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To be a Flower, is profoundResponsibility

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To be a Flower, is profoundResponsibility

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BLOOM
by Emily Dickinson

Bloom — is Result — to meet a Flower
And casually glance
Would cause one scarcely to suspect
The minor Circumstance
Assisting in the Bright Affair
So intricately done
Then offered as a Butterfly
To the Meridian —
To pack the Bud — oppose the Worm —
Obtain its right of Dew —
Adjust the Heat — elude the Wind —
Escape the prowling Bee
Great Nature not to disappoint
Awaiting Her that Day —
To be a Flower, is profound
Responsibility —

Ingold on Goethe thought to research - to understand a plant you must think like one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=2Mytf4ZSqQs&pp=QAFIAQ%3D%3D

Causal Connections

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https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-convergent-and-divergent-thinking/

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heuristic

(hjʊərɪstɪk )

1. ADJECTIVE
A heuristic method of learning involves discovery and problem-solving, using reasoning and past experience.[technical]

2. ADJECTIVE
A heuristic computer program uses rules based on previous experience in order to solve a problem, rather than using a mathematical procedure.[computing]

3.  See also algorithm

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Arts, Culture & the Brain

Psychological capabilities are the ways in which we interpret, understand, and interact with the world around us. Cognitive learning is one subset of psychological capabilities that includes information processing, memory, convergent and divergent thinking, reasoning, and use of heuristics. (To find/guess, not perfect but enough. Imperfect problem solving,https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/heuristic).

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 Correspondences. Knowing from the inside. Ingold 2017.

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 Correspondences. Knowing from the inside. Ingold 2017.

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Making. Ingold 2012.

‘By this stage the book was already telling me what to write rather than the other way around. It is curious how books have minds of their own. All their authors can do is to find the ways they want to go, and follow them. Indeed, I believe this is true of making generally, and one of my principal themes in this book is to demonstrate that this is so. In a nutshell, my thesis is that making is a correspondence between maker and material, and that this is the case as much in anthropology and archaeology as it is in art and architecture.’
(Ingold, 2012.P.xi).

Ingold, T. (2013). Making: Anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi-org.gold.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9780203559055

But after a while I realised that, quite to the contrary, they wanted me to understand that the only way one can really know things – that is, from the very inside of one’s being – is through a process of self-discovery. To know things you have to grow into them, and let them grow in you, so that they become a part of who you are. P14

making is a correspondence between maker and material, p.12

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Disagreement in the household: I like his experiments and findings but according to the girls he didn't credit his first wife for her research and was an unfaithful husband.  Not sure if that devalues his work…. Their findings?

Research has shown that collaboration is fruitful.
I feel that the subject/subjector relationship is a symbiotic coupling, one reliant on the other for meaning. Who would teachers be without pupils. What would my scoby me without me. A balance is needed, different in each case to creat a working relationship, or correspondence (Ingold,2013).

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The most advanced and celebrated mind of the 20th Century, without a doubt, is attributed to Albert Einstein. Instead of his hard science and advanced mathematical theories, which often go far beyond the minds of average people, this book allows us to meet him as a person. This interesting book allo…

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He said that imagination was more important than knowledge.

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He said that imagination was more important than knowledge.

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I like knowledge, as it gives me some where to start, something to challenge.

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Einstein's unique way of thinking contributed to his genius

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Organic Kombucha Scoby freeshipping - Happy Kombucha

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Our Organic Kombucha scoby’s are large and powerful and will enable you to easily and safely brew. Our Organic kombucha scoby’s are the biggest and best on the market and we are the market leader in providing live cultures and have been for over a decade. All scoby’s include starter tea in their pou…

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Toni Morrison Discusses Freedom of Expression

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http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-lecture.html "The systematic looting of language can be recognized by the tendency of its users to forgo its nuanced, complex, mid-wifery properties for menace and subjugation. Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.

