When our son married the love of his life in 2005,
we knew we would love her, too. We just didn’t realize how much. As time
marches on, we are discovering Dara to be an interesting blend of Annie Oakley,
Martha Stewart, Lynn Jennings, and Granny Clampett.
I had little respect for her pantry full of weird
hippy food the first few times I snooped. “There’s nothing to eat in this
house,” I’d grumble. What were they feeding my grandson? What was with the bags
of black beans? What was quinoa and how was it pronounced? What kind of animal
did hemp hearts come from? What did one do with couscous?
But that was back when I took my health for granted.
Funny how things start to look different when you stop doing that. My newfound
interest in nutrition soon had me cooking differently and noticing the
benefits, too. I’m thankful Dara feeds my grandkids more nutritiously than I
fed her husband.
When she tried to introduce us to her home-brewed kombucha,
however, I felt skeptical. I’d never heard of it, for one thing. It smelled
suspiciously like wine, for another. And the deal-breaker was the floating blob
of slime in every bottle. Seriously? People drink this stuff?
It was apparently loaded with probiotics, which I
understood. But knowing it was made from either tea or berries, that it was
fermented, and that it contained something called Hyaluronic acid all made it
sound like a perfect storm for me and my Interstitial Cystitis.
Then I went on a two-week stint of antibiotics for a
lung infection. I hate taking antibiotics, but if I must, I make sure I take
probiotics at the same time. Why do so few doctors tell you that antibiotics
kill your good bacteria along with the bad? Sure, the pharmacist hands you a
list of possible side effects, but provides little if any explanation for why
the side effects occur or what you can do to prevent them.
Good probiotics cost a fortune at the health food
store, though, so I decided to take advantage of the free, homemade kombucha Dara
offered. I drink an ounce with each antibiotic tablet and it seems to be succeeding
at keeping typical antibiotic side effects at bay. And it even tastes good.
Turns out kombucha has been around a little longer
than I have, at least 2000 years. It boasts a rich anecdotal history of health
benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative
diseases. Its beneficial claims include detoxification, joint care, digestive
health, and immunity boosting. It helps provide your body what it needs to heal
itself by aiding your liver in removing harmful substances, promoting balance
in your digestive system, and being rich in health-promoting vitamins, enzymes,
and acids.
While Russia and Germany have conducted extensive studies
on the benefits of kombucha, no major medical studies are being done in the
west. Could the reason be that no one in the drug industry stands to profit
from researching a beverage the average consumer can make for as little as 12
cents a liter?
Although there’s a lot of information available
online, including how to make kombucha, I wanted to share a little about it
here for those who, like me, hadn’t heard of it. You can do your own research,
but the general consensus seems to be that with regular, daily consumption, you
can notice improvement in immune system functioning and energy levels within
about a week, the healing of more minor ailments within a month, and the
healing of more radical illnesses within a year.
So you could say my daughter-in-law made a believer
(and a drinker) out of me. But I draw the line at swallowing the slimy floating
blob. I don’t care how healthy she tells me it is.
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