I was introduced to kombucha several years ago from a woman who had suffered very serious health issues and almost died. She was put on a heavy regimen of drugs which made her feel very fatigued and unable to function well. She learned about making her own kombucha, and noticed when she drank it daily she felt better. In her own words, she believed it was the kombucha that totally restored her health. She had brought several different flavors to a meeting I was attending with her, so I tried them and was curious to learn more.
I had never heard of kombucha before that day, (maybe you don’t know about it either). So I wanted to give an encyclopedia explanation that also lists the pro’s and con’s.
What is it?
Kombucha is any of a variety of fermented, lightly effervescent sweetened black or green teadrinks that are commonly intended as functional beverages for their supposed health benefits. Kombucha is produced by fermenting tea using a “symbiotic ‘colony’ of bacteria and yeast” (SCOBY). Actual contributing microbial populations in SCOBY cultures vary, but the yeast component generally includes Saccharomyces (a probiotic fungus) and other species, and the bacterial component almost always includes Gluconacetobacter xylinus to oxidize yeast-produced alcohols to acetic and other acids.
The geographic origin of kombucha is unknown and its etymology is uncertain. Historically, kombucha has been home-brewed or locally brewed, but in the late 1990s, commercially bottled kombucha became available in North American retail stores. It is known in Chinese as chájūn (茶菌), Japanese as kōcha-kinoko (紅茶キノコ), Korean as hongchabeoseotcha (홍차버섯차) and Russian as chaynyy grib (чайный гриб). These names translate literally to “tea fungus” or “tea mushroom.”
Kombucha has been claimed to have various health benefits, but there is little evidence to support such claims. There are several documented cases of serious adverse effects, including fatalities, related to kombucha drinking, possibly arising from contamination during home preparation. Since the mostly unclear benefits of kombucha drinking do not outweigh the known risks, it is not recommended for therapeutic use.
Growing Popularity
Even with these types of disclaimers, kombucha is growing in popularity and you can now buy it bottled in large varieties of flavors in almost any health food store. The Price Chopper on our small town even carries bottled kombucha.
This may seem a little “faddish”, but this drink has been around for hundreds of years and we seem to be getting back to it if full swing.
I personally love kombucha. I have bought many bottles of GT brand over time and saved them to use for my own home brew. They are thick and strong and have easy screw on lids. Currently I am making 2 gallons at a time which yields about 12 – 16 ounce bottles. We drink it so quickly, that I am working toward a 5 gallon continuous brew in the future.
Many people around where I live brew their own kombucha so I have a lot of advice to draw from when I have questions. I make sure to use filtered water (I have a Berkey filter that I love).
I have been advised to use oolong tea in the mix which seems to help make it fizzy and I enjoy experimenting with different flavors in the second ferment (right now I am making pineapple flavored). As a former home school mom, it is like having wonderful science experiments running all the time. My scoby hotel is fun to show people. I do notice a positive difference in my digestive system and energy level when I drink it, so for me it really is a plus. (I also use the “vinegar” in the hotel as a toner for my face or conditioner for my hair).
I’ve heard that there were chefs that started cooking with scoby’s , so I did some searching and found some. O my goodness! I even found how to make jerky out of scoby’s! (There are also many video how to’s on you tube).
These posts are given as information and instruction, but ultimately the choice is yours. Do your own research, try some from the store and decide for yourself if this is beneficial for you and your family.
I want to continue to give on-going garden updates to encourage others than anyone can try new and creative ways of growing a variety of food.
Garden Update
The Tilapia fish in the tank in our little greenhouse are growing nicely (even though we have lost a few) and our first try with Hydroponics is still moving forward. We and our neighbors have harvested lettuce and kale for several salads. Our neighbors have even taken the lettuce stems and planted them outside. It is incredible to watch them continue to regrow. We plan to plant basil and mint to replace the lettuce and kale in the hydroponic garden as the temperatures begin to rise.
