Bloated by 3pm. Windy by teatime. Top button undone under the desk. One small glass of raw kombucha a day, for 30 days, with me in your inbox the whole way.
30 days. One habit.
The 3pm balloon. Flat at breakfast, six months gone by mid-afternoon.
The wind. You've blamed the dog. You don't have a dog.
The guessing game. Some days nothing, some days everything, rarely anything in between.
The antacid habit. There's a packet in every coat, bag and glovebox.
The slump. Heavy, sluggish and reaching for the third biscuit.
The supplement shelf. Tubs of capsules, half-finished, none of them obviously doing anything.
Nodded at two or more? Good. You're exactly who I built this for. (If your symptoms are constant or worrying, read the serious bit first.)
"I blamed the bloating on getting older and the wind on whoever was standing nearest. They were innocent."
Bloating, gas and cramps were just part of my day. I spent ten years in public health telling people how to change their habits, and somehow never looked at my own.
Then I started drinking real, raw kombucha every single day. Not a sip at the weekend. A small glass, every day. The bloating, the gas and the cramps cleared off, and they haven't come back.
I'm not a doctor and I won't pretend this is medicine. But it worked for me, it's cheaper than a cupboard of supplements, and it tastes a lot better. So do what I did for 30 days and see what happens to you.
Kombucha Kev, Functional Drinks Club
Days 1 to 7Getting acquainted.Start at 100ml with food. Score your gut out of 10 on day one. A bit more wind is normal while your gut meets the new arrivals.
Days 8 to 14Make it a habit.Build up to 200ml. Same glass, same time. This is the week most people forget, so I'll nudge you.
Days 15 to 21Pay attention.Bloating, energy, regularity, how your waistband feels after lunch. Jot it down. Small changes count.
Days 22 to 30Score it.Day 30 against day one. Better, worse or no change, you've learnt something about your own gut. Most people keep going.
My own four flavours, made for exactly this job. One pack covers 15 days at a small glass a day, so grab two and the full 30 days are sorted.
Pick from all 13 makers and my own range. The counter shows how many days your box covers, so you don't run dry on day 19 and blame me.
Don't forget: tick the challenge box in your cart, and my emails start when your kombucha lands.
This much. Every day.Raw kombucha is fermented tea that's still alive, full of the bacteria and yeasts that made it. Fermented foods are one of the simplest ways to add variety to your gut, and variety is the thing gut scientists keep banging on about.
In a Stanford study, people who ate fermented foods every day for 10 weeks ended up with more varied gut bacteria and lower levels of 19 inflammation markers. ZOE found that people adding fermented foods every day for two weeks reported less bloating and more energy.
I'll be straight with you: there's very little research on kombucha on its own in humans yet. That's why this is a challenge, not a promise.
I'm not selling you a detox, a cleanse or a miracle. Kombucha won't fix a bad diet, no sleep and four coffees by 10am. It isn't medicine, so it doesn't replace anything your GP has given you.
The serious bit. See a GP if your bloating is constant or won't go away, or comes with weight loss, blood in your poo, being sick, or a change in your toilet habits (NHS advice).
It can, for the first few days, while your gut gets used to new arrivals. Start at 100ml with food and build up. If it's painful or doesn't settle, stop.
A trace, under 0.5%, from the fermentation. It's classed as non-alcoholic.
A little, from the tea. Have it before mid-afternoon if you're sensitive.
Most of the sugar is eaten by the culture as it ferments. Each product page shows the sugar per bottle.
Yes. It's alive. Keep it cold and it stays happy.
If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, have a weakened immune system or a stomach condition you're being treated for, talk to your GP or pharmacist first. Don't stop any medicine you've been prescribed.
"Do it properly, every day, for 30 days. Then tell me how you got on."
Kev
Start my 30 daysFrom about £2 a day · Pause or cancel any time · Free collection in Otley