I admit it, I am a sucker for Whole Foods. As someone who can describe herself as "never the chef, always the dinner guest" I have just complete reverence for a store filled with delicious goodies that can be thrown together in endless ways - and most under the premise of being great for you, yum!
For a few weeks now I have been eyeing a drink that looked, let's be honest here, a tad disgusting. With chunks of who knows what floating on the bottom, barely hidden by the beautiful labeling, Kombucha appealed to the raw side of me. Not that I venture down the raw road very often, but when I do, I am sure to do a little research before. In this case, research came in the form of an expert Whole Foods employee who, incidentally, also happens to be a member of my YTT program. Bonus.
She explained to me that it "is like, so AWESOME for your body, and you definitely need to drink it on an empty stomach, it will make your head feel all light and crazy!" With those excellent recommendations, I grabbed my sweetie and rushed off to examine their selection. Choosing citrus as my own and mango for him, we couldn't even wait to get home before opening them. So there we are, in the parking lot with a bit of Citrus fizzing out of the top (they weren't joking when they say not to shake) and after the first sip I felt something amazing happen. Almost like a warm tingling, my mood was elevated and each part of my body felt a little more alive. Although it took a few sips for him, my sweetie agreed that there was definitely something to this ancient Chinese tea.
A few days later, I mentioned to my mother this amazing tea I had tried. Let it be stated for the record here that she is not a fan of most "crunchy, hippie stuff," but once I said "fizzy in the head," she was already gathering up her purse and was waiting by the car door for me like an eager puppy. For the second time that week I led someone to the Kombucha section and as we walked up to the register with six bottles between us, we garnered not a few stares.
The friendly cashier, as they always are, patiently answered my mothers questions on the tea. And then she told us that it was so popular that a truck came in with a new batch every other day. Lo! Here I had found a quiet Kombucha revolution, who knows how many hundreds of secret Kombucha drinkers filling the Charleston area. Back at her home we sat there like proper ladies with our teas, and as the fizzy effects of the tea hit her, my mother felt inspired and decided to show me some off the cuff yoga moves she had just invented, like the "flying goose" and the "meditating crane."
As I told more people about Kombucha, they came up with more intricate questions that even I, newly knighted Kombucha expert, could not answer. So I began my research.
To start I visited the Synergy Kombucha site, the creators of the variety sold at Whole Foods. While I do not want to give everything away (as I want to whet your appetite so you will check it out yourself), here are a few juicy tidbits listed there:
*NBC Dateline reported that 3 million people drink Kombucha regularly
*A Nobel Prize winner stated that he drank Kombucha when he was in a Siberian slave camp
*Only 60 calories per bottle!
*Even kids can drink it (up to 8 ounces per day)
So what is Kombucha tea? It is a medicinal tea made from a culture of acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) and yeast. Depending on culture, the final anaerobic (without air) fermentation may yield a variety of goodies: Acetic acid,butyric acid, gluconic acid, glucuronic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, usnic acid and some B-vitamins.
As often happens, those of us in the Western world were the last to jump on the bandwagon. Wikipedia states as far back as the 19th century Ukrainian and Russian historical documents reference the tea. The Chinese and Japanese were also well-aware and enjoying the benefits of this tea well before we were. Although there are a community of home-brewers out there, I would recommend that the average Joe (or Jane) to pick some up at Whole Foods rather than attempting to create it themselves.
So why are people downing this live, raw drink in great quantities? The health benefits include "stimulating the immune system, preventing cancer, and improving digestion and liver function." As with anything, it is always important to do research and determine what is best for your own body.
It seems that in this time of uncertainty we are on a quest to control what we can, in the form of our own health. Different products abound offering promises of all sorts, from shinier hair to preventing the onset of cancer. While I am grateful for my own good health, I am always curious as to what is available, particularly in a natural form. As yogis we should always be seeking the truth, and to take care of the vessel in which we enjoy the wonders of yoga.
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