Kombucha

[LeafyMcLeafFace]

Not sure where to put this but I’m going to try and eat more fermented food in an attempt to overcome constant illness. I literally do everything right but am knocked by every virus known to man.

Ive tried kombucha and think it’s disgusting - it tastes like Andrews liver salts - but people rave about it and drink it for fun.

Is it a case of the emporers new clothes or can someone recommend a decent tasting brand (I’ve only tried the one from Tesco).

I’m not a fan of creamy drinks so kefir is off the list

Are you taking a good quality multi vitamin?

If you want to have more fermented foods and don’t like kombucha, what about sauerkraut or kimchi? I love both of those and have them as a side dish with meat, or in a cheese sandwich, or just out of the jar. They’re easy to make but you could buy a pot to start off with and see if you like it. You need tbe ones that are in the fridge, not on the shelf.

Yes I take vitamins, all my bloods are fine but I take them anyway. I was thinking about going belt and braces - yoghurt, sourdough, sauerkraut, kimchi for salads etc and kombucha to drink.

This is my second bad cold in three weeks on top of a long term condition (which is nothing to do with immunity) so I’m desperate! I had shingles at the end of last year too.

I do all the right stuff to manage cortisol. Maybe I’m just menopausal and need to accept my lot.

Im straying off the food topic now!

Fermentation: River Cottage Handbook No.18 https://amzn.eu/d/1d28Ug8

I bought this the other week, there’s so many suggestions in it, including kombucha recipes, you do have to buy a starter for them. Some really interesting sauerkraut and kimchi’s too.

we buy the remedy kombucha cans, the raspberry and wild berry ones mostly, dh didn’t like the lemon and ginger one and I haven’t tried it. They’re much sweeter than I was expecting but no sugar or sugar substitutes so all good stuff.

@Billybagpuss
thanks so much, I’ll have a look at that

I buy the Remedy brand Kombucha and the Hip Colas etc anything from the health aisle. The berry flavoured ones are great but yes they always will have a slight tang. Add lemon and ice and it'll be nice
If you can buy or make your own that's better but I've yet to experiment tbh seems a slight faff

Sourdough is amazing and the only bread I buy! So nice. Don't over toast it. I like Jason brand or aldis own
Sauerkraut is hard to get used to. A mild kimchi is better imo
Kefir Yogurt yes lovely especially with honey added or frozen berries.
You should take a prebiotic everyday from Superdrug or holland amd barrat etc. I used to take garden of life but they've gone bust now, but they had the most strains, I think any health food shop will have a good brand.

I would be careful buying supermarket sourdough. Many are not authentic sourdough as they use bakers yeast, sugar etc to speed up the process. If sourdough is pretty cheap you can almost bet it isint authentic. Sourdough takes much longer to make than regular bread, hence the more hefty price tag.

I love kombucha but i dont like every brands or flavours - try a few and you’ll find one you love.
i am like you getting ill easily.
i drink kombucha, eat sourdough bread, have kefir in the morning and take bio-kult probiotic and it doesnt seem to help… i though it might be because of stress levels and thats what i am trying to work on, getting more sleep and being more picky at work and only saying yes to things i want to do/fit my schedule (it is hard but getting better)

I’m the same OP. I’m trying to increase the amount of fermented food I have but due to CMPA I can’t have kefir.

I’ve bought Kombucha from our local health food shop and it’s actually ok. I’ve even got DH to drink it daily.

Could you try swapping to a vitamin capsule with probiotics?

Also, if you like yoghurt then kefir is fine. I have it every day but I don’t drink it, I mix it with 2tbsps of chia seeds, a tsp of honey and some berries and mixed seeds. Have it for breakfast. It just tastes like yoghurt (I actually used to make the above mixture using yoghurt and milk until I swapped to kefir).

I will say though this just helps gut health, the best thing for you for repeated illness is massively increasing your dose of vit D. UK recommended limits are incredibly low so buy a high strength vit D and take two per day or something
If you have your blood results pop them through Chatgpt it'll tell you what's borderline and what's low as again the NHS limits are so low especially for ferritin.
Also take some elderberry liquid, it's yummy and has more vit C than oranges

I really struggled with commercial sauerkraut, with one exception that was literally just cabbage but when I started making my own I add an apple or pear and it’s so nice.

Some brilliant advice on here, thank you, I’m going to take time to read and process it all later and get planning / shopping!

Do you eat enough protein? Antibodies are made from protein :)

I like the raspberry and ginger / lemon kombucha. You need to find a flavour and brand that you like, it could be a bit trial and error.

I think I do. I don’t eat meat or milk / cheese but I eat lots of fish, lentils and beans, eggs and tofu type stuff.

I’m always happy to learn though!

I like left field kombucha but only the black and red ones. I can almost convince myself I’m having a beer with my curry. https://leftfieldkombucha.co.uk/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brandsearch&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19984241242&gbraid=0AAAAADJ4SlpbIzHKWAdbHF6G6-Ku9wANi&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhOfLBhCCARIsAJPiopOCWIF_GTIAnUf2DrMp_WNLNaqehU8WXJYSZoLqnG4ERuvoU5w51QAaAq7OEALw_wcB

It is very easy to make your own kombucha and you can adjust the flavour to your liking. You can buy the starter disk off Amazon. There are lots of videos to help as well. I just use strong sweet tea but lots of people then add up fruit flavour for second fermenting. My family agrees that home made tastes so much better than shop bought one and so much cheaper to make. During summer cold kombucha goes extremely fast in our household.

I buy One Living kombucha, mango and lime flavour, it's in the fridge at Sainsbury's. I don't like the smell but it tastes nice.

I make my own sauerkraut and I bloody love it. My favourite at the moment is pineapple, turmeric And ginger. Absolutely delicious.

literally just shredded cabbage, 1/2 chopped pineapple, two thumbs of grated ginger, a tsp of turmeric, a very hefty grind of black pepper and add in 2% of the total weight in salt. Whack it in a jar and leave it for 2-3 weeks. I go through a litre jar every month.

i also do a red cabbage with gochugaru and garlic

Best thing you can do is to eat lots of prebiotic foods. Probiotics like kefir and krauts put microbes into your gut, but you need a healthy Mediterranean style diet to feed them. Lots of fresh fruit and veg, lean meats, nuts, no processed junk foods.

That said, best thing you can do for your immune system is to take a daily zinc and sufficient vitamin D, get lots of sleep, don’t drink alcohol.

I am immunocompromised due to cancer treatment and I almost never get ill. I eat a varied diet heavy in fruits and veg, I take vitamin D daily, I take a high dose zinc as soon as anyone in the house gets a slight sniffle, I don’t drink alcohol, I aim to be in bed by 9pm every night. I get properly ill for like 5 days about every 2 years. That’s despite Dh and the kids getting colds and tummy bugs regularly.

Have you tried water Kefir?

I used to make my own, got a starter kit from Happy Kombucha website. Taste a bit like lemonade, very nice. Follow the instructions, test every now and again to make sure it’s not getting too vinegary. Then bottle it up and pop it in the fridge. Lovely!

All Kombuchas are not equal. I’m not keen on the supermarket ones that try to compete with pop, but the kombucha from LA Brewery are fabulous. I buy crates of the individual tins. The “Citrus Hops” is a good dupe for lager & lemon on a hot day, and the Blush and Rose are good grown up fizzes. I found my original bottles in a health food shop, but I think you can get them through Ocado if you want a little try.

Equinox kombucha is my favourite so far - not as vinegary as some others & lots of flavours to try.
Favourite sauerkraut is The Cultured Collective with fennel, apple & dill 😋