I have to share with you a cute story of a couple of precious little girls who are bringing us very large earthworms that we are keeping in a tub in the greenhouse to feed to the fish as they get bigger. These two little ones are raising money to send to Africa to help other children. They each bring their own container with the worms they have hunted for. I love to watch them count out each worm when they get here so they can get paid separately. They enjoy the fish and are curious about composting as well. It is such a joy to watch and it warms my heart.
Cabbage, beets, kale, lettuce, herbs, potatoes and tomatoes are all doing well is a variety of containers. I know some of them are a little crowded right now, but there are still plans to build a larger U-shaped bed as the weather warms up. We can then transplant to give them more room. I just wanted to show you how well things can grow in containers. You don’t need a lot of land or space in order to grow your own veggies.
May Family Fun Day
We are planning a Fun Family Event here on May 21st from 9:00 – 12:00. We will have learning stations involving helpful garden friends, including a ladybug release, a butterfly release and observing honeybees. We will be sending out more information each week. The cost will be $20 per family. Families are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and stay to play in the afternoon. Mark your calendars and join us in the fun!
Encouragement For Challenged Health
I need to ask the question, “Why do we grow our own food in gardens?” Each one of you may give a variety of answers, but the overall goal of WellStone Gardens is vibrant health. Nutrition matters whether you grow your own or not. Food is medicine. I want to share with you this incredible true story of how food and exercise helped turn a life around.
If you met this beautiful young mother of two today, you would never suspect that she had ever been anything but the picture of ideal beauty and health. What strikes me about her story is that she started her life as so many of our babies do… colic, ear infections, etc. which indicate the modern problem of poor gut bacteria… however, rather than accept the standard medical protocol, she sought and achieved optimal health through nutrition and lifestyle. There is so much more to her story, she is in her early thirties and on her second career- a nutritional coach and pilates instructor. She enters triathlons, half marathons, is raising and nurturing two beautiful children along with her most adventurous husband, Jeremy Collins. Below is a link to her story which I hope will inspire you to move out of your comfort zone and go for the best you can be. Tricia’s Story
When you fly on an airplane, the flight attendant always gives the familiar instruction “in case of an emergency, put on your oxygen mask on first, before helping others”. Why is this an important rule for ensuring survival? Because if you run out of oxygen, you can’t help anyone else.
What does this have to do with “fruit-bearing relationships”?
We are all caretakers in some form or another. You may have young children to take care of, teenagers to nurture, special needs family members, aging parents to look after or friends and extended family needing extra time and encouragement. Added to these needs there is the requirements of everyday life; groceries, laundry, work, bills, school, church – the list can go on and on.
It’s easy to spend much of your time and energy taking care of everything and everyone else but neglecting yourself. ( I understand the blessings and benefits of putting others before ourselves and the concept of self-sacrifice and will write about this later). But, if we are sick or exhausted physically, mentally or emotionally, the relationships around us can suffer greatly. I know in my own life, the relationship that can often end up lost in the shuffle due to little time and energy left, is between my husband and I. This is the relationship that needs to bear fruit so that we are working together in unity in all these other areas. I need to have the peace and energy leftover to share together with him.
Consequences of Being Over-Extended
Being too busy or stressed personally not only impacts close relationships, but this busyness can also greatly affect your physical health. When you feel over-extended you can experience burnout, stress, fatigue, reduced mental effectiveness, depression, over eating, headaches, emotional swings, anxiety, frustration, and inability to sleep. All of these can negatively affect your health and could lead to more serious health problems if not addressed.
Basic Stress and Health Tips
I started to research other sites as well as books and magazines and found some very generic suggestions to help combat these negative health side effects of stress and busyness.
A “put on your own oxygen mask” sort of list:
Get enough rest
Exercise regularly
Eat right
Have physicals regularly and go to the doctor when you need treatment
Spend time every day on a renewal activity ~ sit quietly at least 10 minutes and:
Buy a joke of the day calendar (I loved Barbara Johnson)
Watch a funny T.V. show or movie
Focusing on Rest and Renewal
On WellStone Gardens homepage, there are four main fields of wellness…
Nutrition: Food is Medicine, Fitness: Be as Strong as You Can Be, Recreation: Rest, Renew, Recharge, Inspiration: Everyday a New Beginning
All of these areas were mentioned in some form or other in my extended search for this post, but I think this concept of personal rest and renewal is most often neglected.
