The Weekly Roundup: Your Go-To Guide For Everything You May Have Missed This Week & More! 8/1 – 8/7

August 7, 2020

Welcome to Ben Greenfield's Weekly Roundup and Cool New Discoveries!

Ben Greenfield's discoveries, from the latest news on the fronts of fitness, nutrition, health, wellness, biohacking, and anti-aging research. I also recap my upcoming events and special announcements so you can keep up with giveaways, discounts, and more!

New Discoveries Of The Week: Cool New Things I'm Trying, Books I'm Reading, And More!

The Liquid Superfood I Use For Smoothie Bases (& For Making Camel Faces!)

Sometimes when I make my world-famous “Anti-Aging Smoothie” (all ingredients and instructions here), which I drink nearly every morning, I use bone broth, coconut milk, or sometimes even some left-over cold organic coffee for my smoothie liquid “base.” But increasingly, for reasons you’re about to discover, I’ve been using my homemade kefir.

I find kefir to be absolutely fascinating. It is a cultured, fermented beverage that tastes a bit like drinking yogurt, or slightly tart, creamy milk. Just like sourdough is made using a starter, kefir is made using a starter “grain,” which is a combination of yeasts, milk proteins, and bacteria. Kefir originated in Eastern Europe and Russia, where it is traditionally prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk with kefir grains. These grains are living microorganisms that aren’t a grain like rice, wheat, or barley but technically a gelatinous polysaccharide culture of bacteria and yeast. The beverage seems to have first come into popularity in the Caucasus Mountains, where the nomadic Ossetians experimented with adding kefir grains to goatskin bags, then letting the grains ferment into a diluted, milk-like drink they would drink for days on end for sustained, healthy energy.

The basic concept of kefir is quite simple: You buy kefir grains (I get mine from Cultures For Health), then grow them in milk for around 24 hours on the kitchen counter. These days I am using Desert Farms Camel’s Milk—which, compared to goat or cow milk, seems to give me about the most rich, flavorful kefir I’ve ever drunk. You can use the grains over and over again for new batches of kefir, and, just like the “mother” used to make the fermented drink kombucha, the grains eventually flourish, grow, and can be given away to friends or family to begin to make their own kefir, making this drink a gift that keeps on giving!

Kefir recipes abound on the internet, and my own special recipe is one that I’ll release in the upcoming Boundless Cookbook, but I recommend this recipe to get started.

Once I finish making my kefir, I often add a scoop of colostrum and a scoop of a good prebiotic fiber mix (I use acacia fiber powder or ATP Science’s GutRight formula, although any prebiotic powder formula will do) to the strained kefir jar that I’ve poured my prepared kefir into. These additions seem to allow for a far more rich and creamy kefir, as they can help to feed and stabilize the bacteria. When I do this, I strain my first kefir into a glass mason jar and then leave it on the counter for an extra 6-8 hours with the prebiotics and colostrum to concentrate even more bacteria via what is called “secondary fermentation.”

The final kefir can be used as a smoothie base, makes for a fantastic meat marinade, can be used to make yogurt, can be blended with ice/gelatin/cacao/stevia for a nighttime snack—the list goes on! How about you? Do you drink or make kefir? Let me know what you think!

A Rare Root That Gives You Oodles Of Hardcore Energy

My friend and true essential oil “wizard,” Dr. Nick, recently sent me a sacred root from the native priests and elders of the Virgin Islands. It is called Kakanga Root, and it is used by the Rastas and medicine men in the local region. The indigenous steep these roots in wine and brew powerful tonics or add it to other herbs, roots, and bush to craft teas for well-being. Drinking “Bush Tea” or “Root Tea” on the island is popular for people of all ages to physically motivate. Kakanga is one of the primary roots used in this tea to build energy, or chi-force, strengthen sexual potency, and to aid the sick/weak. When young people are lazy, elders will feed them Kakanga Root to build their inner fire to take action.

The wildcrafted Kakanga Root from Essential Oil Wizardry is harvested on the island by Nick’s Rastafarian brother, Jah Chris from the island of St. Croix. All his harvest practices are consciously considered, and he has been taught by his indigenous elders to follow the roots towards the tips and to harvest humble amounts in the traditional way.

My own experience in using this involved steeping the roots in warm-hot water for about 10-20 minutes. I typically find I can re-steep for several days with these same roots for about 7-10 teapots of tea! The effects on libido and energy are quite notable. This is a precious, limited island resource, and orders are currently limited to one bag of Kakanga with any purchase. But it’s definitely worth trying. You can get Kakanga root here (use code BEN to save 10%).

Podcasts I Recorded This Week:

Biohacking Your Brain With Precision Medicine, Genomics, Psychedelics, Advanced Nutritional Strategies & Much More!

This episode was brought to you by Kion Cold Thermogenesis Challenge, Organifi Glow (code BENG20), Perfect Keto (code BGF) and Water and Wellness (code GREENFIELD).

Carnivore Diet Myths Debunked, Hard Questions About Meat Vs. Plants, Are Broccoli Sprouts Really Bad For You & Much More With Dr. Paul Saladino.

This episode was brought to you by Kion Lean (code BEN10), Organifi Gold Chocolate (code BENG20), CAR.O.L (code GREENFIELD200), and Pique Tea (GREENFIELD).

Ben Greenfield's VIP Text Club: To receive exclusive texts from Ben Greenfield, text the word “FITNESS” to 411247 (within the U.S. only).

Articles I Published This Week:

Demystifying The Carnivore Diet: What’s The Problem With Plants & Is An All-Meat Diet The Answer?

Sabbath Ramblings: To Die Is Gain (Will YOUR Death Rock This Planet?)

My full article feed and all past archives of my articles are here if you want to check out past articles.

Article I Was Featured In This Week:

Boundless: Upgrade Your Brain, Optimize Your Body & Defy Aging

Special Announcements:

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This Week's Most Popular Instagram Post

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDZ51XClZnG/

This Week's Most Popular Tweet:

Here’s why CO2 tolerance training, exercising with masks on, long breath exhales, etc. make you more resilient to stress: https://t.co/UFL3ImUrot

— Ben Greenfield (@bengreenfield) August 3, 2020