Last weekend I met a woman while taking a Muscle Testing class in Richmond Hill. Over lunch we talked, and she told me about the wonders of the drink Kombucha. By the end of lunch, she offered me a ‘Scoby’.What on earth is a Scoby? I had no idea. But I knew it had something to do with fermentation. And I’m really interested in fermentation and the health benefits of eating and drinking naturally fermented foods like yogurt and kefir. The Weston A. Price Foundation offers lots of information about the health benefits of eating naturally fermented foods.Scoby stands for ‘ symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts. It’s a large, mushroom-like culture that is placed in sweetened black or green tea and turns a bowl full of sweet tea into a bowl full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and health-giving organic acids.As the Kombucha culture digests the sugar it produces a range of organic acids like glucuronic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, malic acid and usnic acid; vitamins, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C; as well as amino acids, enzymes. And of course there are all the benefits of the probiotic microorganisms themselves. The Kombucha culture is a biochemical powerhouse in your kitchen.Many health claims are made for kombucha but there is less research on the benefits of kombucha than there is on fermented milk products. It has certainly been shown to have similar antibiotic, antiviral and anti fungal properties in lab tests. In rats it’s been shown to protect against stress and improve liver function. There is a lot of experiential evidence from people who have been using kombucha over many years. Many of the benefits reported include improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer, digestive problems, candidiasis, hypertension, HIV, chronic fatigue and arthritis. It’s also used externally for skin problems and as a hair wash among other things.My first batch will be ready on February 16th, so I’ll let you know how it tastes!For more information about Kombucha, here’s a good link.