kombucha

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harlotsdance
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kombucha

Post by harlotsdance »

Kombucha is raw. Is this as good as they say it is?
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Hello, welcome on the forum. :)

Kombucha is (made from) a fungus. This fact combined with that it doesn't fall under fruit, raw fish/meat/egg yolks, olive oil, or nuts, would suggest it's not that good for us.
Katka
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Post by Katka »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Wai recommend eating edible boletus and chantrelles (for their serotonin level benefits)?

I drink Kombucha everyday, right now, and love it. Will this really have negative effects for skin (or weight or Wai's practices, in general?)
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Post by Oscar »

Katka wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Wai recommend eating edible boletus and chantrelles (for their serotonin level benefits)?

I drink Kombucha everyday, right now, and love it. Will this really have negative effects for skin (or weight or Wai's practices, in general?)
Yes, but as the best munch foods, not within the diet. So yes, they will probably have negative effects.
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RRM
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Post by RRM »

you drink kombucha?\
How is it made?
Katka
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Post by Katka »

Just saw your post:

Its GT's brand kombucha that you can buy in any health-foodish store, so I actually don't know how its made (but it is "raw").

I haven't had any the past few days--its a tad expensive (and now I'm buying sparkling mineral water) so it won't kill me to give it up. Nothing the matter with Apollinaris water from Germany, right?
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Post by fictor »

Carbonated water can inhibit nutritional uptake in your body.
I never drink it.
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Post by RRM »

If we dont know how its made, we dont know if its raw, really.
Probably its not raw, as then its shelf life would be very, very short (which would make the product too expensive)
Katka
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Post by Katka »

Kombucha is definitely a living product. It needs constant refrigeration even before opened and fizzes and spurts and smells like baking bread. Normally, kombucha production is pretty straight forward--grow some culture in a bucket--but I just don't know the exact details or how GT does it, specifically. And kombucha is actually not a mushroom, but just looks like one (the "mommy" culture that gets bigger and bigger is supposed to be mushroom shaped).

Anyway, just looked it up and its actually a yeast culture--what's the word on that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Yeast is a kind of mold. I'm not so sure I'd want to eat/drink anything 'moldy'... ;)
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Post by Katka »

Yeah, and I didn't realize it but yeasts are in the kingdom fungi.

Huh, yeast as food. Mushroom as food. I would be interested to know the evolutionary history of human's dietary relationship to these.

Anyway, kombucha is quite expensive--$3 a bottle, at least--so I wouldn't worry if it doesn't fall under Wai. It does feel great though!
CY
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Post by CY »

Technically, the ingredients used to make kombucha aren't raw. The beverage consists of an infusion of tea leaves combined with some form of sugar (the most popular sugar for kombucha is basic refined white sugar, because it ferments easily and cleanly, although other sugars can be used, such as honey. I have had success using sugar from deglet noor dates). Added to this mixture is the kombucha culture, a combination of bacteria and yeasts that metabolize the tea and sugar producing by-products that are responsible for the health benefits of kombucha. It is these cultures that allow the product to be marketed as 'living' or 'raw.'
Oscar wrote:Yeast is a kind of mold. I'm not so sure I'd want to eat/drink anything 'moldy'... Wink
I'm sure most contributors to this forum know that the gastrointestinal tract contains quite a few species of beneficial bacteria. However, many aren't aware that there are several species of beneficial yeasts that also inhabit the gut (although there are harmful species as well, that you probably HAVE heard of). The three or four main yeasts in the kombucha culture are beneficial and found naturally in the intestinal tract.
Katka wrote:I drink Kombucha everyday, right now, and love it. Will this really have negative effects for skin (or weight or Wai's practices, in general?)
Kombucha has purported benefits for the skin, and many acne sufferers have reported a great diminishing or complete vanishment of acne symptoms after drinking kombucha (for some time). I will neither support nor criticize any claims as to the health benefits of kombucha on these forums, but I will offer that it is understandable how kombucha may help reduce acne.

Concerning Wai's Acne Sample Diet, it is possible that kombucha, in people very susceptible to acne, may aggrivate acne due to its very mild diuretic properties. Kombucha contains low amounts of caffeine (from the tea) and alcohol (from the metabolism of the sugar by the yeasts), both of which are below half a percent. Besides this, I see no reason why kombucha would be a problem for those on the Acne Sample Diet, and moderate comsumption should be safe. If you have any doubts, follow the diet until your skin is clear before trying kombucha.
Katka wrote:Anyway, kombucha is quite expensive--$3 a bottle, at least--so I wouldn't worry if it doesn't fall under Wai. It does feel great though!
Kombucha is relatively cheap and easy to brew yourself at home. I can make a 16oz. bottle of kombucha for as little as $0.25. Try the Sample Diet first, and let me know later if you are interested in homebrewing.
Katka wrote:Huh, yeast as food. Mushroom as food. I would be interested to know the evolutionary history of human's dietary relationship to these.
Regarding mushrooms and fungi (not kombucha), the answer to this question varies greatly depending on which species you are eating. Chinese herbalists have used mushrooms for thousands of years as health enhancers and medicine. In most species that humans take for health, the specific polysaccharides of that species is responsible for the health benefits of the mushroom, and these polysaccharides differ quite a bit between mushrooms. From a raw food/fruitarian perspective, where the individual relies on the mutual relationship with intestinal flora that are essential to digestion and the production and absorbtion of certain nutrients, consuming the wrong species of mushroom can be extremely detrimental, as the polysaccharides of that mushroom can fundamentally alter the composition of the microorganisms in the gut. I cannot provide a 'safe list' of which species of mushrooms are safe for a raw foodist to eat, but because mushrooms aren't an essential part of a raw food system, it is safe to exclude them from your diet.
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Post by RRM »

CY wrote:I will offer that it is understandable how kombucha may help reduce acne.
How do you understand that kombucha may help to reduce acne?
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Post by Katka »

Yeah, Cy, I would actually like to start brewing.

I found some websites that sell starter kits. Any suggestions (if you are still out there)?
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Post by RRM »

Katka wrote:Yeah, Cy, I would actually like to start brewing.
Do you believe it works against acne?
How does it do so?
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