Today, I washed my hands thoroughly, harvested the very well grown mother scoby from on top of my first batch of kombucha, popped it into a clean jar and poured more of the filtered liquid on top. That went into the fridge.
I kept filtering the batch of kombucha into a jug, poured some into two mugs, one for me and one for my husband, and tasted. Delicious! We both agree.
The rest of this delightful, effervescent, slightly sweet fermented drink went into four one-quart glass jars and into the fridge to drink on subsequent days. The alcoholic content of this drink is low: about “0.5%, making it like non-alcoholic brews.”
Now, I’m wondering, what are the benefits of kombucha? Are there any? You can bet your tea bags there are!
The Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia for answers.com says that kombucha provides the body with several B-vitamins and vitamin C. The Food Renegade website says kombucha contains B-vitamins, antioxidants, and glucaric acids.
I didn’t know what glucaric acid is.
Further research reveals that glucaric acid inhibits a bacterial enzyme that works in our large intestine to break down a compound of wastes and glucuronic acid, a toxic byproduct of digestion and absorption created by the liver. By breaking down this toxin in the gut, the bacterial enzyme makes the toxin available to be absorbed and go through the liver once more – possibly causing unwelcome symptoms.
Soooooooooo, glucaric acid ensures that the body eliminates the toxins combined with the glucuronic acid the first time, rather than have the liver work on it yet again, possibly unsuccessfully!
And, in that way, kombucha tea aka kombucha kvass supports the liver in its task of cleansing the body. Ergo, kombucha tea is a great natural way to support gentle cleansing in your body.
By the way, Günther W. Frank has an entertaining website all about kombucha, how to make it and why you would want to drink it. However, he’s under the misapprehension that kombucha tea is good for you because of the glucuronic acid in it! Not so, as Michael R. Roussin explains in the book he touts on Kombucha-Research.com, and as I’ve explained above.
So, cheers to kombucha!
Best of health, naturally,
Nina