Kombucha the healing drink
Everyone seems to be talking about Kombucha and it’s wonderful health benefits so when a friend told me about a workshop in Bristol last weekend I thought I’d go along and find out what everyone’s talking about.
Kombucha is a wonderful healthy drink known as the “Immortal Health Elixir” by the Chinese and originating in the Far East around 2,000 years ago.
Kombucha is fermented, that means it contains a large number of healthy bacteria known as probiotics. These bacteria line your digestive tract and support your immune system, as they absorb nutrients and fight infection and illness.
Since 80 percent of your immune system is located in your gut, and the digestive system is the second largest part of your neurological system, it’s no surprise that the gut is considered the “second brain.”
Drinking kombucha every day can help you to maintain peak immune health.
To make Komubcha, you mix black or green tea with sugar and you add a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria & yeast). It contains a colony of bacteria and yeast that are responsible for initiating the fermentation process once combined with sugar.
After fermentation, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains vinegar, B vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic). These bacteria are known as “cellulose-producing bacteria,” meaning they produce cellulose, which acts as a shield to cells.
It’s really easy to make it yourself. Here is a picture of mine which I started on sunday:
I bought this glass jar from the large Asda at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. It only cost £6 and is the perfect home for your Kombucha. Then i just took the metal lid off and cut up an old tea towel and used a large rubber band to hold it in place. This allows your kombucha to breath but also stops the food flies and nasties getting in. If you look closely you will see the large white disc floating in the liquid, thats the SCOBY. I was given that at the workshop but you could easily buy your own online or from your local health food shop for only a few pounds.
What you need to make your Kombucha:
- A glass jar (see example in photo above)
- A tea towel to cut up and use as your lid
- a large rubber band
- 1 tablespoon of loose black or green tea or 4 teabags
- 3/4 of a cup of sugar
- a SCOBY
- 1 cup of starter liquid
- 7 cups of hot water
- A strainer
- A glass bottle with a lid to house your Kombucha in the fridge, you can buy these for a pound from Ikea, heres a picture of mine. My kombucha should be ready by this coming sunday all being well so I’ll be straining 80% of the liquid and transferring it to this bottle.
The benefits of Kombucha:
The acetic acid when combined with your enzymes helps with the metabolisation of carbohydrates and promotes calcium absorption. From the work I do with couples trying conceive I often see from their hair test results that Calcium levels are extremely high which tells me that their calcium is not being absorbed so this drink would really help them with this.
Kombucha also replaces sugar cravings as it kills the bacteria that’s asking for the sugar. We all know how bad sugar is so anything to help stop the cravings is very useful!
Lactobacillus in the Kombuch also helps suppress the growth of certain bacteria and Produces lactic acid which lowers vaginal ph hampering the survival of other bacteria. This is especially important for women wanting to conceive as the vaginal PH needs to be balanced to produce fertile mucus and without fertile mucus sperm are killed on contact.
Kombucha also helps guard the body against pathogens and strengthens your immune system.
Kombucha also helps your body with detoxification, this is wonderful news because it will help escort all those nasty chemical oestrogens that we are increasingly exposed to in our environment. These oestrogens are upsetting our natural balance of hormones.
Additionally Kombucha helps boost energy levels and mood, it also enhances athletic performance and aids the development of healthy joints.
You can add fruit and spices to flavour your kombucha. I have some organic dried mango waiting to add to mine at the weekend. Do let me know how you get on and what wonderful health benefits you notice from drinking it.