Many people search for quick fixes and easy cures for common ailments. The search is even more ardent for weight loss answers.
There is a drink that can help prevent, and treat, a host of diseases, cancers, and weight loss complications.
Science shows that focusing on gut, dubbed your “Second Brain”, health can have implications to overall well-being and maintaining a trim waistline.
To learn more about your “second brain” and why it is vital to health, check out our article, “The Amazing Science Behind Your Second Brain”
One of the best ways to make your gut happy is with fermented foods and drinks. Fermented products are full of probiotics and other healing properties.
Kombucha is an ancient fermented drink made from tea and sugar, using a culture called a SCOBY.
If you haven’t heard of a SCOBY, you are not alone. It is an acronym for Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast.
This culture, which is actually the fruiting body of a fungus, looks something like a deep water sea creature.
Although the unappealing appearance of the SCOBY may first have you questioning what you have created, the slightly sweet and fizzy taste of it will have you coming back for more.
DIY Natural reported:
“It’s believed that kombucha was discovered in northeast China or Manchuria around 1910. It made it’s way to Russia and gained popularity in the 50’s and 60’s. From there, it spread around the globe. Only in the last 20 years or so has it come to be enjoyed here in America.”
There are multiple legends in China about the origins of kombucha. Many date even prior to 1910.
Kombucha Kamp reported:
“One such story is that it was invented in the Qin Dynasty (220BC) for the Emperor Qinshi Huangdi. The Chinese are famed for their quest for all manner of longevity elixirs. From Kombucha to Chinese medicine, the Chinese have always looked to nature to cure what ails them. At that time it was called “The Tea of Immortality.” Chá (茶) is the Chinese word for tea.”
Kombucha is most famous for having probiotics, but also contains enzymes, amino acids, polyphenols, and B vitamins, according to DIY Natural.
Weston A. Price Foundation reported:
“Kombucha made accordingly has been tested and proven to contain dozens of health-promoting compounds. For example glucuronic acid (which aids detoxification), chondroitin sulphate (a component of cartilage), and B-vitamins (used for a wide variety of everyday functions in the body) are all found in kombucha. It contains compounds that boost immunity, improve digestion, and assist the treatment of many serious illnesses including AIDS, cancer, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.”
Most people use green or black tea as a starter, but you can experiment with any variety to see what flavor you prefer.
The SCOBY can do many strange things as it grows; it can sink a little, turn sideways, or get bumps on it.
If it smells off or has mold, then throw it out and start over. Your SCOBY starter can be bought at a health food store, or you can get a piece of someone else’s.
You will need
* 1 gallon filtered water
* 8 black tea bags
* 4 green tea bags
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 SCOBY
* ½ – 1 cup kombucha
* large wide-mouth glass jar
* tea towel
* large rubber band
Method
- Heat the water and add the tea bags. Steep for about 5-10 minutes and remove the bags. Remove from heat.
- Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Allow tea to cool.
- When the sweetened tea is cool, pour into your clean glass jar.
- Add about ½ cup of kombucha – either the liquid that comes with your SCOBY or use store-bought raw, unpasteurized kombucha. With clean hands, place the SCOBY in the jar.
- Place a tea towel or double layer of paper towel on top and secure tightly with a rubber band. You want it to be able to breathe, but you also need to keep bugs out.
- Place jar in a relatively warm, dark place where it will not be disturbed.
- Test after one week.
DIY Natural tells you how to follow up the brewing process:
“Once the taste is to your liking, you can remove the SCOBY and ½ – 1 cup of the kombucha. Set this aside and use to start another batch of kombucha. Bottle and refrigerate the rest of your kombucha.
You can substitute sugars, although sugars with molasses in them (unrefined) are hard for a SCOBY to digest. This is one time using white sugar is okay – after all, it’s just food for the yeast to feed on.”
Making kombucha is fun, easy, and puts you on the path to a healthier life. The benefits far outweigh the vinegar smell coming from the strange jar.
Please let us know what variations you experiment with in the comments section, or if you have had a kombucha experience.