I am severely candida prone and suffered most of my life from various side effects of yeast infections, eczema, mouth sores, rashes, athlete feet, periodontal disease, low immune system function, etc. Then I discovered the $40 bottles of Garden of Life RAW probiotic for women....80 billion was unheard of out of a bottle in the probiotic world of 10-20-30 max! I felt instant relief from a systemic thrush infection that had landed me in the ER twice (I was on Diflucan third round at the time). As healing as these probiotics were it was excrutiatingly expensive, and I didn't find any alternative until I began researching "fermentation" via pinterest.
I learned that our culture is sadly lacking in natural fermentation. In fact, commercial processing of food has stripped us of it....period! We have over-processed, chemically-reproduced and heat-treated everything in our culture killing the natural fermentation that should be naturally found in the following: pickles, sourdough, sauerkraut, cheeses, buttermilk, etc. Most all other cultures have fermented foods to provide dietary probiotics: Japanese have miso, German's have their sauerkraut, Greek's have their Greek yogurt and pickled grape leaves, Russians have their pickled beets, Korea has it's kimchi....but modern America has no mainstream fermented food source that hasn't been commercially and chemically changed, destroying the fermentation!
Well, fermentation is making a comeback! Kombucha tea is mostly responsible for this. Yet sadly most commercial brands are chuck full of sugars and fruit juices, so render them worthless for fighting candida and boosting immunity and probiotic action in the gut....however occassionally you can find a unsweetened plain bottle to use as a starter. At $2-5 a bottle this isn't much cheaper than buying therapeutic level probiotics!
Homemade Kombucha is FULL of probiotics (a dozen or more) from my area that keeps me infection free! There are always naysayers like Mayo Clinic who attempt to nullify any health benefits of Kombucha ( just as many companies who don't care to embrace alternatives that are cheaper than Rx, like essential oils, etc.) But the "proof is in the pudding" because when I drink kombucha daily I don't get infections.....period; but when I stop for a few days they hit me like a hurricane!?! That's all the proof I need. I used to take caprylic acid via Solaray YEAST CLEANSE and my therapeutic levels of probiotic (80 billion) with Garden of Life RAW for women. Years ago when I was in college, I controlled my candida with straight caprylic acid and didn't really know about therapuetic levels of probiotics. Now I get both my probiotics and my acid via my homemade kombucha for almost free...it works! Kombucha might cost pennies to make, but Health is Wealth!
Some of the health benefits found in home brewed Kombucha are the following:
1) It promotes good liver function and allows the liver to detoxify the body and eliminate toxins.
2) It contains a combination of acids, enzymes and probiotic bacteria all work together to make this drink a powerful tonic for the overall digestive system and gut flora.
3) It contains a live form of probiotic candida which in turn feeds and eats away at the toxic candida bacteria that is out of control in the gut of those suffering with candida albicans takeover.
4) Depending on the type of tea used, it contains beneficial anti-oxidents and caffeine to boost energy levels. But in addition it has B vitamins which help conquer fatigue by increasing levels of absorbable iron improving oxygenation of the red blood cells.
5) It is high in vitamin C, strong probiotics and antioxidants which strengthen and support the immune system.
6) It is rich in anti-inflammatory glucosamines which are compounds that increase fluid within the joint and collagen production, both of which can help increase joint mobility and decrease pain and stiffness.
How To Make Kombucha
Please note that this blog is much simpler than many tutorials you will find on the internet. In all honesty, this is my attempt at "fermentation for dummies" b/c I was so intimidated by all the complicated explanations online and then found it to be extraordinarily easy as making tea and dropping in the starter liquid and scoby! There, you have it already! LOL But here are more details just in case you wanted a little more.
All you need is a gallon of fresh brewed tea and 1 cup or so of coconut sugar or Sucanat. Any tea will do and I have used decaffeinated black teas, fruited teas (like Raspberry Zinger) or Green Teas. Let it come to room temperature before you transfer the "starter liquid" (1 cup of cloudy fermented tea leftover from previous batch or a bottle of commercial) and the scoby (mother mushroom).