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bell hooks with Theaster Gates and Laurie Anderson: Public Art, Private Vision I The New School

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One of the major things that makes my life meaningful at this particular moment is teaching and the chance to pass some knowledge and ways of thinking to my students. It is not self-esteem which I am gaining here, although I recognize that teaching is a mildly narcissistic activity which may inflate already oversize egos. My major satisfaction comes from the consciousness that I have the opportunity and hopefully the capacity to touch someone's life early on to an extent that would allow transformation, personal and professional, mostly via showing the new ways of looking and thinking about reality, about the mundane, about the obvious. Rendering the mundane exotic is perhaps key in education. Giving the students such lenses is the greatest gift of education.

bell hooks is the most radical educator, feminist, cultural critic and analyst you can come across in academia. Noam Chomsky, David Harvey and Michael Hardt are not near as close to bell hooks in the energy and inspiration with which they address the issues of education and critical consciousness. She is radical in her commitment and in her courage not to conform, to be different, to be engaging, to engage and bring change. Influenced by the famous Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, she makes her case very clear:

The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.

My acquaintance with bell hooks comes from the book titled "Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom" published 20 years ago in 1994. This is treatise of how to teach in an engaged manner, with connection to students' minds as well as spirits. Some of the major themes are touched upon in the book, including the issues teacher-student relationship, teaching feminism, the philosophy of Paulo Freire. The key premise of the book is that we need to liberate the students' minds from all types of oppression levied upon it:

Teaching students to "transgress" against racial, sexual, and class boundaries in order to achieve the gift of freedom is, for hooks, the teacher's most important goal.

There are a lot of videos and podcasts of bell hooks, including those she delivered in New School in New York. If you view education from this angle and see transformation, personal, professional and otherwise, then bell hooks is for you to read for education to inspire.

About Farhad

Assistant Professor at International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, The Netherlands

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bell hooks on teaching and critical thinking

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One of the major things that makes my life meaningful at this particular moment is teaching and the chance to pass some knowledge and ways of thinking to my students. It is not self-esteem which I am gaining here, although I recognize that teaching is a mildly narcissistic activity which may inflate already oversize egos.

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Transformational educator, pedagogical thinker and radical practitioner

Who was Paulo Freire?

Paulo Freire's work has influenced people working in education, community development, community health and many other fields. Freire developed an approach to education that links the identification of issues to positive action for change and development. While Freire's original work was in adult literacy, his approach leads us to think about how we can 'read' the society around us.

For Freire, the educational process is never neutral. People can be passive recipients of knowledge - whatever the content - or they can engage in a 'problem-posing' approach in which they become active participants. As part of this approach, it is essential that people link knowledge to action so that they actively work to change their societies at a local level and beyond.

In the video above, Freire talks about the importance of curiosity, of critical thinking and ultimately of hope. It is a profound reflection on learning.

Many of Freire's writings are available in English. The most well known of these, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972) has been very influential but new readers of Freire may find The Politics of Education (1985) a more accessible text. Key concepts associated with Freire include the contrast between "banking" education (in which facts are deposited into the minds of passive students) and problem-posing education; the notion of conscientization (which is much more than simply awareness-raising); and the idea of the "culture of silence", in which people are unable to reflect critically upon their world - they become fatalistic and dominated.

A typical feature of Freire-type education is that people bring their own knowledge and experience into the process. Training is typically undertaken in small groups with lively interaction and can embrace not only the written word but art, music and other forms of expression.

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Transformational educator, pedagogical thinker and radical practitioner Paulo Freire's work has influenced people working in education, community development, community health and many other fields. Freire developed an approach to education that links the identification of issues to positive action for change and development.

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‘Form-giving is movement, action. Form-giving is life’ (Klee 1973: 269)

‘Art does not reproduce the visible but makes visible’ (Klee 1961: 76)

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Felix Guattari (1930-1992) was a French psychoanalyst, philosopher, social theorist and radical activist. He is best known for his collaborative work with Gilles Deleuze. Gary Genosko is Professor of Sociology at Lakehead University, Canada. He is editor of The Guattari Reader, Deleuze and Guattari: Critical Assessments, and author of Baudrillard and Signs, Undisciplined Theory, and McLuhan and Baudrillard: The Masters of Implosion. Ian Pindar is a freelance writer and editor. Paul Sutton is Senior Lecturer in Film and TV Studies at Roehampton University, UK.

