Kombuchat

Kombucha is rapidly gaining popularity these days, and mostly because it’s something you can make at home (more than can be said for sodas and expensive juices).

While the poor economy and worries about health and the environment have diminished the national thirst for soda and bottled water, sales of kombucha and other “functional” juices in the United States topped $295 million last year, up 25 percent over a two-year period, according to SPINS Inc., a market researcher.

It’s good to see more people finding out the benefits of kombucha and trying it out for themselves. When I started drinking it a couple of years ago (I believe first as a hangover cure), I was surprised at how focused it made me feel, more than coffee or normal tea. I encourage those who haven’t tried it to take it for a spin.

Kombucha is sweeping the nation as a popular health food.

Its rise is similar to that yogurt, which has gained incredible popularity in recent years.

The “trendy, fizzy drink” is considered to be:

a new way to get the beneficial bugs that people are looking for in yogurt, kefir and other probiotic dairy drinks. Kombucha also provides a source of prebiotics, which helps fuel the growth of helpful microorganisms in your digestive track.

Digestive tract*, interesting to see this misspelling from a registered dietician.

Kombucha is being seen as “the new yogurt”, in that it’s a quick and easy way to get probiotics into your system and keep everything balanced.

Remember—not all bacteria is bad!

Kombucha has experienced an explosion in popularity in recent years, thanks to some high-profile celebrity devotees such as:

• Madonna
• Halle Berry
• Gwyneth Paltrow
• Lindsay Lohan

They usually sport GT Kombucha, which at around $4 a bottle, is great in a pinch, but a little pricey. It’s simple to make at home, and it’s easy to see why celebrities call this a wonder tonic.

I notice greater focus and concentration when drinking kombucha, and it also makes my tummy feel good.

How does kombucha make you feel A-list?

As an ancient tea, Kombucha has been used to treat a variety of medical ailments for centuries.  Now that it’s regaining popularity, some of these cures are being rediscovered.

Kombucha is so widely regarded as a healthy supplement that it’s featured on WebMD, who shows that it’s used for:

memory loss, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), joint pain(rheumatism), aging, loss of appetite, AIDS, cancer, high blood pressure, constipation, arthritis, and hair regrowth. It is also used for increasing white cell (T-cell) counts, boosting the immune system, and strengthening the metabolism. Some people apply kombucha tea directly to the skin for pain.

Gee, it seems like there are few things kombucha is not used for.

Personally: it helps me to settle my stomach, relax, relieve headaches, and provides a slight energy boost similar to a cup of coffee (without the jittery feeling and the caffeine dependency).  I usually drink a full glass of water with it as well, because it’s a pretty strong diuretic.  I’ve even used it as face toner when I ran out, and it worked in a pinch (I haven’t heard this elsewhere, but the chemical balance of the ‘buch works out better than just pure rubbing alcohol).

even facemasks!

It’s clear that there are so many uses for kombucha. What do you use it for, and how has it helped you?

We love our Kombucha.

We invest time and energy (if we make it at home) or money (if we buy it at the store into it). We’re devotees. We’re evangelists for its health and wellness benefits.

But suppose somebody just…up and left with our ‘buch?

How far would we go to spite the existence of its stealer? How much would it zotz our Zen?

This woman provides a window into the probiotic-addled mind when she noticed someone took her kombucha from the office fridge, with a series of…office-wide emails.

First, some mild hexes upon the heister:

I hope that you do NOT achieve the re-energizing that you sought. And that the bottle exploded on you and your clothes as you opened it.

Then, some idle threats:

Whoever you are, I certainly hope that you are overrun with probiotics to the extent that you get thrush-mouth from having binged on my Kombucha(s.)

And finally, outright promises of violence:

You ought to know that I have been dubbed the person most likely to kick someone’s ass, by a member of senior management who shall remain anonymous.

Eventually, she relents as someone not only leaves her a kombucha on her desk (after threatening email number three) but a kombucha starter kit as well.

Would you have reacted similarly if someone burglarized your ‘buch?

 

The Kombucha Wars are in full swing.

The most recent battleground: Ensign Intermediate School in Newport Beach, CA.

The offender: an 11-year old, seventh-grade boy.

The offense:

having a glass bottle in his lunchbox on Oct. 9. School officials noticed that the label on the bottle of fermented tea said it contained less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. District policy states that anyone who possesses products with even trace amounts of alcohol could be subject to discipline.

The punishment?

the boy was questioned by the vice principal the next day, with a school resource officer from the Newport Beach Police Department present. The boy was told that the consequences of possessing alcohol could include a referral to a program to treat youth substance abuse. The vice principal initially recommended a five-day suspension, but officials later decided against any such punishment.

The reaction:

The mother met with the vice principal, Mary Jo Vecchiarelli, later that day, but it didn’t go well. ‘My meeting with her made me feel, ridiculous, confused, outraged, ridiculed and blamed,’ the mother wrote on her own blog, called Fresh and Free in OC…After the meeting with the vice principal, Leslie G. took her story to Sarah Pope, who writes the Healthy Home Economist blog. Pope’s blog post Friday unleashed her army of readers. It has generated 19,000 Facebook “shares” and nearly 400 comments on the post alone, many of them brimming with outrage for the school administrators and their actions.

My verdict:

The kid gets treated like some kind of deviant–all because he brought a bottle of tea to school.  How much time out of the Vice-Principal’s day did this cost?  How much money are we wasting on this?

It’s another ridiculous overreaction by a school. Keeping a kid out of class for a day for a BS reason like this is proof positive that schools are becoming less and less about learning and more and more about behavioral control.

Let the kid have his ‘buch!

Whether you’re a newcomer to the ‘buch or a seasoned, fermenting veteran, it’s nice to know exactly what kombucha is and what it can do for you.

Kombucha is, essentially, “fermented green or black tea comprised of…organic acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and nutrients.” It’s known as a “probiotic” because it “contains healthy bacteria in the form of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, as well as a dozen other probiotic strains.”

The touted benefits of kombucha are that it “improves digestion, boosts energy, improves circulation, prevents acid reflux, improves sleep, and it boosts the immune system”.

When making kombucha at home, you’ll notice people calling a large mass of matter at the top of the jar a “mushroom”. In actuality, this is “cellulose which ultimately accumulates on the surface layer and actually forms like a gasket on the surface, which is almost completely impervious”. These “mushrooms” can be used to produce batches of kombucha time and time again.

Known as the “Wonderdrink” in Russia, studies in the early 1900s showed that “people consuming kombucha…had no instances of cancer, and had healthy immune systems”.

There exists a deep fissure in the kombucha kommunity over bottled vs. homemade/locally-produced; locally-produced advocated argue that “[m]ainstream kombucha available on store shelves are all pasteurized, therefore killing off all the beneficial bacteria.”

No matter how you drink it, one thing’s for sure: kombucha can be a stellar addition to your everyday diet.