Displaying items by tag: kombucha

Recently, there has been a lot in the media on the importance of gut health and research suggesting gut microbes may influence brain development and behaviour

Scientific America Article- "The Tantalizing Links Betwen Gut Microbes and the Brain"

And links to gut health and gut bacteria with PCOS

Medical News Article-"Changes in Gut Bacteria Strongly Associated wit PCOS-related obesity"

I was also listening to a great interview on the Total Wellness  Summit last week, when Dr Josh Axe and Jon Gabriel spoke on various aspects of gut health

Gave some interesting facts about our guts.

Did you know that?

• There are more bacteria in our gut than cells in our body
• 70% of our immune system is located in our gut
• 95% of our body’s serotonin is produced in the gut and there are more nerve fibres in our gut that in our spinal chord.   ( Dr )

The Journal of American Medical Association recently published an article which stated that if you have had a course of antibiotics in a year, you double your risk of cancer ( because 70% of our immune system is located in our gut)

So, the digestive tract, is crucial for detoxification, nutrient absorption and immunity. So, what can we do to help keep our gut healthy?

• Reduce antibiotics
• Stop drinking chlorinated water and drink water from a natural spring
• Have bone broth ( if not vegetarian) as it contains high levels of Prolene ( amino acid that helps detoxification)
• Oil Pulling- This is an Ayurvedic ritual that is used to kill yeasts, bad bacteria, parasite, fungi and viruses in the mouth. By killing them in the mouth, you prevent them from causing secondary infections on the gut.
• Re-populate your gut with healthy microflora and/or add a probiotic supplement and a digestive enzyme to help break down foods.
• Add foods high in probiotics to your diet. This includes fermented foods like Sauerkraut,  Kombucha, Kefir yoghurt.

 I have recently been doing a Vegan Cooking Course and we were given a recipe for making Kombucha from Organic Forrest. Here is a recipe for you to make your own Kombucha. 

What is Kombucha you may ask?  It is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with the Kombucha culture. There isn’t as much research on the benefits of Kombucha as there is on fermented milk products. It has been shown to have similar antibiotic, antiviral and anti-fungal properties in lab tests. There is a lot of experiential evidence from people using Kombucha over many years, including improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, digestive problems, chronic fatigue, arthritis, skin problems and candida.

So here is the recipe for you: 

Ingredients:

Organic Sugar

Tea bags-Green and black

Boiling Water

Kombucha S.C.O.B.Y ) + Starter Culture

1. Start with 1 Kombucha starter culture and 100ml of liquid in a jar

2. Replace the screw top lid of the jar for either muslin or cheese cloth and secure with a rubber band to allow the bubbles of gas that develop  in the fermentation process to be released and prevent contamination Otherwise, release the gas build up daily.

3. Make 400ml of tea ( 1 tea bag and 400ml of filtered water left for 10 minutes) and stir 1 heaped tablespoon of sugar. Allow to cool

4. Take a 1-2 litre jar and add your Kombucha culture with the cooled tea into the bottle.  ( or can use a beer brewing fermenter/tub if making larger amounts)

5. Leave for 8-10 days in a dark, war spot ( longer if you want depending on taste preferences). Keep out of the sun and don’t use a metallic spoon to taste.

6. When you are happy, decant it into brew bottles, leaving a few centimetres at the top of the brew bottles and leaving abut 150ml in your starter culture.

7. To make a secondary ferment, use herb tea, ( may not work as well),  dried fruit, juice or essential oils in the mix and leave another 3-5 days. 

( ref: Organic Forrest)

Happy Kombucha making!

 Eddy x