In last weeks blog post I mentioned two of my fav. gut healing products- Kombucha & Kimchi.
Both of these have been around for thousands of years, but have grown in popularity with the recent health craze.
So what exactly are they & whats up with the magical gut healing claims?
Let’s start with Kombucha.
Believe it or not, its actually been around for about 2,000 years & is thought to have originated from China where they called it the “Tea of Immortality”. Kombucha is a fermented drink thats made from a mix of bacteria, yeast, black or green tea & sugar. The tea turns into kombucha because of the symbiotic colony of bacteria & yeast (symbiotic meaning that its a mutually beneficial relationship between the bacteria & yeast. AKA they both benefit from interacting with each other).
This live bacteria colony is what gives kombucha a vinegary smell & makes it carbonated (the yeast consumes the the sugar & creates a byproduct of ethanol and carbon dioxide then the bacteria consumes the ethanol). Kombucha is a rich source of probiotics because of this bacteria colony that’s formed during the fermentation process.
Kombucha can help to improve your gut health, lower your susceptibility to illness & aid in weight loss. Why would it aid in weight loss though? If your gut is out of balance, you may not be properly digesting & absorbing the nutrients you're putting into your body. Therefore, if you improve your digestion by supporting health gut bacteria then you'll be able to properly break down food. Two things you should keep in mind about kombucha though- don’t over consume it & avoid the alcoholic versions (some versions of kombucha are fermented just long enough to give it about the same alcoholic content of a light beer).
Alright, so what about kimchi?
Kimchi is a Korean staple & is made up of fermented vegetables- radish, cabbage, onion & garlic. Because of the fermentation process, just like kombucha, Kimchi is also rich in probiotics due to the live bacteria that live among it. It’s also rich in vitamin K, C, B6 because of the type of cabbage that is typically used (Napa Cabbage).
Kimchi has been shown to help improve your overall gut health, reduce inflammation, improve digestive issues & boost immunity. It’s typically used as a side dish but you could add it into an entree for some extra flavor if you wanted! I personally love adding a couple spoonfuls onto my eggs in the morning to get a good dose of probiotics early in the day.