Kombucha vs Bacon

[GLC1968]

Thanks for following up Melissa, but now I'm more confused! Eeek!

I don't have a bottle of kombucha in front of me, but from what Tom said, the varieties with less than 2g of sugar were ok. Isn't that contrary to what you just posted?

I'm an engineer by trade, I can't help but question stuff!!

I do think this program is incredible and I'm always raving about it to anyone who will listen!

[GLC1968]

Wait - I just retread what you said and I do get it. So it's not the quantity of sugar listed in the nutritional facts, but the inclusion of sugar in the ingredients that makes it 'illegal' (for lack of a better word). The applesauce example clarifies it nicely.

NOW, I get it. Thanks!

[Susan W]

Wait - I just retread what you said and I do get it. So it's not the quantity of sugar listed in the nutritional facts, but the inclusion of sugar in the ingredients that makes it 'illegal' (for lack of a better word). The applesauce example clarifies it nicely.

NOW, I get it. Thanks!

That is EXACTLY right! Always look at the ingredients (of anything) and pretty much you can ignore the nutritional facts, except for the sugar in Kombucha...the less than 2 g will play into it.

[Susan W]

The title of this thread made me panic. I thought it was going to be a thread on which one you could never live without. I need them both!

Oh Lawdy!! Bite your tongue!

[Robin Strathdee]

I might clarify, too, that any kombucha without sugar in the ingredients list is fine. I really enjoy GT Gingerberry, which has 4g on the label (but no added sugar, just blueberry juice).

[Susan W]

Okay, it's official. Kombucha is the most complicated item on the entire Whole 30 huge list of foods and drink. I'm going back to play more angry birds now.

[lmccready]

I find it intersting that kombucha is allowed, many brands still have a fair amount of alcohol in them. The government sent out a warning to the food industry but many companies are not compliant with the levels when you test the kombucha.

[Robin Strathdee]

Okay, it's official. Kombucha is the most complicated item on the entire Whole 30 huge list of foods and drink. I'm going back to play more angry birds now.

Angry Birds Star Wars - coming soon! My 4 year old is over the moon.

[Susan W]

I am RIGHT there with your 4 yo. My favorite so far is AB Rio. Here's how lame I am. I get to a level that I can't get past and give up and either go back to try to get more stars on previous levels or buy a new one.

[Robin Strathdee]

LOL! We're pretty big AB in Space fans here, but we have them all (spread out across our various devices). Sigh...

[Susan W]

LOL! We're pretty big AB in Space fans here, but we have them all (spread out across our various devices). Sigh...

Oh exactly...I have some on my laptop (original AB, Seasons and Rio) some on my Kindle Fire and Space on my smart phone. Sigh is right. So much for cavewoman.

[MeadowLily]

Wow - quite a thread! Tom has pretty much nailed the perspective, but as I'm one of The Hartwigs, I'll try to clarify.

We make the rules as clear as we can, to make it easy for people to follow the program. The rules state, no added sugar, in any form. This means if sugar is listed in the ingredients - even if the label says "0 grams per serving" - it's out for the Whole30.

If you found bacon cured with sugar that did not list sugar in the ingredient list, it would be okay on the Whole30. If you find kombucha fermented with sugar, but doesn't list sugar in the ingredient list, that's also okay. It doesn't matter if there are >0 sugar grams listed on the nutrition label - lots of foods (like 100% unsweetened applesauce) will show >0 sugar grams on the nutrition label. That doesn't rule it out - only added sugar (any form of sugar in the ingredient list) rules it out. Again, this is due to our desire to have consistency in the rules.

If kombucha (or any other "allowed" or "healthy" food) isn't okay for you, from a psychological perspective or a physical perspective, we encourage you to leave that out of your personal Whole30. And yes, we know the program isn't perfectly consistent - and sometimes, the desire for consistency in the rules results in some silly things being excluded (or included). But we do the best we can to keep the program both maximally healthy, and maximally easy to implement. We do the best we can.

Thanks for the question, and the discussion.

Best,

Melissa

Thank you, Moderators for your answers.

 

I've had all of the same questions about kombucha that GLC has raised.

 

If kombucha (or any other "allowed" or "healthy" food) isn't okay for you, from a psychological perspective or a physical perspective, we encourage you to leave that out of your personal Whole30. And yes, we know the program isn't perfectly consistent - and sometimes, the desire for consistency in the rules results in some silly things being excluded (or included). But we do the best we can to keep the program both maximally healthy, and maximally easy to implement. We do the best we can.

[MeadowLily]

Thanks a million, Melissa and Tom.

 

"I avoided responding to this question for a while, hoping someone else would offer a satisfying answer. Miss Mary was on the right track talking about the importance of drawing lines, and maybe what I can add will help. Or maybe it will frustrate you, I don't know.

No added sugar is a clear guideline. The sugar associated with most cures of bacon has been ruled out pretty much since the beginning of the Whole30. Bacon is popular in the paleo world, but bacon is a long way from being a great cut of meat, so there is no good reason to make exceptions for bacon.

The Hartwigs have made some exceptions for the Whole30 as in the case of green beans. Green beans are legumes and off-plan, but as the guidelines say, they are more pod than bean and in the spirit of encouraging you to eat your veggies, green beans are accepted as good food during a Whole30.

If I had been the first moderator to deal with the question of kombucha, it might not be okay during a Whole30. No sugar is a clear rule and I was about to declare kombucha good for AFTER your Whole30 when another moderator got to the question before me and said it was okay. Specifically, kombucha that lists 2 grams or less of sugar per bottle is okay because that amount of sugar is used up in the fermentation process. Or mostly used up. There are kombuchas that have a lot more sugar and much of that sugar survives fermentation. Those varieties are not okay during a Whole30.

I view kombucha as similar to green beans. A rigid application of the guidelines would rule it out, but there are good reasons to accept it as good food. I started drinking kombucha after it was "approved" on the forum and am now a big fan drinking a bottle every day. I just got a case of GT Dave's Gingerade yesterday.

A key thing here is that the Whole30 is not open to individual interpretation. Ultimately, the Hartwigs define the Whole30. Moderators make judgements along the way because people keep asking about things that have never been dealt with in this community before.

Occasionally, internal debate leads to changes. Once upon a time, neither clarified butter or ghee was approved during a Whole30. I was okay with that until Dallas and Melissa wrote an article about how good clarified butter and ghee was and how these products were almost pure butter fat with most of the milk solids removed. I wanted to know why they could not be consumed during a Whole30 if they were so good. I was a little cheeky with the Hartwigs and they argued me down initially. Later, they studied the subject further, did some experimentation, talked with a bunch of people and next thing you know about 3 to 6 months later, butter and ghee was accepted during a Whole30. (So if you love ghee, you're welcome. My being a pest prompted the change).

So there you have it. Bacon with sugar is not okay because the Whole9/Whole30 leaders said it was not okay and kombucha with up to 2 grams of sugar is okay because the Whole9/Whole30 leaders said it was okay."