Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Dear Jamie,
(I apologize ahead of time for this long post, but I'm talking about a cure here)
Have you ever heard of Kefir? I'm talking about home-brewed Kefir, not about the sterile glorified yoghurt that is sold in supermarkets and health food stores under the same name. Real Kefir is brewed from Kefir grains which are popcorn-sized colonies of about 20 different bacteria and yeasts, lactobacillus included of course. A typical serving of home brew delivers a billion or more vital, active cultures, complete with their own fuel source, which over time out-compete and replace undesirables, completely changing the microorganism profile in your gut . I started home brewing because I read that Kefir can reverse sudden-onset lactose intolerance, and for me at least it has (most importantly naturally and cheaply, with a host of other health benefits to boot!). A colony of live Kefir grains costs less than $20, can be purchased from many different sources all easily found on google, and since they technically can never die, when properly cared for can be willed to your great-great-great-great grandchildren... they're just that awesome. A serving size is about 8oz and will require about 10-12oz of milk to brew (the grains will use some volume of milk to grow and replicate), so considering the cost of the materials this works out to a dollar or under per day for a lasting solution. All of this can be maintained in under five minutes per day. Start out brewing with un-homogenized goat milk (no lactose and a different whey protein structure which may help more immediately with your symptoms) and after a couple weeks drinking this, try brewing from whole, UN-HOMOGENIZED (preferably raw) cow's milk and see if you can tolerate it. If not, back to a couple weeks more on the goat's milk kefir then repeat the process. Once you can handle full servings of cow's milk kefir, then move on to DUH-DUH-DUH... uncultured dairy. Can you eat the inoculated yogurt sold under zippy brand names in the stores? Sure, if you want to waste time and money. Those brands contain very impotent "live" cultures held in stasis from the cold which are dispatched by your stomach acids before they even reach your intestines... some brands are even pasteurized AFTER the cultures are added, completely negating the purpose of adding them in the first place! HOME BREWED KEFIR is the BEST! Good luck and hope this helps.