KEVITA - A SUPER DRINK!!!

Have you ever heard of KeVita? It’s a probiotic carbonated  drink that’s sold in health food stores, natural food stores and the health food section of many supermarket chains. I consider it to be a Super Food. Why? Because it makes me feel super!!! But most important, it contains live probiotic cultures that are beneficial for your guts and your immune system.

Like kombucha, KeVita is also a fermented drink. Unlike kombucha, "KeVita is made with a proprietary blend of probiotics and certified organic KeVita Probiotic Culture, using a different methodology than kombucha. Traditionally, kombucha is fermented with black tea, while Kevita is fermented with coconut water or reverse osmosis water.” - KEVITA

My favorite flavor is Strawberry Acai Coconut. But honestly - all the flavors that I’ve tried so far are refreshing,  invigorating and delicious. Strawberry Acai Coconut has a delightful strawberry flavor that is slightly sweet and mild. Each 8 oz. serving has only 10 calories, 1g of sugar, 2g of carbs, 45 mg of sodium, 20% Vitamin C and 10% Magnesium.

Here is the list of ingredients  on the Strawberry Acai Coconut label:

Purified Water

• Organic KeVita Probiotic Culture  (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086, L.rhamnosus, L. paracasei, L. plantarum )
• Organic Strawberry Puree
• Organic Coconut Water
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
• Organic Acai Puree
• Magnesium Citrate
• Organic Natural Coconut Flavor
• Fruit & Vegetable Color
• Organic Natural Strawberry Flavor
• Organic Stevia

Each bottle of KeVita is certified Organic, non-GMO, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan and made  in a certified organic facility.

Other flavors include:

Pomegranate: This healthy 'soda' received two thumbs up from my health conscious friend and mother, Dolores and her daughter, who is one of  my piano students. “It’s delicious! I’m going to ask my local Stop N Shop to carry it!” (Thank you Dolores for sharing a good thing!)

Coconut - a hint of coconut and sweetness, slightly tart

Mango Coconut - subtle burst of mango and coconut - very refreshing

Lemon Cayenne Cleanse - hint of spicy zing and lemony tartness

Mojita Lime Mint Coconut - light and refreshing - only 1 g of sugar and 5 calories per 8 oz! Perfect for a hot summer day.

Hibiscus Berry Cleanse - 0 sugar,  2g of carbs and 5 calories per 8 oz. - Ingredients include Organic Hibiscus Flowers, Organic Raspberry, Organic Goji Berry, Organic Rose Hips, Organic Stevia, Organic Schizandra Berry. A light botanical berry taste without the sugar.

Research has proven that 80% of your immune system is in your digestive tract.  A healthy adult carries  about 4.4 lbs. of  bacteria in the gut.

“There are more cells in that microbial mass than there are cells in the human body. It is highly organized micro-world, where certain species of bacteria have to predominate to keep us healthy physically and mentally. Their role in our health is so monumental that we simply can’t afford to ignore them.” - Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome and creator of THE GAPS DIET.

But in our modern world, many of us are exposed to influences that ultimately damage the gut and cause an imbalance in our gut flora. Stress, is one of those influences that undermines our healthy digestive flora. 

“A combination of poor diet, medications, stress, environmental toxins and chemicals wreak havoc on our digestive tracts.” - KEVITA

Research has also proven that an imbalance of gut flora can lead to a compromised immune system.

And this is why EVERYONE needs probiotics!

So next time you are at the supermarket or health food store, pick up a bottle of KeVita. And if you can’t find it, ask the store manager to order it and keep it stocked.  More and more people are becoming educated and making healthier and smarter choices.

Choose “the healthy alternative to traditional soda.” 

Drink KEVITA!!

And feel SUPER!!!


* I have no financial interest in KeVita.

WHY I AM ON THE GAPS DIET

I am a part of the generation of modern women that Dr. Campbell McBride talks about.

I was not breastfed as an infant. As a child, I developed food allergies that progressed to environmental and mold allergies.  As a teenager, I was on and off antibiotics for months, if not years, for acne, as well as other infections. In my late twenties, my gynecologist prescribed birth control pills to regulate my period. I was on birth control pills for three years until I became pregnant with my first child. Through these years, I developed eczema, chronic constipation and PMS. And all through this time, I never took probiotics. (I think they were unheard of back then!)

In my late thirties, I was sickened with Chronic Lyme Disease. I was on long term antibiotic therapy for about 10 years. By this time, I was taking probiotics – but the damage was already done.  Tests showed that I had an abnormally high range of candida , not only in my digestive tract, but in my BLOOD! I also tested positive for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hypochlorhydria, (low stomach acid), and Leaky Gut Syndrome. I was prescribed Nystatin to reduce the candida overgrowth. It took 3 years for my test results to come back in the normal range.

But my guts felt far from normal. Even though, I had been faithfully taking good quality probiotics for years and had been off antibiotics, my digestive tract was still a mess. I was recommended to go on the GAPS DIET  by Dr. Gurevich a few years ago. So I bought the book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, read the first chapter and said to myself – FUHGETTABOUTIT!

In my mind, there was no way I could emotionally commit to the diet at that time. Even though I stayed away from sugar, gluten, and dairy, I still saw starchy snack food (and there is no starch in this diet!), as a reward. And my numero uno worst culprit was potato chips! Sweet potato chips would also rank up there as a close second and, of course, who could live without corn chips?