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Extending the definition of ecology to encompass social relations and human subjectivity as well as environmental concerns, The Three Ecologies argues that the ecological crises that threaten our planet are the direct result of the expansion of a new form of capitalism and that a new ecosophical approach must be found which respects the differences between all living systems.This edition includes a chronology of Guattari's life and work, introductions to both his general philosophy and to the work itself, and extended notes to the original text.

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https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/YZeNOxEAACQAXM-0

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In the Air explores our relationship with the air around us. Moving freely across borders and through bodies, air is both vital to our existence and a threat to our health.

The exhibition explores the relationship between the air and earth, from 3.5-billion-year-old fossilised bacteria that first introduced oxygen into the atmosphere to delicate porcelain sculptures of the glaciers that provide a record of the air and our impact on it. It charts the history of activism against pollution from 17th-century accounts of coal smoke in London to contemporary protests against levels of toxic air that disproportionately impact communities of colour in our cities. Immersive and imaginative film installations introduce us to magnified versions of the particles that occupy our air; reveal the ways that air is weaponised across the world - but also reconnect us to the healing properties of fresh air.

The air we share is investigated through the work of Tacita Dean, David Rickard, Dryden Goodwin, Forensic Architecture, Choked Up, Anna Atkins, Black and Brown Films, Irene Kopelman, Ernst Haeckel, John Evelyn and Matterlurgy.

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Explore our relationship with the air around us. Moving freely across borders and through our bodies, air is both vital to our existence and a threat to our health.

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5 learning theories - Google Search

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=5%20learning%20theories&tbm=isch&hl=en-gb&client=safari&sa=X&ved=0CB4QtI8BKABqFwoTCOi2h4Gi5vgCFQAAAAAdAAAAABA5&biw=1366&bih=883#imgrc=_awFMC615UUybM

Locke
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Locke/Association-with-Shaftesbury

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In this unit, I would like to research knowledge, learning.

How and where do we find it and might we acquire it from images?

​

​

I think that this is a fair comment, but I do feel there is a turnaround point, and in fact, if what we observe and experience is synergistically coupled with, for example, an emotion, a desire, a want, or a driven need to survive that in fact, we do learn and knowledge is aquired, even if we don't realize it at the time.

​

whether it is good safe knowledge depends on the source that we collect it from and the context we view it in- perspective is everything.

​

My thoughts on Synergistic learning are confirmed by Isabelle Graw in her talk 'The Economy Of Painting 'where she touches on the ideas of indexicality, the absent author, vitalist projection, and our need to commune with the artist (whom we hold in high esteem) via an original artwork. She concludes that the artwork does contain knowledge that is imparted to the audience and the artist is present within their work either by the manifestation of their ideas or their actual handy work, which is the magic ingredient that allows this process to succeed.

Click on the Image for a link to the talk.

We cannot assimilate knowledge without learning so my question is how do we learn, what are the current theories and where have they come from?

The main difference between pedagogy and methodology is that p edagogy is a discipline that deals with the theory and practice of education and methodology is a systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to that field of study - something one cannot receive from others as it is the complex result of instruction, personal experience and reflection.

( https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/KentaurosKheiron.html#:~:text=249.),and%20the%20art%20of%20prophecy.)

Many cultures today still refuse parts of their population equal access to knowledge, freedom, or equal pay, believing them inferior sadly much of this is due to teaching, Knowledge acquired from writing, and lore.

​

"Queen of the Night" Relief 1800-1750 B.C.E., Old Babylonian, baked straw-tempered clay,
49 x 37 x 4.8 cm, Southern Iraq and reconstruction
© Trustees of the British Museum

The figure could be an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love and war, or Ishtar's sister and rival, the goddess Ereshkigal who ruled over the Underworld, or the demoness Lilitu, known in the Bible as Lilith.

​

In his book Lilith - The First Eve Published April 19, 2020, Siegmund Hurwitz talks about Liliths relevance to a psychological understanding of today's evolving masculine and feminine identities.

I find the endurance of her story extraordinary.

Natalie Haynes in her recent books (2017) and has attempted to redress some of these imbalances within Greek Legends. Sadly no one yet has had the courage to tackle the Bible. These women are held responsible for the introduction of knowledge, free will, fire, and various plagues, and much civil disobedience, proving legend and the written word powerful especially in union with imagery to back it up, but what it imparts is open to interpretation.

