Do you have questions about nutrition? Send them to us at comer@lavanguardia.es, our nutritionist Aitor Sánchez will answer all your questions.
I make homemade kombucha many times because it seems like a more suitable drink compared to others like soda. But it is actually made with sugar, does that make it an unhealthy drink? Or is the sugar removed during the process? (Carolina Jiménez, reader)
Hello Caroline,
You are completely right, kombucha is a preferable drink and much better than conventional soft drinks. It is true that it is still a sugary drink but with a much smaller amount in its final composition.
As you point out, during the fermentation process, the vast majority of the amount of sugar is consumed, this is because sugar is precisely the substrate (food) that the microorganisms will use to be able to reproduce and grow within the drink. It is the proliferation of these organisms that ends up generating gas, as one of the waste substances, after having been nourished by the sugar added to the starting tea.
I take this opportunity to clarify for all the people who read us and who are not familiar with kombucha to explain that it is a carbonated drink fermented from a sugary tea.
It is important to remember that during the production of kombucha, alcoholic fermentation also occurs slightly. Unlike other food products that only have one type of fermentation (lactic, maltolactic…), as kombucha has very diverse microorganisms of origin, different fermentations occur simultaneously, generating small amounts of alcohol.
We must also not lose sight of the fact that carbonated drinks should not displace water to a large extent, and that it is important that natural water is the main source of hydration.
As it is also a drink derived from tea, and is often taken with the main meals (lunch and dinner), it must be taken into account that its presence of tannins and phytic acid will interfere with the absorption of iron. A very important aspect to take into account with people who are at risk or undergoing treatment for anemia.
In short, we can use kombucha sporadically to drink a carbonated soft drink that is much preferable to standard carbonated drinks, but we would not recommend its daily or regular consumption either.
Can you build muscle on a plant-based diet? (Cris M., reader)
Hi Chris,
Without a doubt you can build muscle mass based on a 100% vegetable diet, they are not incompatible issues, but certain aspects will have to be taken into consideration.
To build muscle efficiently, three requirements must be met in our body:
1) a muscular stimulus based on strength exercises and possibly specifically aimed at hypertrophy
2) a sufficient amount of protein
3) a caloric surplus that allows us to allocate that energy that we consume more into muscle mass
It is true that 100% plant-based diets tend to be more satiating and we often need more technical dietary guidance that allows us to include all the amount of protein and energy we need throughout the day for this goal. But it is by no means an impediment, it simply requires nutritional knowledge that goes beyond the popular culture of chicken rice.
For this type of objectives, we often use legume derivatives in consultation that allow us to include a large amount of protein in a small space, with tools such as tofu, textured soy, hummus, legume purees, it is quite easy… And we can also use others such as nuts or creams to provide extra energy.
In addition, comparisons that have been made on supplementation to see if animal-based protein was more effective than plant-based protein for building muscle have given similar results. In order to choose protein powder supplements to make recipes or shakes, it is just as effective to buy WHEY (dairy) protein as soy or pea.