I had to have chips every day.  But with each day, my guts weren’t getting better. So after two years had gone by, I picked up the book again, read the Introductory Diet and  realized – I can do this! I can heal my damaged gut. I can return the beneficial flora back to a healthy state. I can do this – on my own! I can heal… with the help of THE GAPS DIET.

So what is the GAPS DIET?  First of all, it’s the elimination of foods that are known to stay in the gut, damage the gut wall, and feed on pathogenic bacteria, viruses, candida, and fungi. This would mean all grains, all starchy vegetables, sugar and anything made with it, starchy beans and peas, and lactose. Soy is to be avoided also.

The GAPS DIET is also made up of Three Stages:

1. The Introduction to the Gaps Diet
2. The Full Gaps Diet
3. Coming Off the GAPS DIET

Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends starting with the Introduction Diet first.

Presently, I’m on Stage 5 of the Introduction Diet. This consists of making homemade stocks, soups and stews out of (preferably organic, antibiotic and hormone free) whole chickens, duck and other fowl, meat (with bones and marrow), and /or fish. Non-starchy vegetables are added to the stock to make soups and stews. Probiotic and fermented foods and drinks are gradually added and eaten with the soups. Ginger tea with some honey is for in-between meals. Adding raw organic egg yolks and fresh garlic to the soup promotes healing.

Scrambled eggs with cooked onion, “GAP pancakes and bread”, freshly pressed juices, roasted meats, are introduced in Stage 3 and 4. Stewed apples and select raw vegetables are introduced in Stage 5, if all the previous foods are well-tolerated.

Foods that are permitted are gradually added to the diet. For the complete diet and outline of the program go to  The Complete Guide to the Gaps Diet

I will keep everyone updated on my healing progress on the GAPS Diet in future posts.

THE GAPS DIET & GUT FLORA

All diseases begin in the gut – Hippocrates, 460-370 BC

I have read that approximately 85% of our immune systems are in our digestive tracts. 

Did you know that a healthy adult carries about 4.4 lbs. or 2 kg of bacteria in the gut? “There are more cells in that microbial mass than there are cells in an entire human body. It is a highly organized micro-world, where certain species of bacteria have to predominate to keep us healthy physically and mentally. Their role in our health is so monumental that we simply can’t afford to ignore them.”

But in our modern world, many of us have been exposed to different influences that ultimately damage the gut and cause an imbalance in our gut flora. “An immune system in a body with abnormal bacterial flora is exposed to a whole host of extremely toxic substances, many of which have a direct damaging effect on immunity. These toxins come from all the opportunistic microbes, which happily overgrow in the gut and elsewhere in the body of a person with GAP Syndrome (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), thanks to the absence of beneficial flora’s control.”

“Gut flora’s influence on the immune system reaches far beyond the gut itself. Research shows that when the gut flora is damaged, not only the levels of IgA, lymphocytes, macrophages, interferons, cytokines, etc., in the digestive system drop, but the whole immune system in the body gets out of balance. This process makes the person immune-compromised.”

“When the digestive wall is overrun by abnormal gut flora, it becomes damaged and leaky. A constant stream of invaders and undigested food comes through the damaged epithelial barriers in the gut. The immune system has to deal with all that, while being malnourished, deficient, compromised, unbalanced and intoxicated.”

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of the book, “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” and creator of the GAPS Diet, has linked the connection between an unhealthy, damaged gut  to learning disabilities such as  ADD, ADHD, autism, depression, schizophrenia, allergies, eczema and the list goes on. Common symptoms of abnormal gut flora are Irritable Bowel Syndrome (abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and /or diarrhea, and flatulence), malnutrition, acid reflux and heartburn.

But most important, her research and studies have shown the connection between abnormal gut flora and a compromised immune system.

And a compromised immune system can lead to chronic sickness and disease. So how do you restore healthy gut flora and heal your gut and your immune system? According to Dr. Campbell-McBride – go on a healing diet (GAPS), take probiotics, detox, and avoid influences that can damage immunity:

The Top 10 Influences Which Damage Immunity

1. Sugar and everything containing it: sweets, soft drinks, candy, ice cream, etc.
2. Processed carbohydrates: cakes, bisquits, chips, snacks, breakfast cereals, white bread, pasta.
3. Chemically altered and artificial fats: margarines, butter replacements, cooking and vegetable oils, processed foods prepared with these fats.
4. Lack of high quality protein in the diet from meats and fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds.
5. Exposure to man-made chemicals: cleaning and washing chemicals, personal care products, paints, fire retardants, petrochemicals, pesticides, etc.
6. Exposure to man-made radiation: electronic screens (TV, computers, play stations,etc.), mobile phones, high-power electricity lines, nuclear stations, nuclear wastes.
7. Drugs: antibiotics, steroids, antidepressants, painkillers, anticancer medication, anti-viral drugs, etc.
8. Lack of fresh air and physical activity
9. Lack of exposure to sunlight.
10. Lack of exposure to common microbes in the environment. Living in a too sterilized environment is strongly associated with compromised immunity. The immune system needs constant stimulation from the microbes in the environment.

Excerpt from “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

After reading, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, I knew that I was the perfect candidate for the GAPS Diet. I had a history of gut problems (since I was a teenager) that I wanted to resolve once and for all. And I was ready for the emotional commitment, time, food preparation and restrictions that were necessary in following this healing protocol.

THE GAPS DIET to be cont:

All quotes from, “Gut and Psychology Syndrome” by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MMedSci(neurology),  MMedSci(nutrition)