Anytime I have an opportunity to teach or instruct in person, I love to try to incorporate as many senses as possible (see it, hear it, taste it, touch it, do it….). In “teacher school” we are taught this type of instruction allows for the variety learning styles in any given classroom. This is the way I learn best, (I am a tactile-kinesthetic learner). In my experience, I have found that no matter what the age, everyone seems to retain information better the more involved they are. I know it may seem that I am going down a rabbit trail here for a minute, but stick with me.
A Method you may not have ‘heard’ of ~ The Impact of Sound
Years ago, I was an instructor in an inner-city alternative high school teaching Healthy Lifestyle Choices. I had the opportunity to attend a National Science Teachers Convention and was introduced to information dealing with music being played in classrooms specifically at 60-70 beats per minute.
Research at that time was showing the idea of the “Mozart effect” – that listening to Mozart’s music can make the brain work better – originated from a study carried out in 1993 at the University of California by researchers GordonShaw and Frances Rauscher.
Recent research by OnlineCollege.org, has found that high-anxiety students who listen to classical music with 60 to 70 beats per minute while they study, score 12% more in their maths exams on average. See more…
Several years later, when working with our youngest son who had severe dyslexia, I was introduced to a program called FastForward which worked with sound and frequency and the effect it can have on the brain. I was trained by a school district in this program and I the found research and impact over a wide range of age groups and conditions fascinating. As we worked through this program for a couple of years, we experienced remarkable results with our son over an extended period of time.
I am convinced that sound (music) can positively impact our brains and our overall health. When we are personally needing to renew and recharge so that we have something left to pour into relationships that can bear fruit, music (the sense of sound, and the feeling of vibrations) can be rejuvenating for our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. I recently came across a new program, Wholetones, that I am very curious about and I want to try. I’m sharing the link with you, and will let you know more as I use it. (There is much, much more research in this area out there).
Time Well Spent
One of the biggest issues in this area of rest and renewal can be finding the personal time for it. We’ve all used the expression “I’ll make time for this” or “I need to make time for that.” Our pastor shared in a sermon once that there is no physical way to “make time”. We are only able to “spend time”. Spending time (this requires a personal decision and commitment) refreshing yourself for at least 10 -20 minutes may be the best way for you to “put on your oxygen mask” so that you can more fully enjoy and engage in fruitful relationships. I want to leave you with this song that seems to always encourage me and reminds me to slow down for just a minute and breathe deep.
Experience shows me that gardening requires planning, tools and equipment, seeds, plants, good soil, fertilizer, weeding, digging, diligently watching for pests and disease, and expert advice from others. As we continue to use the metaphor of comparing our mind as a “garden” I wanted to “dig deeper” scientifically into the health benefits of the thoughts we think.
Occasionally I am asked to speak for women’s groups on a variety of subjects. During one particular Fall season, I was asked to speak on thanksgiving and gratitude. I started my research by first getting a definition of the two words. (As I research experts in the field, they too started with a definition).
Webster’s dictionary: thankful ~ “feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.”
gratitude: ~ “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”
Thankfulness and gratitude are linked to overall happiness and are cultivated in our minds. We as humans have the capacity and ability to choose to be thankful and grateful in spite of our circumstances and surroundings. Just like being intentional in planting, weeding, and fertilizing an outside garden, the garden of our minds requires the same kind of diligence and intentionality.
Why This Is Important
The incredible amount of research being dedicated to the health benefits of thankfulness and gratitude is astounding. You can search for yourself by looking up “The Science of Gratitude” or “The Science of Happiness”. Again, I am not a doctor, but this research is very extensive and convicting. Benefits include:
Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure;
Higher levels of positive emotions;
More joy, optimism, and happiness;
Acting with more generosity and compassion;
Feeling less lonely and isolated.
