Kombucha - The Not-So-New Health Drink
Yum yum,
....but I was only just recently introduced to this delicious and beneficial probiotic tea this year!
So... What is Kombucha?
Essentially it’s a fermented tea-based beverage that uses a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), or “mother” (creepy right?! as a starter culture to produce a probiotic and gut-healing beverage.
Health benefits of kombucha
Kombucha is an adaptogen, which means it brings the body back into balance so that it can heal itself, rather than focusing on one particular ailment or organ.
It’s good for your gut:
1. Kombucha contains naturally fermenting probiotics that help maintain healthy gut flora by increasing the number of beneficial organisms. 2. It preserves nutrients and breaks them down into an easily digestible form, which allows you to absorb them better. 3. It enhances the absorption of minerals, particularly calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and copper. 4. Healthy gut flora improves digestion, fights candida overgrowth, improves mental clarity and stabilizes moods. 5. A healthy gut can also be attributed to reducing or eliminating depression an anxiety. 6. Kombucha contains numerous strains of yeasts and up to 20 different bacterial species (and possibly many more!).
It detoxifies the body:
7. The enzymes and bacterial acids in kombucha ease the burden on the liver by reducing pancreatic load. 8. Kombucha contains glucuronic acid, which binds to toxins and increases their excretion through the kidney or intestines. 9. In 1951, a popular Russian study found that the daily consumption of kombucha was correlated with an extremely high resistance to cancer. 10. It contains vitamin C, a potent detoxifier.
It supports the nervous system:
11. Kombucha contains vitamin B, which has been associated with reducing blood pressure and supporting the nervous system.
It’s anti-ageing and supports the joints:
12. Kombucha contains glucosamines, which are vital for the treatment and prevention of arthritis. 13. Kombucha allegedly eliminates grey hair, increases sex drive and improves eyesight. 14. Kombucha concentrates the antioxidants found in tea. Antioxidants not only fight the environmental toxins known as free radicals, which contribute to illness and disease, but help slow the aging process. 15. Theoretically, powerful antioxidant nutrients can prevent and lessen wrinkles by promoting skin elasticity.
It’s anti-microbial
16. Kombucha is anti-microbial due to it’s acetic and organic acids, proteins, enzymes and bacteriocins. It exerts anti-microbial activity against pathogenic bacteria like E coli and Salmonella. Incidentally, green tea kombucha has a high anti-microbial effect than when made with black tea.
Is this enough to make you want to try it? hmmm.. maybe not - but I have been brewing mine own now for over 3 months and it is super easy and refreshing! I love that I can flavour it any way I like!
Feel free to pop by and ask more about this amazing beverage and you may even be able to have a try yourself... :)
Namaste x