1 gallon tea 8 tea bags 1 cup sugar 1-1/2 cups starter tea + scoby
THM Note: No worries about sugar intake b/c you will ferment the tea 10-23 days depending on the temperature in your home (75 degrees is ideal) and the yeasts literally eat up the sweetener the longer it sits. You can drink it different ways:
1) sweet (E) which takes about 7-10 days at ideal 75 degrees
2) tangy (up to 1/2 cup FP or more than that is E) which takes about 14-18 days at ideal 75 degrees
3) vinegar (tangy like Apple Cider Vinegar) which is very tart (and Fuel Pull) which takes 18-13 days to ferment (or longer) at ideal 75 degrees
"Scoby" is the acronym given to the mushroom or probiotic mass that develops on the surface of the tea as it ferments. If you don't have a "mother mushroom" yeast colony then you can simply use a plain bottle of kombucha and pour it into your tea. It will take longer to ferement but you will find a flat mushroom-like slimy colony of yeast appear on the top of your kombucha tea. (See photo at the bottom of the blog).
DO NOT seal the jar of tea and don't overfill it leaving it air space at the top for bubbly overflow. Put a "lid" on it by covering it with a coffee filter or paper towel under a mason jar ring or attach with a rubber band to keep it aerated during ferment.
Store during fermenting incubation in a dark warm place. Refrigerators give out heat and often the cabinet next to them is excellent. 75 degrees is ideal for a 10 day ferment. I do not recommend any shorter for those on THM, however if you are giving it to your kiddos a 7 day ferment is fine. I mix it with herbal fruited teas and/or cranberry or cherry juice and they enjoy it immensely. We have cleared up all eczema and milk allergy rashes via probiotics and reduction of dairy.
After it has reached the appropriate fermented flavor you can pour off some and bottle it up in fridge to "carbonate" it nicely or simply mix it with Stevia sweetened teas and fruit juices (for kids). I especially love blueberry and raspberry stevia sweetened tea mixed with mine. I drink it with my cranberry GGMS too. It makes an amazing apple cider with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and maple extract with a touch of stevia. I heat it gently (do not microwave) and serve warm not HOT b/c you don't want to destroy it's health benefits.
Be sure to reserve 3/4 cup of the "murky" (bottom) kombucha liquid whenever you are pleased with the flavor and use it and the scoby (which you fished out ....I just reach in and set it aside) as the fermented starter in the new batch of tea.
I learned that our culture is sadly lacking in natural fermentation. In fact, commercial processing of food has stripped us of it....period! We have over-processed, chemically-reproduced and heat-treated everything in our culture killing the natural fermentation that should be naturally found in the following: pickles, sourdough, sauerkraut, cheeses, buttermilk, etc. Most all other cultures have fermented foods to provide dietary probiotics: Japanese have miso, German's have their sauerkraut, Greek's have their Greek yogurt and pickled grape leaves, Russians have their pickled beets, Korea has it's kimchi....but modern America has no mainstream fermented food source that hasn't been commercially and chemically changed, destroying the fermentation!
Well, fermentation is making a comeback! Kombucha tea is mostly responsible for this. Yet sadly most commercial brands are chuck full of sugars and fruit juices, so render them worthless for fighting candida and boosting immunity and probiotic action in the gut....however occassionally you can find a unsweetened plain bottle to use as a starter. At $2-5 a bottle this isn't much cheaper than buying therapeutic level probiotics!
Homemade Kombucha is FULL of probiotics (a dozen or more) from my area that keeps me infection free! There are always naysayers like Mayo Clinic who attempt to nullify any health benefits of Kombucha ( just as many companies who don't care to embrace alternatives that are cheaper than Rx, like essential oils, etc.) But the "proof is in the pudding" because when I drink kombucha daily I don't get infections.....period; but when I stop for a few days they hit me like a hurricane!?! That's all the proof I need. I used to take caprylic acid via Solaray YEAST CLEANSE and my therapeutic levels of probiotic (80 billion) with Garden of Life RAW for women. Years ago when I was in college, I controlled my candida with straight caprylic acid and didn't really know about therapuetic levels of probiotics. Now I get both my probiotics and my acid via my homemade kombucha for almost free...it works! Kombucha might cost pennies to make, but Health is Wealth!
