Fight Cold and Flu Season with Probiotics

Here are more good news. Ever wonder what would happen if you are diagnose with the deadly H1N1 virus? I mean where would go to get the anti-virus when the nearest designated government hospital runs out of stock?

Well here is something which you could try: Kombucha tea. Like always, please consult your family doctor or physician before you try it.

By Laurie Neverman

The H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, has been hitting hard in northeast Wisconsin.  With a likely shortage of vaccine and vaccine concerns , what can you do to help protect your family naturally?

Last flu season Green Sense discussed how to Boost Your Immune System Naturally , including recipes for bone broths.  This cold and flu season I’d like to focus on probiotics.

Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms similar to the "friendly" bacteria found naturally in the body's digestive system.  They have recently become very popular as a food additive and supplement, but is there any truth to all the health claims?  As it turns out, yes.

After an 18 month study that examined the effect of probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis on children aged 3 to 5, the results showed that:

    * the Lactobacillus acidophilus group had 53% fewer fevers, 41% fewer coughs, and 28% fewer runny noses than the placebo group
    * the group given both bacteria strains had 72% fewer fevers, 62% fewer coughs, and 59% fewer runny noses than the placebo group
    * the Lactobacillus acidophilus group recovered from cold symptoms 32% faster and the two-bacteria group recovered 48% faster than the placebo group, when they did get sick, with less antibiotic use (68% and 84% less, respectively)

Other studies have shown similarly positive results.  If you consider how much surface area there is in the digestive track (some estimates calculate that it forms up to 70% of the immune system), it makes sense that keeping it healthy helps keep you healthy.

Personally, I have started brewing kombucha , plus we regularly consume yogurt and kefir with live and active cultures (read the label – you want good bacteria that are still frisky).  I have also ordered some water kefir grains and will soon be making beet kvass .  So far, so good.

Related Links:

New Study: Probiotic Strain Boosts Immune Response to Flu Virus - Researchers found that a specific strain of probiotics, increases the body's immune response to the flu virus -- specifically, to influenza A. Swine flu, also known as H1N1, is a variant of influenza A.

Probiotics May Reduce Colds and Flu in Children - New Study Shows Friendly Bacteria Help Strengthen Immunity

Digestive Problems & The Immune System – Analysis of the relationship between digestion and the immune system.



Probiotic Recipes

Beet Kvass (adapted from Nourishing Traditions ) and featured at www.feelgoodeats.com

In Nourishing Traditions , Sally Fallon notes, “One four ounce glass in the morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver, and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments.” (p. 610)

Ingredients:

3 medium organic beets
¼ cup whey (innoculant)
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
2 quarts filtered water*

Directions:

Slice off the beet greens and save them for another purpose (beet greens are loaded with nutrients and can be prepared like chard or kale). Slice off the bottom of the beet and thoroughly scrub and peel. Coarsely chop the beets and place in a tall glass container.

Add the filtered water, sea salt, and whey and stir to combine. Cover securely and keep at room temperature for 2 days, stirring a few times. After 2 days, strain out the beets and discard, transfer the liquid to mason jars and store in the refrigerator.

*Don’t use tap water if it is chlorinated because chlorine will inhibit the fermentation process.



Basic Kombucha from Wild Fermentation featured at Common Sense Homesteading

I personally have two three quart batches brewing on my counter at any given time.  Cold temperatures will slow down fermentation, so I am letting mine ferment for around two weeks.

Timeframe:  About 7-10 days

Ingredients (for 1 quart/1liter):

1 quart/1liter water
1/4 cup/60 milliliters sugar
1 tablespoon/15 milliliters loose black tea or 2 teabags
1/2 cup/125 milliliters mature acidic kombucha
Kombucha mother (SCOBY)

Directions:
1.      Mix water and sugar and bring to a boil in a small cooking pot.
2.      Turn off the heat; add tea, cover, and steep about 15 minutes.
3.      Strain the tea into a glass container.  It's best to use something wide; kombucha needs adequate surface area and works best if the diameter of the container is greater than the depth of the liquid.  Allow the tea to cool to body temperature.
4.      Add the mature acidic kombucha.  When you obtain a culture, it will be stored in this liquid.  Save a portion of the subsequent batches for this purpose.
5.      Place the kombucha mother in the liquid, with the firm opaque side up.
6.      Cover with a cloth and store in a warm spot, ideally 75- to 85F (21 to 29 C).
7.      After a few days to 1 week, depending on the temperature, you will notice a skin forming on the surface of the kombucha.  Taste the liquid.  It will probably still be sweet.  The longer it sits, the more acidic it will become.
8.      Once it reaches the acidity you like, start a new batch and store you mature kombucha in the refrigerator.  You now have two mothers, the original one you started with, and the new one.  Use either the new or the old mother in your new batch, and pass the other one on to a friend (or the compost).  Each generation will give birth to a new mother, and the old mother will thicken.



Water Kefir from Rebuild: the blog

Water kefir is an effervescent beverage that can be used as a healthy replacement for soda pop.  Kefir grains can be purchased online at Cultures for Health and other vendors.

Water kefir instructions: Innoculating the Water
1.      Dissolve 1/3 cup sugar with warm water in a clean glass jar.
2.      Add one quart of water. (See instructions below on adding juice or fruit as well.)
3.      Add grains.
4.      Place in cupboard or other spot out of direct sunlight.
5.      Cover jar with a clean dish towel.
6.      Let sit for 24 hours|
7.      Strain grains from liquid
8.      Add juice, reuse grains. Go back to step 1 with grains.