What are the four types?
​

Does Knowledge Make Us Happy?

The Young Schoolmistress Artist Jean-Siméon Chardin ( 1737)

Oil on canvas 61.6 x 66.7 cm. National Gallery, London

Plato's epistemology was an attempt to understand what it was to know, and how knowledge (unlike mere true opinion ) is good for the knower.

Steup, Matthias and Ram Neta, "Epistemology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/epistemology/&gt;.

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917). The Thinker, 1904. Cast bronze.

​

AUTHOR INFORMATION MATTHEW PRISELAC UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA U. S. A.

Jacob Epstein working on a bust of Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell[1953] Black and white Photographic print 106 × 145 mm

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Learning & Knowledge Unit 1 | SarahChalkieCloonan

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In this unit, I would like to research knowledge, learning. How and where do we find it and might we acquire it from images?

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Jan 6, 2019 · Ingold concept of acid and base// electrophile // nucleophile// Tushar Sir's Chemistry. 308 ...
Duration: 2:46
Posted: Jan 6, 2019

Apr 12, 2022 · Riffing on "Society, nature and the concept of technology" by Tim Ingold. 20 views Apr 12, 2022 ...
Duration: 26:29
Posted: Apr 12, 2022

Washington DC (Hagerstown MD), Virginia

From your IP address - Learn more

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Jan 6, 2019 · Ingold concept of acid and base// electrophile // nucleophile// Tushar Sir's Chemistry. 308 ...Duration: 2:46 Posted: Jan 6, 2019 Apr 12, 2022 · Riffing on "Society, nature and the concept of technology" by Tim Ingold.

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A central part of ZOE's science has been an investigation of the microbiome and its links with an individual's diet and metabolic health. Through the PREDICT studies, we have collected the world's largest set of whole-metagenome sequenced gut microbiome data linked to in-depth metabolic responses and diet. This enables us to investigate how the gut microbiome, diet, and metabolic health are interlinked, to provide personalized advice on how to improve both gut microbiome and health.

Our research suggests a complex interplay exists, whereby our gut microbes are associated with our diet and state of health, and those microbes may also change the level of dietary host effects after meals, thus impacting long-term health and weight (Figure 1). Our findings have been published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals.

What is the relationship between the gut microbiome and human health?

Our gut contains a complex ecosystem of trillions of different microorganisms and their collective genomes, known as the gut microbiome. These microbes form a very complex ecological entity in our body that plays an important role in many aspects of nutrition and health. This includes:

The transformation and production of thousands of key metabolites, enzymes, and vitamins (many of which cannot be produced by humans and are not available directly through diet),

The extraction of nutrients from our food,

Our metabolic responses to food.

The structure and community of the gut microbiome have been associated with both health and disease states, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and obesity1. The gut microbiota has been suggested to influence metabolic health through several different host-microbiome interactions mediated by diet both directly (through the availability of diet-dependent metabolites) and indirectly (through modulating the composition of the microbiome)2.

Your gut microbiome is unique

Humans share 99% of the same DNA, however, the human gut microbiome is hugely variable from person to person. Through our research, we have found that even identical twins have very different gut microbiomes, with unrelated individuals sharing 30% and twins sharing 34% of the same gut microbes at species level. By taking an even closer look at the gut microbiome using new, high-resolution shotgun sequencing technologies ("deep metagenomic sequencing"), it becomes clear that each of us has a unique set of genetic variants (strains) of each species present in each of our guts. This makes us, in fact, unique microbially.

Our research also suggests that host genetics only influences microbiome composition to a limited extent, making the microbiome a rich target for precision nutrition. For more information about the relationship between host genetics and the gut microbiome, see the appendix in the full white paper.

Get into the detail

Download the full white paper to get an in-depth understanding of how ZOE's science works
Download white paper (10MB)
*due to be updated soon with further scientific updates.

While you can'tchange your genes, you can modify your microbiome. Changes to the gut microbiota can take place within days of dietary alteration3,4, thus by eating the types of foods that are linked to "good"microbes, we can potentially change the suit of molecules that our gut microbes produce. This does not imply your microbiome is completely modifiable, as the microbiome has several poorly understood mechanisms inducing colonization resistance of new strains and your immune system is a complex machine that plays a critical role modulating the microbes in ways there are still not fully understood. However, your microbiome can be modified by what you eat, and this is a major area of ongoing research at ZOE.