Some of the health benefits found in home brewed Kombucha are the following:
1) It promotes good liver function and allows the liver to detoxify the body and eliminate toxins.
2) It contains a combination of acids, enzymes and probiotic bacteria all work together to make this drink a powerful tonic for the overall digestive system and gut flora.
3) It contains a live form of probiotic candida which in turn feeds and eats away at the toxic candida bacteria that is out of control in the gut of those suffering with candida albicans takeover.
4) Depending on the type of tea used, it contains beneficial anti-oxidents and caffeine to boost energy levels. But in addition it has B vitamins which help conquer fatigue by increasing levels of absorbable iron improving oxygenation of the red blood cells.
5) It is high in vitamin C, strong probiotics and antioxidants which strengthen and support the immune system.
6) It is rich in anti-inflammatory glucosamines which are compounds that increase fluid within the joint and collagen production, both of which can help increase joint mobility and decrease pain and stiffness.
How To Make Kombucha
Please note that this blog is much simpler than many tutorials you will find on the internet. In all honesty, this is my attempt at "fermentation for dummies" b/c I was so intimidated by all the complicated explanations online and then found it to be extraordinarily easy as making tea and dropping in the starter liquid and scoby! There, you have it already! LOL But here are more details just in case you wanted a little more.
All you need is a gallon of fresh brewed tea and 1 cup or so of coconut sugar or Sucanat. Any tea will do and I have used decaffeinated black teas, fruited teas (like Raspberry Zinger) or Green Teas. Let it come to room temperature before you transfer the "starter liquid" (1 cup of cloudy fermented tea leftover from previous batch or a bottle of commercial) and the scoby (mother mushroom).
1 gallon tea 8 tea bags 1 cup sugar 1-1/2 cups starter tea + scoby
THM Note: No worries about sugar intake b/c you will ferment the tea 10-23 days depending on the temperature in your home (75 degrees is ideal) and the yeasts literally eat up the sweetener the longer it sits. You can drink it different ways:
1) sweet (E) which takes about 7-10 days at ideal 75 degrees
2) tangy (up to 1/2 cup FP or more than that is E) which takes about 14-18 days at ideal 75 degrees
3) vinegar (tangy like Apple Cider Vinegar) which is very tart (and Fuel Pull) which takes 18-13 days to ferment (or longer) at ideal 75 degrees
"Scoby" is the acronym given to the mushroom or probiotic mass that develops on the surface of the tea as it ferments. If you don't have a "mother mushroom" yeast colony then you can simply use a plain bottle of kombucha and pour it into your tea. It will take longer to ferement but you will find a flat mushroom-like slimy colony of yeast appear on the top of your kombucha tea. (See photo at the bottom of the blog).
DO NOT seal the jar of tea and don't overfill it leaving it air space at the top for bubbly overflow. Put a "lid" on it by covering it with a coffee filter or paper towel under a mason jar ring or attach with a rubber band to keep it aerated during ferment.
Store during fermenting incubation in a dark warm place. Refrigerators give out heat and often the cabinet next to them is excellent. 75 degrees is ideal for a 10 day ferment. I do not recommend any shorter for those on THM, however if you are giving it to your kiddos a 7 day ferment is fine. I mix it with herbal fruited teas and/or cranberry or cherry juice and they enjoy it immensely. We have cleared up all eczema and milk allergy rashes via probiotics and reduction of dairy.
After it has reached the appropriate fermented flavor you can pour off some and bottle it up in fridge to "carbonate" it nicely or simply mix it with Stevia sweetened teas and fruit juices (for kids). I especially love blueberry and raspberry stevia sweetened tea mixed with mine. I drink it with my cranberry GGMS too. It makes an amazing apple cider with whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and maple extract with a touch of stevia. I heat it gently (do not microwave) and serve warm not HOT b/c you don't want to destroy it's health benefits.
Be sure to reserve 3/4 cup of the "murky" (bottom) kombucha liquid whenever you are pleased with the flavor and use it and the scoby (which you fished out ....I just reach in and set it aside) as the fermented starter in the new batch of tea.