Santip80 Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I just read the official "Can I have...?" page for whole 30 and am surprised that Kombucha is allowed as it is fermented and will pretty much always contain alcohol (even if it is not labeled as such). I kind of chuckled when i saw that vanilla extract is excluded due to alchohol but Kombucha is allowed -- that is inconsistent. I do like Kombucha but i wonder if the alcohol in it was somehow overlooked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 there is virtually no alcohol in kombucha--typically 0.5%, which is less than most fruit juice. vanilla extract, on the other hand, is 100% distilled grain alcohol. kombucha contains beneficial probiotics. Vanilla extract contains nothing beneficial except flavor, and that flavor is just as easily derived from the bean alone with no alcohol needed. If you feel kombucha doesn't belong in your whole30, leave it out, but I think the reasoning for allowing it is sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 I hear you but at my local Whole Foods it is labeled as an alcoholic beverage and you are not allowed to purchase it if you are under 21. I will leave it out as i'm not sold on the benefits of Kombucha anyway -- at the end of the day it's processed food -- takes a lot of work to make kombucha. Definitely not part of our natural diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLC1968 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 there is virtually no alcohol in kombucha--typically 0.5%, which is less than most fruit juice. vanilla extract, on the other hand, is 100% distilled grain alcohol. I totally get what you are saying in terms of the benefits to Kombucha vs vanilla, but the above comparison isn't really logical based on the alcohol amounts one would ingest. No one drinks vanilla (and if they do, that's a different type of problem!). Typically, it gets used in such tiny amounts as part of a larger dish that the alcohol you consume is probably not even recognized by your body as alcohol. 0.5% alcohol by volume is considered an alcoholic beverage in some states. I personally choose to exclude kombucha from my Whole30's because I don't like the way the alcohol in it makes me feel, oddly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Yes, i agree with that particularly now that I have read into more forum posts regarding alcohol and Kombucha. It seems a lot of members have flocked to Kombucha as their 'only' source of alcohol on Whole30 which kind of goes against the spirit of the program. And yes, there is no comparison, a drop of vanilla extract diluted into a larger dish cannot be compared with .5% ABV of 16 ounce beverage. Also, depending on how you are cooking or baking, a lot of the alcohol is 'cooked out' of the food so that's even less alcohol being left behind with the vanilla extract. I'm not really making an argument for vanilla extract but moreso against Kombucha on whole30. I keep reading in many posts and articles by moderators and even Michelle saying there is 0 tolerance for alcohol yet somehow it is mysteriously ok to have in Kombucha?! Just like you can get the flavor of the vanilla bean by using just the bean instead of the extract, you can also get the benefits of probiotics by taking a supplement instead of drinking Kombucha. Just my two cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ultrarunnergirl Posted October 29, 2014 Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2014 Why do you think Kombucha is "processed"? I've made it myself many times and it is a natural ferment. No processing whatsoever, just time, yeast and bacteria working their magic on tea and sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 You have to grow a scoby, brew the tea, mix the ingredients together in just the right way and allow them to sit at the right temperature for a predetermined amount of time. This is a process that would never happen in nature. Fermentation can happen in nature but not in a way that would produce Kombucha or fermented tea. I guess you could call Kombucha minimally processed but it is processed nonetheless. So easy a caveman can do it? If not then it's processed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted October 29, 2014 Administrators Share Posted October 29, 2014 So, sorry, based on that "processing" logic, you don't eat olives, pickles, coconut milk, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, canned tomatoes/sardines/oysters/salmon etc? None of those that I just listed above would occur in nature without human intervention (ie, processing). I get where you're going with the alcohol thing as a logical argument, but using "it's processed" as any part of the reason to have it excluded doesn't really resonate with the program. Also, the probiotics that you say can be taken in lieu of kombucha to avoid the alcohol are also processed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I agree with Ladyshanny. We are not cavemen. I would take the list even further. Almost everything we eat is not easy enough for cavemen to do. They didn't have refrigeration, ovens, food processors, fancy knives, etc, etc. I think a more reasonable definition of a processed food is something you couldn't create in your own kitchen without highly specialized ingredients and tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 So, sorry, based on that "processing" logic, you don't eat olives, pickles, coconut milk, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, canned tomatoes/sardines/oysters/salmon etc? None of those that I just listed above would occur in nature without human intervention (ie, processing). I get where you're going with the alcohol thing as a logical argument, but using "it's processed" as any part of the reason to have it excluded doesn't really resonate with the program. Also, the probiotics that you say can be taken in lieu of kombucha to avoid the alcohol are also processed! Oh boy... i never said that i don't eat processed foods or even that processed foods are bad or that they don't belong on Whole30. I just said that Kombucha is processed and not part of our natural diet, nothing more nothing less. Both statements are factual and true. Don't put words in my mouth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessina Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Oh boy... i never said that i don't eat processed foods or even that processed foods are bad or that they don't belong on Whole30. I just said that Kombucha is processed and not part of our natural diet, nothing more nothing less. Both statements are factual and true. Don't put words in my mouth! I'm not trying to start a fight, but what was the purpose of even saying that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 The point of saying what? If you read the thread, all i did was respond to the previous post. missmary said: If you feel kombucha doesn't belong in your whole30, leave it out, but I think the reasoning for allowing it is sound. I said: I will leave it out as i'm not sold on the benefits of Kombucha anyway -- at the end of the day it's processed food -- takes a lot of work to make kombucha. Definitely not part of our natural diet. Basically what is said is -- Yes, i will leave Kombucha out of my Whole30 and I then proceeded to outline some additional reasons why I will exclude it. I thought the purpose of these forums was to have an open conversation which typically involves some back and forth. Silly things like thoughts and opinions and ideas -- so more importantly why do I need a purpose to say anything? The whole Kombucha thing is just a funny inconsistency in the Whole30 that i noticed, that is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessina Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I'm talking about when you originally said it. I hear you but at my local Whole Foods it is labeled as an alcoholic beverage and you are not allowed to purchase it if you are under 21. I will leave it out as i'm not sold on the benefits of Kombucha anyway -- at the end of the day it's processed food -- takes a lot of work to make kombucha. Definitely not part of our natural diet. I can see where she got the idea you were saying you don't eat what you consider "processed" foods. I don't think she was trying to put words in your mouth but responding to what she believed you were saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santip80 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 You know what they say about assumptions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessina Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 *Sigh* I thought that these forms would be the last place to see antagonistic type posts as we are all adults. Apparently I was wrong, so I will remove myself from this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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