Readers Write: Kombucha for Fat Loss?

Reader Olivia writes:

“How many Kombucha’s do you drink per day (Dave’s/Synergy, right?) when you’re fasting?”

I drink Kombucha, and it helps with my hunger and energy as well, but must be always drinking it, which is say maybe 8-10 per day, which is really expensive. I am following a modified Paleo diet in that I do cook my meat, plus allow raw dairy and Kombucha. I’ve only been doing this for 18 days though, and have only just gotten really serious about doing it. I have hypoglycemia and have lots of trouble fasting.

Hi Olivia,

If I’m truly fasting, I drink Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), as it’s ZERO calories and ZERO carb.

During regular dieting, I do not drink any store bought Kombucha at all. I’ve never even tried it. I ferment very powerful Kombucha at home for pennies. I love to experiment in the kitchen and every batch tastes a little different!

Normally I would just drink 2-3 — 8oz glasses (16-24oz) a day straight, but I’m low-carb dieting right now. I’ve been intentionally fermenting my batches even stronger so I can eat out all the carbs. My research shows that at 20-30 days of fermenting, all of the sugar is eaten up, leaving the Kombucha at Zero Carb.

Right now I’m mixing 8oz of this Ultra strong Kombucha with another 24oz of purified water in an old Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar bottle maked with a sharpie pen for quick measuring. I usually do this twice a day at various times depending on my hunger. Normally about lunch time and again about 4 hours before dinner. This brew is almost vinegar and will burn your throat like ACV, so the 3/1 ratio is required.

You should try brewing at home or ferment some of your store stuff a while longer and try the dilution technique. The extra water will help with hunger also.

I feel you’re probably consuming a little too much straight Kombucha. I haven’t done much research yet, but I know consuming huge amounts of sour fermented foods my be linked to gastric cancers. These cancers are more common in asian countries where more fermented or pickled foods are consumed. Usually these foods are really high in salt too, like Miso and Kimchi. We know Kombucha has none of that, but it does contain urethane.

I too have major satiety issues if I don’t eat the correct foods. Kombucha & ACV work wonders killing my hunger in about 10 minutes. NOTHING ELSE will do this for me. I have tried to no end…. Some people have luck killing hunger with pure fat sources like butter, cream or coconut oil. If these don’t work, try Raw ACV or Kombucha.

Not cooking your meat would be “Raw Paleo”. I considered this for a while, but there are so many more parasites and junk out there now. Even in my case where I know where the meat is coming from. Pressure from animal activists is causing mismanagement of wildlife & creating more disease. There’s just not enough benefits (if any) to justify the risk. Rare or medium is good enough.

I love raw dairy also. Hey, it’s to be expected… a good chunk of my heritage is Swiss! I also ferment my raw dairy. Probably 99% of it. Raw dairy is the only dairy I do, except some cheeses. Even then, some of the imported cheeses are raw, they just don’t say it on the package. If you’re trying to lose weight, keep an eye on your dairy consumption… it may hold you back. Many people it will. I happen to be one of them.

If I was you, get your diet lined out a little first before you take on the fasting. Newbie fasters can have bingeing issues. Doing everything at once can get a little overwhelming.

At 18 days you are still very fresh meat! Go easy for a while so you don’t burn out and can make it a permeant lifestyle change. Also see: “Becoming A Caveperson”

Thought…
Have you been diagnosed with Hypoglycemia? I thought I was and know others who think they are, but aren’t. Clearly I’m not, as I have fasted for weeks-on-end and generally only eat one meal a day now. I usually find “I’m hypoglycemic” is all just mental. It’s right there with “I’m starving” after they haven’t eaten for 3 hours. People aren’t used to not eating, snacking or drinking calories (sugar) all the time.