One-step kefir soda (uses dry fruit)

1.      1/3 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 quart water
2.      Add grains when water has cooled
3.      Add 1-3 pieces of dried fruit (e.g., pineapple, apricot, papaya, mango)
4.      Ferment for 24 hours or until it reaches desired sweetness. (A longer fermentation process will reduce the sugar content and raise the alcohol content, though this recipe will not turn into "hooch." There is not enough sugar.)
5.      Strain grains, start new batch, drink soda.



Two-step kefir soda (uses fruit juice)

1.      1/3 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 quart water
2.      Add grains when water has cooled
3.      Ferment for 24 hours or until it reaches desired sweetness. (A longer fermentation process will reduce the sugar content and raise the alcohol content, though this recipe will not turn into "hooch." There is not enough sugar.)
4.      Strain grains, start new batch.
5.      Add 1-2 cups of fruit juice to kefir water. Ferment for another 24 hours or until desired sweetness.

Note: Juice can be added initially to the grains to make it a "one-step" process, but grains will take on the color of the juice. It may also be difficult to remove all of the fruit pulp when straining the grains.

First Attempt at Kombucha Tea and Continuous Brewing!

To start off this posting I am going to list various websites that offer suggestions, definitions, instructions, and knowledge about Kombucha, since many of you may not have heard of it and its reported 'miraculous' properties.

* a wonderful forum of helpful people to ask questions, get insite from, and share troubleshooting tips: Original Kombucha Yahoo Group
* Order supplies, learn about Kombucha, learn brewing techniques from The Happy Herbalist
* Direct link to a very descriptve brewing guide
* Link to information specific to the continuous brewing method

So, What IS Kombucha Tea??

Although frequently referred to as a mushroom, which it resembles, Kombucha is not a mushroom — it's a colony of bacteria and yeast. Kombucha tea is made by adding the colony to sugar and black or green tea and allowing the mix to ferment. The resulting liquid contains vinegar, B vitamins and a number of other chemical compounds. Kombucha tea is commonly prepared by taking a starter sample from an existing culture and growing a new colony in a fresh jar. Health benefits attributed to Kombucha tea include stimulating the immune system, preventing cancer, and improving digestion and liver function. -citation i just lost.



Basically, Kombucha 'supposedly' does all sorts of great stuff: turns gray hair colored, makes you feel better, can cure cancer. There are thousands of supporters, and most likely as many cynics. Just like any 'health food' there are claims and there are suggestions, but when it comes down to it I think Kombucha is what you want it to be. It is a detoxifier, it is a tasty drink, it gives you energy, it makes you feel connected to something you grow yourself and drink on a daily basis. That is the one thing that matters: to get health benefits from KT (Kombucha Tea) you must drink it daily or you lose ground on the benefits.

From personal experience thus far (from store purchased KT) I can report this: KT made me feel less hungry. It made me crave alcohol a little less. It gave me a general mild feeling of 'nice'. I returned from my honeymoon with daily boughts of diarrhea that wouldn't go away regardless of various medicines I tried - I drank KT for a few days and was all better.
I will report again after my first week of drinking my homemade KT.

So this is a lot of text. If you're interested in KT do some research on the sites I listed above, join the forum to connect with real live people willing to help, and proceed with caution. You must be sanitary, treat the process with respect, start drinking a little at a time, and see how you feel. If you like it - great! I may even have a 'scoby' to share soon.


My Adventure with KT

I started my 'scoby' with the yeasty sludge at the bottom of GT's Raw Kombucha. (woops, that was wrong: i actually started mine from Buddha's Brew, a local product) You can purchase scobies or be given one already formed (check craigslist or the Happy Herbalist). I ordered a great receptacle from Bed Bath and Beyond, that was shipped to me broken and reshipped finally in one piece. After nursing the thin little scoby that developed for a few weeks, it's thickened up to almost one inch, i think it's a mother and a baby, and it's ready for its new home. And i'm ready to drink some kt!

The recipe I'm following:

* 2 gallons distilled water
* 20 tea bags, earl grey and darjeeling, organic
* 3 cups sugar, preferably organic
* 2 cups reserved kt starter, 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, or a couple bottles store bought KT (i'm using about half to one cup starter tea and about a half cup white vinegar)

Clean the receptacle very well with hot water and vinegar, NOT soap. Remove rings and clean hands well, also with vinegar.
Bring one gallon water to near boil, add sugar and stir til dissolved. Add tea bags (or loose tea) and steep to your preference. I'm steeping about 45-50 minutes.
After water has cooled and tea hast steeped, fish out the bags and pour the warm tea into the receptacle. Add the other gallon of water - preferable at an icey cold temperature. Wait until the total water in the receptacle is at room temperature. Next add the vinegar or starter, mix via pouring in.
Now carefully add your scoby. It can float, sink, halfway float. Doesn't matter. Cover receptacle lid area with a very clean fine cloth (i'm using a napkin, cheesecloth isn't fine enough - you'll get fruit flies) and secure with a rubber band.
Now keep it in a quiet, warmish (comfy to you temperature) spot out of direct sunlight.
Wait about a week. Taste. KT should be tangy tart and sometimes fizzy. I plan on testing the PH my first time to be sure i'm not killing us. After you get used to it you figure out the tang to your preference.
Since i'm doing the continuous brewing method all i have to do is replace what i siphon off with about equal amounts prepared sweet tea that i'll brew and have on hand (but not in the fridge as that would be too cold for the scoby).

So that's my take on it. Read the links i posted, they're more thorough. Here's to long health!
I also plan on feeding the old scobies to the chickens, using some KT on my scalp to see if i can clear up my dermatitis, and have some fun flavoring a few batches in mason jars over night with herbs and fruits etc.






Posted by Miranda R Mueller at 1:38 PM
Labels: KT kombucha tea scoby scobie make your own brew continuous brewing health food drink yeast cancer cure homemade elixir scobie scoby