When I first moved back to Yogaville for the winter, a friend of mine was making her own kombucha–a fermented tea beverage that is deliciously fizzy and offers the health benefits of being a probiotic.  It helps the body fight off cancer, detoxifies and alkalizes the system and reduces cholesterol.  It contains many of the B vitamins, amino acids, and antioxidants.   Kombucha also contains the beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus Acidophilus and fungi S. Boulardii; both have been shown to reduce infection by opportunistic pathogen yeasts such as candida.

Kombucha  has been around for centuries and was first mentioned–as the Elixir of Life– in the Chinese Tsin Dynasty of 212 BC.  By the 1800s, it had become a popular Russian folk remedy used to promote health.  German research on kombucha attributes its therapeutic effects to glucuronic acid, a liver detoxifier, and acetic acid, which provides anti-microbial activity.

I had tried kombucha years ago, and had given it up and forgotten about it, but in the last 10 years, kombucha has become increasingly popular–and easier to find in health food stores.  The only downside is that it’s pricey!  That’s why I’ve started making my own.  It isn’t pretty, but I promise it’s tasty.  It’s not that hard to make your own, and there are lots of videos online to get you started–oh, but you’ll need a starter SKOBY, but the video will tell you more about that.

Bottoms up![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lH-xXDIEtk]

kombucha made at home