I’m someone that has always thought about ‘health’ but didn’t really start applying things, educating myself and making changes until about two years ago. One of the first things I learned about? The importance of gut health.

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, or any sort of medical professional. My statements are based on my own research and experiences.

Your gut basically controls everything in your body including your mood, stress levels, sleep, infection etc. Isn’t that crazy?! Your microbiome is so incredibly important that some even call it your second brain. Anyway – this led me to the discovery of probiotics. These are good bacteria that keep your gut healthy, that’s the short answer. Probiotics can be found naturally in tons of foods and drinks. Usually in fermented things like kimchi, sourdough, sauerkraut, kefir and yep, you guessed it – kombucha! I’m sure you’ve heard about it or seen it on the ‘gram but do you know what it really is?!

WHAT IS KOMBUCHA ANYWAY?

Kombucha is a fermented tea. Health-Ade is one of the few companies still fermenting the old school, small batch way. So what is fermentation? I’ll let Health-Ade explain that…”Simply put, fermentation is where the activity of friendly bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes eat the sugar in sweet tea and turn it into tasty, tangy kombucha. A couple things to note – all kombucha is made with sugar (it’s more for the probiotics than for you) AND the highest quality ingredients will make the best tasting brew. If made the real way, it can take up to 4 weeks to make and bottle. That’s how Health-Ade makes it every day.” Via Health-Ade’s website.

WHY DO I DRINK IT?

I didn’t grow up drinking very much soda, my parents never bought it unless it was for a birthday party (which I SO appreciate, go mom and dad!) Both of my parents were pretty ahead of their time in the health scene – maybe that’s why I’m so into it now? Anyway – the first reason I drink it is because I LIKE IT. I like the taste and I like that it’s carbonated. Reason number 2 is for obvious health reasons. I’m all about gut health and if you’re someone that is just learning about it or is even interested, than this is a good place to start. You’re better-ing your gut health just by drinking a delicious drink. Not sure why that came off so sales pitch-ey, my apologies haha!

My favorite thing is that Health-Ade still makes their kombucha small batch – which is hard to find in big brands! They have so many different flavors, some of them even include superfoods like maca. I even made some mini no bake cheesecakes with them, check here! It’s sort of a double whammy, ya know?

Now, you’ll find my fridge full of kombucha along with all the fruits and vegetables. We try to get as much nutrients as we can from organic produce, grass-fed meats and fun supplements like kombucha.

Now that spring is here and summer is around the corner, I cannot wait to make kombucha cocktails, popsicles, all the things for the heat! Even though that didn’t really stop me in the winter, it’s much more fun when the sun is out and you can feel the heat on your face. If you haven’t tried it yet – the Original is a great place to start or the Pink Lady Apple Health-Ade Kombucha is my favorite flavor of all time. They’re all pretty delicious but that one totally takes the cake for me.

Today's blog is written by our very own Daina Trout, MS, MPH

Daina is not just our Co-Founder, she is also a nutritionist that has spent her adult life dedicated to finding and sharing health and wellness through food. With 2 masters' degrees in nutritional biochemistry and public health, Daina has called upon her education often while leading the way at Health-Ade - from how we make every batch of kombucha, to how we talk about gut health to consumers, to even how healthy our employee workplace is! She even writes a few blogs here and there. Happy reading! :)