So, being out with Pneumonia and not being able to hold food down has helped my diet.. if I cant eat anything, then I cant each gluten... right? Pretty much. Yesterday I ate applesauce, a handful of popcorn, and half of a red potato. Yum.
SO! My blog post today is on a non-medical remedy- KOMBUCHA!
For those of you who don't know, Kombucha is a fermented drink that claims to "detoxify and energize the mind." I first heard of it in high school when my mom would buy me a bottle when I was sick and make me chug the whole thing in 5 minutes. I didn't realize how important this became to me until I was married and Dan got sick. I went and got him Kombucha and made him drink it. He has since then sworn off Kombucha and refuses to be in the room with an open bottle of this lovely aromatic drink, which a friend described as smelling like dirty socks and pee.
I decided to do some research on Kombucha since anytime I feel a little under the weather I drink a bottle of Kombucha. I searched the Kombucha website, wikipedia, and google for any medical proof that Kombucha "restores the alkaline levels in the body" or anything that told me to drink Kombucha when you are sick. I found a couple Kombucha lover's blogs raving about how Kombucha has cured them of every ailment and an NBC article that mentions that making your own Kombucha has actually been dangerous in some situations due to contamination that can happen in the process. Not enough science for me to be impressed either way.
The one thing that stands out in many of the Kombucha claims is that it is a great source of probiotics. Probiotics are super important for your gut, especially for people like me who have intestinal problems. Last time I was tested, my gut showed no good bacteria growing and all the bad stuff just having a party in my intestines. That is part of the reason why I am so sickly. I take (or am supposed to take) a daily probiotic with my enzyme and protein smoothie. Being so low on the good bacteria, when I take an antibiotic, my stomach and gut seem to take 10 steps back in the healing process. Antibiotics, while necessary to kill of things like strep or bacterial pneumonia, also kill off good bacteria. When you are taking an antibiotic it is therefore important to also take something with a probiotic in it to replace some of those good bugs back into your body. Good Belly juice, Kombucha, and yogurts are good for this if you do not want to just take a probiotic pill. Good Belly at least does not taste like death.
I was feeling quite discouraged about Kombucha, so when I went to the doctor for my lungs, I asked him if there was any medical evidence to drink or stop drinking Kombucha. He told me that he did not know of anything specific, but if something may help you get better and contains good nutrients that a sick body needs, why not drink it? I like his thought process. Kombucha may or may not be helping me get better, but it does have probiotics in it (and if you get the green one it has spurlina and other awesome nutrient rich foods in it). If something my help fight off an illness, why not try it? I think I might even be getting an acquired taste for it... no longer does it make me gag. So, I don't know about you, but I am going to go on drinking my Kombucha every day I feel sick.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks while I grade tests. I am bored out of my mind!!!
