The fermented tea drink called kombucha has been used for centuries as a health drink. Its first recorded use was in China in 221 BC, and it is used regularly in China, Japan, Russia, and Eastern Europe. The name, roughly translated, means, ‘The Tea of Immortality.’
The Health Benefits of Kombucha
Kombucha has many reported health benefits. Here are just a few:
It Aids Digestion
All fermented foods, such as kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, yoghurt with active cultures, and Korean pickled vegetables (kimchi) are probiotic in nature. This means they can help with the overall balance of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract.
The body contains both helpful and harmful bacteria. The trouble is that if a person takes a course of antibiotics, those pills will usually kill off both, causing serious damage to what is termed the gut flora that enables your digestive system to break down the food you eat into the useful nutrients that keep the body healthy. Studies have shown that a single course of antibiotics for one week can still have an impact on the level of healthy gut flora more than two years after the pills were taken!
This being the case, many people are now more interested in adding probiotics to their diet to restore the balance of their gut flora and improve digestion and nutrition.
It Can Help with Leaky Gut Syndrome
It has also been shown to be helpful with leaky gut syndrome. As the name suggests, some medications, and certain foods, such as gluten in grains like wheat and rye, affect what is known as the permeability of the small intestine. The small intestine is where 90% of your digestion takes place, with the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients being removed from your food and then transported to all the parts of the body that need those nutrients.
But if the small intestine becomes more permeable, it can leak, meaning small particles of food can get into your abdominal cavity and the nutrients won’t be transported where they need to go. Leaky gut has been linked to a range of autoimmune disorders, where the body starts to attack itself. Rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and various thyroid conditions are just a few of the autoimmune disorders that many people suffer from, with no cure at present.
Kombucha has been linked to improved intestinal permeability – so the less leakage, the better your health.
It Soothes Stomach Ulcers and GERD
Kombucha is mild and soothing, so it reduces stomach inflammation that can result in ulcers, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), where the stomach acid churns and double backs on itself and ends up going into the oesophagus.
Help with Arthritis Pain
Because kombucha helps reduce inflammation in the body, it’s often included in an anti-inflammatory diet. Kombucha contains glucosamine, which has been used for centuries to improve bone and joint health, helping with hyaluronic acid production, which keeps your joints lubricated and working smoothly. It also boosts collagen, which is the building block of tendons and even your skin, keeping it firm, supple and strong.
There are many more health claims in relation to kombucha, but these are the main ones that have been supported by modern research.
Kombucha is especially healthy if you make yours with green tea. You can also add flavour to it such as lemon, ginger or cinnamon, and drink it like an iced tea each day.
You can also add fresh or dried fruit, or fruit juice, and ferment it a second time, so it becomes fizzier and can be used as a refreshing, naturally carbonated beverage.
Some people love their kombucha bitter and tangy. Others prefer it sweet and fizzy, closer to soda.
Still others prefer to use it in various recipes. Here are a few suggestions.
Kombucha Smoothies
Use kombucha instead of water or milk as your smoothie base. You can also use any fruit-flavored kombucha you might have made.
Adding fruit
Fresh fruit, dried fruit, and fruit juice are all easy ways to add flavour and get a second fermentation going. Use your latest batch of homemade kombucha at the end of 7 days and remove the bloom for your next batch of plain kombucha.
Use a clean bottle with a lid you can close tightly. Add your newly-made kombucha and fill the container minus 85g, which will allow you room to add the other ingredients. Add fresh or dried fruit, or juice. Close the lid tightly and place the container in your usual fermentation place. Leave for three days – any longer and the bottle could explode.
What fruits to add
You can add a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus:
Lemon
Lime
Orange
Grapefruit
You can also add fruits that are high in sugar content and are often used fermented:
Grapes (red or green)
Apples
Pears
Fresh berries can also be fun, and colourful. Pulp them before adding to the bottle to make the flavour stronger and increase the fermentation. You can also add more sugar, or some honey, to increase the sweetness and fizziness.
Dried fruits to add include raisins, dried cherries and chopped prunes.
Kombucha Popsicles can also be made with this delicious mixture. Place in moulds, add berries and fruit juice as desired, and freeze.
Salad Dressing
Use kombucha as the base for an oil and vinegar type dressing. You can also use fruit-flavoured kombucha that you have made yourself.
Kombucha can be flavored with herbs such as basil, rosemary and fennel, for a savoury addition to any salad. Use high-quality olive oil and some distilled white vinegar. You can also add honey or lemon juice.
Cold Soups
Once the kombucha has been fermented, you don’t want to heat it to too high because you want to benefit from the live probiotic cultures that kombucha contains. This being the case, you can incorporate it into soups and bone broth provided that you don’t heat them to too high a temperature.
Cold soups include gazpacho, vichyssoise, watercress, and cold fruit soups, are all perfect to eat in the summer.
Adding Herbs and Spices
The most common flavour to add to kombucha in the East is ginger, which has a warm taste and goes well with lemon.
You can add aromatic herbs such as:
Mint
Basil
Cinnamon (ground or sticks)
Fennel (for a licorice type of taste)
Vanilla bean is also quite pleasant
You could also make an Indian-style chai with:
3cm of fresh ginger
Cinnamon
Black pepper
Ground cloves
Add all the spices and let sit for 3 days. When it has had its second fermentation, use a coffee filter and strain the kombucha into a glass. Add whole milk at a ratio of 1:1 tea to milk, and add maple syrup to sweeten.
Regardless of whether you add fruit, spices, or both, whenever you are ready to serve, strain the kombucha through a coffee filter, and enjoy!
