hello, We are curious about the benefits of using Mango kefir for puppies. How does it help their gut flora? What is the purpose of using it. Thanks!"

Listen in as I discuss:

• How a second ferment with fruit transforms the nutritional profile and bioavailability of kefir
• Why kefir in general is such a probiotic powerhouse
• Why double fermented fruit kefir is particularly appropriate for puppies

Visit our website madcapradio.com for further reading.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I'm Jane Messineo Lindquist,
and this is a Puppy CulturePotluck podcast.
You bring the topics,
we bring the discussion.

(00:20):
This episode'squestion is about mango kefir.
And here it is.
Hello.
We're curious about the benefitsof using mango kefir for puppies.
How does it help their gut flora?
What is the purpose of using it?
Thanks.
Okay.
Me again.

(00:42):
Well, this is a little bit of an openended question,
but I'm going to take it this way.
She's asking
generally, what is the advantage
of a kefir over
other kinds of fermented dairy,and specifically

(01:03):
why you would add fruit to a kefir
and what the advantages of that are.
So here goes.
Let me just startby giving you a background, in case
you're not familiar of how kefir is made.
Kefir is made by putting something called
kefir grains into milkand leaving it on a counter.

(01:26):
You just leave it on the counter.
You don't prepare the milk in any way.
You just take those kefir grains,put them in the milk,
cover it, put it on a counter.
Now those kefir grains are kind of scoby,
which stands for a symbiotic colonyof bacteria and yeast.
And those grains look likelittle clumps of yellowish cottage cheese.

(01:52):
And if you touch them,they have a gelatinous, almost rubbery
quality to them.
But what's important to this conversation
about those that scoby those,
those grains is that,
oh, compared to other kinds of fermenteddairy,
kefir has this crazy

(02:15):
powerhouse level of probiotics.
And it's because of this scoby.
It's because of these grains.
Yogurt, for instance, naturally contains
between 2 and 6 probiotic strains,
whereas kefir contains
50 or more strains of probiotics.

(02:37):
Kefir also has beneficial yeasts,
which yogurt does not have.
So just your ordinary milk
kefir is a tremendously
beneficial probiotic food for dogsor for you.
Now let's talkabout the specific advantages

(02:58):
of doing a double fermented fruit kefir,
such as a mango kefir.
Because when she talks about that mangokefir that she's asking about,
that is from our breeder course, where
that's what we feedour puppies is a double fermented kefir.
It's not a carrier that you've justground up fruit, and added that,

(03:20):
it goes through a whole second ferment.
Let me explain.
So you've taken your kefir grains.
You've put them in the milk,you've left it on the counter for a day
at room temperature,and you've got some nice milk kefir.
Now you remove those kefir grains,you take them out from the kefir

(03:42):
and you blitz that kefir with some fruit.
So you puree that in a blender.
In this example it's mango.
But there are lots of other fruitsyou can use peach, blueberry, strawberry.
These are all ones that I havein regular rotation at my house.

(04:03):
You take that fruit kefir blend,
you cover it, put it on your counterfor another 24 hours.
And now it goes to a second ferment.
When you do thissecond ferment with fruit,
which in this case is mango,
the mango brings

(04:23):
a bunch of nutritional valuein and of itself.
So there's additional vitamins
and nutritional value that you're addingjust by adding fruit in.
But in addition to that, the mango
is bringing prebiotics into the mix.
What are prebiotics?

(04:44):
Prebiotics are things that probiotics eat.
Probiotics are living things,and they need food to survive.
So when you introduce prebioticsinto the mix,
the probiotics that are in the kefir, now,
they have a smorgasbordand they're just going to chow down

(05:04):
on those prebioticsthat you've introduced.
And they multiply like mad.
So fruit kefir
is much more probiotic dense
than milk kefir.
And speaking of prebiotics,
the fiber in the mango kefir is also going

(05:27):
to bring prebiotics into your dog's gut.
And whateverbeneficial probiotics are colonized there
in the gut already are going to again
feast and multiply on these prebiotics
that you're introducingwith the mango kefir.
So the mango is feedingand increasing the probiotics in the drink

(05:52):
itself, as well as in your dog's gut.
In addition to that,
the vitamins that are already in the fruit
and in the kefir are boosted.
B vitamins, in particular
get a big boost, and mineralssuch as magnesium and calcium

(06:13):
become much more bioavailablewith the second ferment.
So it's truly a case where the whole ismore than the sum of the parts.
Now, the specific question
was about the advantages
of double fermented fruit kefiror so I'm making it sound like

(06:36):
mango kefiris the Luke Skywalker of fermented dairy.
But the truth is that yogurt,
milk, kefir and double fermented fruitkefir all three
have some unique nutritional advantages
over the others, and all threedeserve a place in your dog's

(06:58):
meal rotation.
Moving on to puppies.
Specifically for puppies, mangoor any fruit,
kefir is a way of incorporating fruitinto their diet
in a more digestible form.
This is really true of any dogor any human for that matter.

(07:22):
Fruit is more digestible and the nutrientsin the fruit are more bio available
when the fruit has been somewhat brokendown by the fermentation process.
But for
puppies, it's true in a higher degree,because especially when they're first
being introduced to fruit, their gutsjust can't break it down very effectively.

(07:46):
When you ferment that fruit in kefir it's
sort of pre digeststhe fruit and the puppies
can absorb much more nutrients from it.
It is more like the way they might get it
in real life at first,which would be regurgitated by an adult.
So partially pre digested.

(08:08):
The fermentation breaks down sugars.
It creates enzymes and generallymakes the fruit easier to digest
while also increasingnutrient bioavailability.
You know regurgitated fruit
would also have enzymesfrom the adult stomach.
So that would help break down the fruit.

(08:30):
And the sugars
and other substances in the fruitwould be broken down to some extent.
So fermenting is just a wayof presenting fruit to the puppies
in something more approximatingthe way they might
naturally have gotten itfirst in the wild.
So to sum it up, mango, kefir or any fruit

(08:53):
double ferment kefir is a probiotic boost,
a prebiotic boost, a nutritional boost
both in content and in bioavailability.
The fermenting breaks down the fruitinto a more digestible form
and introduces beneficial enzymes.

(09:14):
A great starter food for young puppies.
Fantasticfor puppies or humans of any age.
If you liked this podcast,you'll love our bundles.
We have bundles for breeders, bundlesfor puppy owners,
show puppy bundles, pet puppy bundles.

(09:37):
Check them all out at puppyculture.com.
Well, that's it for this time.
Thanks for listening. Bye bye.