Let's Talk About... Kombucha

Kombucha is a lightly effervescent fermented drink of sweetened black tea that is used as a functional food. It is produced by fermenting the tea using a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, or "SCOBY". - Wikipedia

Have you heard of Kombucha?  It's what the ancient Chinese called the “Immortal Health Elixir”. It’s been around for more than 2,000 years and has a "rich anecdotal history of health benefits like preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases". (foodrenegade.com)

Anecdotal means unsupported scientific evidence. I looked it up.  However, nearly everything "natural" or "organic" or just plain good for you is considered "anecdotal".  Natural remedies don't make Big Pharma rich.  There is no money in people treating themselves.  

Let’s Talk about… Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

What is it?

Fatty Liver occurs when fat is deposited in the liver. It is the most common form of chronic liver disease in developed countries. Why you ask?

Good question.

A popular theory is that fructose, a simple sugar or fruit sugar, is the cause. Proponents for fructose say that fructose isn’t the problem. It’s the OVER-CONSUMPTION of fructose that’s the problem. I find this funny because the food industry has it in EVERYTHING. Fructose was once only a small part of our diet, about 15 grams a day that came from fruits and vegetables. Today we average 4 to 5 times that amount. It’s in breakfast cereals, pastries, sodas, fruit drinks, and other sweet foods and beverages. And don’t even get me started on High-fructose corn syrup. That will be another post.

While the body can break down glucose for energy, fructose is primarily metabolized in the liver. It is converted to fat in a process called lipogenesis. This process deposits tiny fat droplets in the liver. This build up is called Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, because it looks just like what happens in the livers of people who drink too much alcohol. 

Let's Talk About ... Belly Fat

We all have it. Well, most of us.  It’s not something we’re proud of and we’d all like to lose it.  It’s unsightly, depressing as heck, and nearly impossible to get rid of.  And it is VERY dangerous.  Also known as visceral fat, it drives up your risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even dementia. (source: WebMD).

Why do we have this visceral fat around our middle region?  Well, several reasons.  Here are the top 10 reasons we gain and hold onto fat:

10. Medications

There are a growing number of people who are depressed or on medication for depression. These medications decrease metabolism regardless of changes to the diet, and the medications can change hormone levels in the body. This impacts our ability to lose weight and keep the weight off.