Kombucha for gut and immune health

“Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.” – David Rains Wallace

I recently made Kombucha for the first time! I’m a super big fan of growing and making your own food – as Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. It was such a simple, yet rewarding experience with the potential for great health benefits, so I hope to inspire you to do the same. I won’t go through all the details, because there are many amazing websites that share the intricacies of making Kombucha in great detail.

Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients (Makes approx. 2L)

• 6-7 cups boiling filtered water
• 4-5 organic tea bags (black or green)
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1 cup leftover kombucha (provided with scoby)

Steps

1. Boil water, and brew tea as directed
2. Remove tea bag, and stir in sugar
3. Let cool to room temperature
4. Once at room temperature, add the scoby and leftover kombucha to the batch
5. Cover with dish bowl and elastic band
6. Patiently wait for it to brew/ferment, 7-10 days (based on taste preference)
7. Bottle it (and add flavouring if desired), and let it sit at room temperature for 2 days
8. Keep your Kombucha in the fridge

ENJOY!

Here are some of the additional resources I used for more detail including the do’s and don’ts of the process:

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/make-kombucha

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858

Health benefits of consuming fermented foods:

1. Improves healthy bacteria in your body
2. Increases resistance to infections
3. Enhances mood through gut health
4. Improves bowel regularity
5. Helps with detoxification
6. Provides a source of antioxidants, B vitamins and enzymes
7. Reduces inflammation
8. Enhances nutritional content of food

If you have experience making fermented foods, please share your story in the comments. Favourite recipe? Share that, too!