Resources:
Take your gratitude quiz from Berkeley University here
Dr. Robert Emmons, is one of the foremost authorities on the topic in America… gratitude power
Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of the division of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center:
“If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world’s best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system,”
“While the act of being thankful is not a substitute for a proper medical diagnosis and treatment, it’s certainly a strategy that can be used to enhance wellness.”
“Studies have shown measurable effects on multiple body and brain systems. Those include mood neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine), reproductive hormones (testosterone), social bonding hormones (oxytocin), cognitive and pleasure related neurotransmitters (dopamine), inflammatory and immune systems (cytokines), stress hormones (cortisol), cardiac and EEG rhythms, blood pressure, and blood sugar.”
Renee Jain, certified coach of positive psychology “When my coaching clients ask me why gratitude exercises work, I let them know that humans have something called a negativity bias where ‘bad stuff’ in our life outweighs the good by a measure of about 3:1,”
There’s no wrong way to keep a gratitude journal, but here are some general instructions as you get started.
15 minutes per day, at least once per week for at least two weeks. (Studies suggest three times per week might actually have a greater impact on our happiness than journaling every day.)
Write down up to five things for which you feel grateful. The physical record is important—don’t just do this exercise in your head. The things you list can be relatively small in importance (“The tasty sandwich I had for lunch today.”) or relatively large (“My sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy.”). The goal of the exercise is to remember a good event, experience, person, or thing in your life—then enjoy the good emotions that come with it.
As you write, here are nine important tips:
Be as specific as possible—specificity is key to fostering gratitude. “I’m grateful that my co-workers brought me soup when I was sick on Tuesday” will be more effective than “I’m grateful for my co-workers.”
Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular person or thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
Try subtraction, not just addition. Consider what your life would be like without certain people or things, rather than just tallying up all the good stuff. Be grateful for the negative outcomes you avoided, escaped, prevented, or turned into something positive—try not to take that good fortune for granted.
See good things as “gifts.” Thinking of the good things in your life as gifts guards against taking them for granted. Try to relish and savor the gifts you’ve received.
Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.
Revise if you repeat. Writing about some of the same people and things is OK, but zero in on a different aspect in detail.
Write regularly. Whether you write every other day or once a week, commit to a regular time to journal, then honor that commitment. But…
Don’t overdo it. Evidence suggests writing occasionally (1-3 times per week) is more beneficial than daily journaling. That might be because we adapt to positive events and can soon become numb to them—that’s why it helps to savor surprises.
It is in your best interest for overall health to focus on The Garden of Your Mind with much care and focus. Scripture fully supports what scientific research is saying. One of my favorite verses is 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
This post is a continuation of The Garden of Our Gut from last month. Be sure to read that post, if you haven’t had the chance, first because it will bring you up to speed to help you better “digest” this information. (pun intended)
Consistent across the board
When I am researching large amounts of information regarding overall health, I look for consistency across the board from many different resources. For example, across the board any health resource will agree on the importance of diet and exercise for improved overall individual health and wellness. Variations in philosophy and techniques come in to play, but the premise is consistent.
In terms of digestive health, bone broth is consistently suggested and encouraged and is a recipe on my website. Currently, there is a growing trend that I am finding over and over from so many different sources of the importance of probiotics in daily foods choices. Again, the post from last month gives a great foundation of resource information.
Consuming Kombucha, cultured vegetables and kefir are wonderful ways to implement a variety of probiotics into your system every day. Sources state that these living bacteria aid in overall health from everything from hormonal health from Dr. Sara Gottfried , digestive health from Donna Schwenk to the gut- brain connection from Dr. David Perlmutter
From Knowledge to Practice… Step by Step
Now the question comes into play about how to incorporate these foods and drinks into your personal diet on a daily basis. This week we build on taking kefir and making an easy anytime kefir “pudding” in a jar. It is great for a ready-made breakfast addition, but my family uses it as a quick snack though out the day. I make 3 quart sized jars at a time to keep in the refrigerator. I know I use the word “versatile” 0ften in my recipes, but again, this is another one that can be totally reworked to your own personal tastes or what you happen to have on hand.
