A woman has revealed her experience after she drank kefir every day for a month.
Kefir is a fermented milk product made by adding bacteria and yeast cultures. It is believed to reap all kinds of nutritional and health benefits, and is rich in protein as well as a number of different vitamins.
Not only is it said to promote gut health, it also helps maintain blood sugar, ease stress and fight off germs.
It makes sense then, that so many people are trying out the benefits of drinking kefir.
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In fact, these days it's readily available in shops and supermarkets, while some choose to make theirs themselves at home using kefir 'grains'.
While milk is the most common type of kefir, it can also be made from water too - a popular choice for those following a vegan diet.
Emilie Lavinia decided to give kefir a go, and committed to a whole month of drinking it every day, without fail.
She explained that, while she at first struggled with the idea of a fermented milk drink, she was soon won over by the shocking results.
"At first I felt a little unsettled by the pale yogurt-like liquid and the smell of it. I didn’t really enjoy the way it coated my tongue and it made the back of my throat feel unpleasant – they always say you should avoid dairy before public speaking for this exact reason," she wrote for The Independent.
"... Of course, some people struggle more with just the slightly bizarre sensation of consuming a thick dairy drink."
Emilie explained she sampled two different brands of kefir during the 30 days, in a variety of different flavours, and was impressed by the benefits she noticed.
"I drank kefir, which is high in natural probiotics like lacto and bifido bacterium, every day for 30 days, sipping two different brands in a variety of flavours – I tried natural kefir, kefir with added protein, honey and orange blossom kefir and strawberry to name but a few variations," she explained.
"Not only did I shock myself by absolutely loving the taste, I also loved the results. I had more energy, I felt fuller for longer after meals, my problematic hormonal skin looked better and I found myself looking forward to my morning glass. The skin might have been a red herring, but I was still pleased with how things were going."
If you fancy giving kefir a go, it's important to be aware of what you're buying.
The Gut Health Doctor, Dr Megan Rossi, told The Independent how some brands have started adding sugars.
She said: "Sadly many brands are now adding sugars in the form of fruit extracts, versus using whole fruit, and others including new protein products have added sugar in the form of sucrose in them.
“Many brands also include thickeners like pectin, which are unnecessary if you get the fermentation technique correct.”
Lucy Devine