The food we eat influences the gut microbiome

Diet is acknowledged to be a key modifiable factor in manipulating the microbial community2, with habitual diet shaping the microbial ecology by curating its environment through continuous provision of dietary substrates5.

The fact there is a relationship between diet, the human gut microbiome, and many metabolic diseases are well known, but until now we have lacked large-scale, high-resolution studies linking these outcomes to individual microbes or to the specific foods we eat 6. This is partly due to the complexity of our diets, the difficulty of measuring them accurately and at scale, disentangling them from other lifestyle and confounding factors, and the personalized nature of the microbiome7,8,9. Such analyses also require very large numbers of people with in-depth dietary and metabolic data, alongside new deep metagenomic sequencing techniques which can provide strain-level data for each individual at an affordable cost.

In the PREDICT study, for the first time, we have been able to study the gut microbiome and diet at a scale and complexity that has not been possible before. Using deep metagenomic sequencing, together with long-term dietary data and hundreds of fasting and postprandial blood marker measurements from each PREDICT 1 participant, we have been able to identify a clear set of microbial species that are strongly and consistently linked to dietary patterns, cardiometabolic and obesity-related biomarkers, and postprandial responses.

Figure 2 illustrates the 15 "good" (shown at the bottom) and "bad" (shown at the top) gut microbes that correlate with diverse positive and negative health and diet indicators respectively. This analysis is now being extended by the further 1,000 individuals who participated in PREDICT 2 from a wide variety of ethnic and geographical background. Our understanding of these links will continue to improve based on data from individuals who participate in the ZOE program and join our ongoing PREDICT studies.

Diet quality and the gut microbiome

While nutrients and foods are not consumed in isolation, but rather as part of a broad and varied dietary pattern, there are a few key dietary components that are known to impact our gut microbiome to a greater extent (e.g. dietary fiber, polyphenols, animal products, artificial sweeteners, and dietary fats). For more information about how these components influence the gut microbiota, see the relevant appendix in the full white paper.

Data from the PREDICT 1 study has found strong associations between microbes and specific nutrients, individual foods, food groups, and overall dietary patterns10. As discussed, we have identified sets of "good" and "bad" gut bugs, creating microbial signatures that consistently correlate with "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods and dietary patterns11,12,13. These microbial clusters were also strongly linked to indicators of obesity and general health and fasting circulating metabolites connected with cardiometabolic risk, as seen in Figure 2.

For example, we found that the same group of beneficial microbes seen in people with diets rich in "healthy" plant foods was also seen in those eating "healthy" animal foods containing good fats, such as oily fish. Similarly, the cluster of "unhealthy" microbes was observed in those eating "unhealthy" plant- and "unhealthy" animal-based foods.

We are the first group to look at dietary intake data in this much detail to disentangle the impact that food sources and quality has on the gut microbiome and health outcomes. This clear segregation of "good" and "bad" microbes according to the heterogeneity of the food source (healthy or unhealthy animal or plant), quality (processed or unprocessed), and overall dietary patterns, highlights the importance of looking beyond just nutrients, macronutrients and single foods in diet-microbiome research.

Linking individual foods to the gut microbiome

Another novel outcome of our program of research is that we have identified specific foods that correlate with individual microbes (shown in Figure 3). Unsurprisingly, most foods that support the growth of "good" microbes are high in fiber. Dietary fiber is used to describe a variety of plant-derived compounds that are not broken down by human enzymes. Without microbes, humans are unable to make full use of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibers. Different microbes are specialized at breaking down different types of fiber, including prebiotic fibers, which are fermented by gut microbiota in the colon. As a result, a wide variety of fiber is important to support a healthy gut microbiome.

By eating specific high-fiber foods, one can likely increase the population of particular microbes. The naturally occurring fiber found in the context of a food matrix is highly complex, which we believe is part of the reason why individuals eating unprocessed foods have a more diverse set of gut microbes and better health outcomes than those eating highly-processed foods. As a result of this research, ZOE scores differentiate between different types of fiber and do not give much credit to highly-processed sources of fiber.

