Heart Health and Kombucha?
Things you didn't know about the popular kombucha drink and heart health
Tea is rich in flavonoids - and it looks like that if you eat or drink more of these naturally occurring antioxidants found in green, white and black tea, it may help your health later in life, too according to some recent research.
Kombucha is rich in flavonoids which may help protect against health problems in later life including heart attack and strokeWhy is consuming flavonoids important?
Consuming more flavonoids, which are naturally occurring antioxidants found in kombucha, a popular drink made with green or black teas, may lead to better health later in life. Besides teas, other rich sources of flavonoids include berries, apples, citrus fruit, nuts, and grapes.
Well, this wonderfully healthy diet habit looks like it may extend to kombucha, since kombucha is rich in tea catechins, flavonoids, and other polyphenols!
What's the research saying about Kombucha and Heart Health?
In this research the flavonoid intake of 881 older women was measured alongside calcification buildup of the largest artery in the body, the aorta. Drinking and eating more flavonoids coincided with less extensive buildup.
Black tea was the largest source of flavonoids in the participants’ diets. They munched their way through other yummies like fruit and nuts, but drinking a cuppa was the mainstay.
Well, kombucha is up there with the best of the flavonoid sources. According to this study, "The literature data indicate that kombucha has valuable biological effects on human health."
A fizzy drinks workshop is more than making bubbles!
If you've been to one of my fizzy drink making fermentation workshops, you probably have some bubbling kombucha on the go. In which case, you are already benefiting from the wonderful health-giving properties of the tasteful kombucha brew - a beverage that originated in China over 2000 years ago.
The tangy, sharp and sweet fizzy taste of the kombucha brew that you can flavour during a second fermentation - or drink as is - is very refreshing, particularly in the summer months.
Although traditionally prepared with fermenting black tea with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeasts), also called kombucha mushroom, there are other variants such as Jun (made with green tea and raw honey), Tibetan (made with Pu-ehr tea) and Viennese (made with Darjeeling). Each brew has its own wonderfully individual taste but all share various acidic compounds, microorganisms, and a tiny amount of alcohol. The bacteria in kombucha are mainly Acetobacteraceae. Kombucha is a rich source of B vitamins, polyphenols, and organic acids (mainly acetic acid), and pre-clinical studies reveal that it has desirable antimicrobial, antioxidant, hepatoprotective (liver-protecting), anti-hypercholestorelomic (anti-high-cholesterol), anticancer, anti-inflammatory and other bioactive qualities.
My amazing Jun SCOBY Hotel - this beauty has been generously brewing delicious champagne-like Jun kombucha for years!