I will give some step by step pictures here and then send you to the finished recipe. This is really so easy, it just takes your personal desire and commitment to try making it to see how truly quick and tasty it is. When you do this, it does actually become part of your personal comfort zone. That’s when health change happens.
If you need more experienced instructions, go to Donna Schwenk at cultured food life (Her video is given above).
What I want you to understand is that I am NOT an experienced expert and I am doing this. My little kefir grains are growing faster that I can keep up with. I want to encourage and cheerlead all you newbies out there that anybody can do this.
Kefir Review
Step 1:
You will need whole milk and kefir grains or kefir starter and at least 1 glass quart jar. (I do 2 every day). Fill Jar with milk leaving about an inch or two space at the top.
Step 2:
Add kefir grains and store covered for 24 hours. I place mine in my cabinet.
Step 3:
Strain kefir grains through a sieve into another jar and add fruit of choice for 2nd ferment. (I love using chunks of oranges). Back in cabinet for another day, then refrigerate for use.
So easy! The next day repeat the process all over again.
Pudding In A Jar
Okay, now you have your kefir. How do I make my kefir pudding? Again, Donna Schwenk is more experienced and her videos are easy to follow. I had to do some adapting for personal taste and amounts needed per day. I am giving a simple play by play here, but the variations are truly endless!
Step 1:
I take my kefir with oranges from the refrigerator and blend it in my Vitamix blender with 3 Tbsp. of a sweetener mixture of monk fruit and chicory root. Use the amount and type of sweetener you prefer. (By the way this is delicious as-is)
Step 2:
I pour 2 cups of this kefir mixture into a 1 quart jar.
Step 3: Add;
Fruit of choice (examples: one ripe banana, ¼ cup blueberries…)
1 cup gluten free old fashioned rolled oats. Add more for a thicker pudding, reduce for more of a yogurt style. (I plan to also try buckwheat goats at some point and I will give you an update on how that goes).
1/8 cup black/white chia seeds and ¼ cup hemp seeds to jar and stir well. Yogurt style below on left has double the chia seeds. Adjust to taste and texture you prefer.
Step 4:
Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. The next day it is ready to eat. I like to top it off with my own favorite add in mix of unsweetened shredded coconut, pine nuts, goji berries, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, and raw hemp seeds.
This is all so healthy and delicious. It can be eaten as breakfast, a snack or even dessert!
I know this is going out on April Fool’s Day, but I don’t have any fun way to play a joke on you all, so you’ll have to be creative on your own. (One year my kid’s placed a small rubber band around the sprayer on the sink so that I got sprayed when I turned the water on. It was very surprising!)
Garden Update
I love springtime, so through May I wanted to follow the same type of garden themes as last month with new information. With this in mind, I wanted to give some update photos on our greenhouse plants/hydroponics and our little Tilapia. All are growing nicely.
We have had such crazy weather (we had cold weather and a little snow on Easter), that I’m glad we had our plants inside the greenhouse.
In addition to our greenhouse growing, we are re-configuring our raised bed square foot gardens, so while we are waiting to re-construct, my neighbor brought me over some wonderful large containers that he had from minerals he gets for his cattle. (Bill and Tarey Shipley are the BEST neighbors ever!) He drilled five holes in the bottom of each one and we placed a couple of inches of gravel in the bottom for drainage. We filled them with dirt we have had in a pile composting. They are wonderfully deep and they are planted so far with asparagus(green and purple), garlic and purple potatoes. These are all first time attempts, so we’ll see what happens.
Local and Organic
Gardening is fun, but it is also a lot of work. We are all about encouraging and inspiring people to grow your own, but we also understand there are many who want the healthy produce (and meats) without all the work. For those who are in this category (and who are local), I have an invitation for you. Tomorrow (April 2) there is an Eat Local and Organic Exposponsored by the Kansas City Food Circle. It will be at Johnson County Community College from 9-2.
I will be at the table with Casa Somerset. I plan to have some fliers as well as a few organic herbs and some cute seed planting kits for kids. I was there last year and all the vendors were wonderful. This event is totally worth your time to come to. Please stop by and talk, I would love to see you! Be sure to get outside, breath deep and enjoy the beauty of Spring!
