{"id":3589,"date":"2016-05-17T15:27:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T15:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=3589"},"modified":"2016-07-13T17:12:49","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T17:12:49","slug":"food-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-2016\/food-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Food"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"133_cMattArmendariz_InfusedKombuchas_BigBookOfKombucha-for-article\"

Photo: Matt Armendariz<\/p><\/div>\n

Tea Time with a Twist<\/h4>\n

The warm days of spring with summer on the horizon have us craving cool, refreshing drinks on the veranda with friends. Fermented beverages like Kombucha are gaining ground in the grocery aisles and, some say, for health reasons. Drink it on its own or to make smoothies, sodas and spritzers.<\/p>\n

Not-So-Trendy Trend<\/h4>\n

Before modern refrigeration, people sought other methods for preserving their food. Dating back to 221 B.C., fermentation is an ancient tradition and has been a staple of the human diet for centuries.<\/p>\n

How Did It Begin?<\/h4>\n

The most popular theory is that a bacteria carrying insect landed in a cup of sweet tea that was forgotten on a windowsill, forming a culture.<\/p>\n

Other legends passed down orally tell of how a Tibetan monk inadvertently allowed a fresh pot of tea to be infiltrated this way, and after discovering the wonderful properties of the happy accident, shared his good fortune with friends.<\/p>\n

Hannah Crum and Alex LaGory, authors of the new book The Big Book of Kombucha are experts on the drink. Crum who bears the mantle \u201cThe Kombucha Mamma,\u201d has been brewing Kombucha and carrying its banner for over 12 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI founded Kombucha Kamp as a workshop in our home in 2004 and then started blogging at KombuchaKamp.com<\/a> in 2007. When my husband, Alex LaGory, and I partnered in 2010, we added an online store and developed\/re-wrote the website to be a more complete educational resource. So I have been teaching people how to brew Kombucha since 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as a love of lip-puckering brew, this enjoyable process has evolved into my passion and lifestyle,\u201d Crum said. \u201cFrom homebrew hobbyist and educator to master brewer, Kombucha Kamp has grown organically as my experience has deepened.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is Kombucha?<\/h4>\n

Kombucha is a fizzy, bubbly brew made from a sweetened tea (usually black), which is fermented by a bacteria and yeast culture called a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it works: a SCOBY and an inoculant (started liquid) are added to the substrate (sweet tea) for a period of primary fermentation, which typically lasts seven or more days. Then the sweet and tart liquid is flavored with fruits, herbs and spice and is bottle-aged to create additional carbonation and flavor.<\/p>\n

Possible Health Benefits<\/h4>\n

Not only did the use of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast to ferment food and beverages protect past generations from spoilage, it also added probiotic foods to their diet and boosted their nutritional intake.<\/p>\n

With its promotion of a strong gut and countless health benefits, Kombucha has been a secret weapon for healthy living for centuries. Regular Kombucha consumption is said to have a rebalancing effect on the body.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first step, \u201cthrough a gateway toward trusting their gut and connecting to their bacteriosapien nature,\u201d Crum and LaGory said.<\/p>\n

Some of the benefits reported by Kombucha fans, according to Crum and LaGory, are it promotes healthy bacteria in the gut, supports healthy liver function and boosts metabolism. The enzymes it contains also enable our bodies to more effectively derive nutrition from their food, as well as improving digestion and bowel function, reducing blood pressure, improving eyesight and relieving headaches and migraines.<\/p>\n

Some report weight loss as another added plus, as it helps with pre-meal hunger control.<\/p>\n

Good for Everyone: to Drink and Brew<\/h4>\n

Falling within the guidelines of nearly every dietary philosophy\u2014vegan, kosher, Paleo, raw, gluten-free and more\u2014Kombucha is easy and fun to brew at home. All you need are a few glass jars and four primary ingredients. The result is a crisp, nutritious drink.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t super sweet, so Kombucha tends to be an acquired taste. While it\u2019s not considered overpowering, it does have a slightly vinegary taste and may be different from anything you\u2019ve tasted before.<\/p>\n

It is recommended that newcomers start slow, drinking a few ounces at a time until you work your way up to a cup or two. Because of Kombucha\u2019s powerful probiotics, it\u2019s easy to overdo and get an upset stomach from having too much too fast.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe process of brewing and the influx of beneficial bacteria can be much like enlightenment, a rebirth with vision broad and senses keen. For some it is a rolling back of the clock, as the joy of the hobby mixes with the pleasure of deep nutrition, an exciting blend of science and art last experienced in youth,\u201d Crum and LaGory said.<\/p>\n

Crum and LaGory provide a definitive resource for guidance on brewing and customizing the tasty drink at home in The Big Book of Kombucha<\/em><\/a>, where you\u2019ll find over 400 recipes, step by step instructions, tips, troubleshooting and more.<\/p>\n

Commercially bottled Kombucha can be found in grocery stores and online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fermented beverages are making a splash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3781,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-2016-columns","category-spring-2016"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3589"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4193,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3589\/revisions\/4193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}