more healthy stuff..

Kombucha tea..tonight I got to try it for the first time. It is a beverage the ancient Chinese called the “Immortal Health Elixir” and it's been around for more than 2,000 years. It has a rich anecdotal history of preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.
The taste was...interesting. Not unpleasant, at least. So then my dad told me all about how awesome kombucha is and now I'm totally hooked. It may not be the best tasting stuff in the world, but it has so many benefits:


*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal excema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent artheriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating
(http://www.kombuchakamp.com/)

Thanks to my recent health kick, I have decided to drink it daily. Dad recommended that I start small...maybe a shot glass or so a day, and then eventually ease my way to drinking a pint a day. When it is first made, kombucha smells and tastes kind of like carbonated vinegar. My dad made it slightly tolerable to drink by flavoring it with fruit. He added a small handful of frozen blueberries to the bottom of one of the bottles, causing it to taste like a strange combination of beer (the carbonation made it taste like that) and prune juice. Like I said, it wasn't entirely unpleasant, and considering all of the other diet changes that I am making, this is nothing.

Kombucha is made with sweet tea, SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast...you can buy those online) and kombucha starter liquid. Set in a warm space, and let rest for a week. The result is this healthy drink :)

SCOBY is the pancake-looking things
in these jars.

One thing...the SCOBY is gross looking.......................................
I call it an alien or an alien disc. It looks slimey and like it could possibly be alive. Just don't think about it while you're drinking it.

So...Bailey is working on being healthier, meaning drinking vinegar-y tea, working out and trying to eat almonds. Miserable for a few weeks, make stuff a habit, have a healthy life? suree :)