The gut microbiome influences cardiometabolic health and our responses to foods

Data from the PREDICT 1 study suggests that an individual's gut microbiome is predictive of cardiometabolic markers and personalized responses to food16. For example, "healthy" and "unhealthy" microbial signatures were associated with several traditional fasting cardiometabolic measures biomarkers (e.g. blood pressure, fasting lipids, fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), inflammatory markers), as well as postprandial cardiometabolic and glycemic biomarkers. Notably, we observed these clusters under both fasting and postprandial conditions.

Whilst it is known that the gut microbiome plays a role in glucose metabolism and therefore postprandial glycemia14,15, a novel finding from our research is that that the gut microbiome plays an even more important role in postprandial lipemic responses after a mixed nutrient meal than glycemic responses10. This is particularly relevant given that both postprandial lipemia and glycemia are independent risk factors for CVD and initiate a cascade of negative effects.

The gut microbiome is an important target for precision nutrition

PREDICT 1 is the first study to identify a panel of gut microbes consistently linked with both dietary intake and metabolic health. The scale and depth of our data also show much stronger links between the food that we eat, the gut microbiome, and cardiometabolic health than previously believed. PREDICT 1 is also the first study to identify both individual components of the gut microbiome and overall microbial signature associated with dietary intake and cardiometabolic health measures.

These findings strongly support the interactions between the food we eat, the microbes they support, and chronic disease outcomes, and highlight the gut microbiome as both a target for personalized dietary advice and valuable input for predicting personalized responses to food.

ZOE's at-home test kit uses the same sample collection methods and deep metagenomic sequencing techniques as used to analyze the gut microbiomes of participants in our PREDICT studies. This allows us to identify the presence of these "good" or "bad" microbes in any individual and calculate a personalized overall index of microbiome health based on the relative abundance of these microbes.

All ZOE product users are provided with a personalized gut health report, which includes the identification of particular foods that are associated with and thus can potentially support the growth of "good" bugs that are under-represented in their gut. As more individuals join the ZOE studies and can share their microbiome and we validate causal links, their dietary intake and metabolic responses, our ability to link individual microbes to foods will continue to expand significantly. As a result, dietary guidance will further improve in the coming months and years as we better understand the fine details of foods linked to particular microbes.

Get into the detail

Download the full white paper to get an in-depth understanding of how ZOE's science works
Download white paper (10MB)
*due to be updated soon with further scientific updates.

References

Singh RK, Chang H-W, Yan D et al. Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health. J Transl Med. 2017;15:73. doi:10.1186/s12967-017-1175-y

Tilg H, Moschen AR. Microbiota and diabetes: an evolving relationship. Gut. 2014 Sep;63(9):1513-21. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2014-306928

Valdes A, Walter J, Segal E et al. Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health. BMJ. Jun 2018;361:k2178. doi:10.1136/bmj.k2179

David LA, Maurice CF, Carmody RN et al. Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature. 2014 Jan 23;505(7484):559-63. doi:10.1038/nature12820

Leeming ER, Johnson AJ, Spector T. Effect of Diet on the Gut Microbiota: Rethinking Intervention Duration. Nutrients. 2019 Dec;11(12):2862. doi:10.3390/nu11122862

Menni C, Zhu J, Le Roy CI, et al. Serum metabolites reflecting gut microbiome alpha diversity predict type 2 diabetes. Gut Microbes. 2020 Nov;11(6):1632-42. doi:10.1080/19490976.2020.1778261

Sze MA, Schloss PD. Looking for a Signal in the Noise: Revisiting Obesity and the Microbiome. mBio. Aug 2016;7(4):e01018-16. doi:10.1128/mBio.01018-16

Pasolli E, Asnicar F, Manara S et al. Extensive Unexplored Human Microbiome Diversity Revealed by Over 150,000 Genomes from Metagenomes Spanning Age, Geography, and Lifestyle. Cell. 2019 Jan;176(3):649-62. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.01.001

Gilbert JA, Blaser MJ, Caporaso JG et al. Current understanding of the human microbiome. Nat Med. 2018 Apr;24:392-400. doi:10.1038/nm.4517

Spector T, Asnicar F, Berry S et al. Microbiome Signatures of Nutrients, Foods and Dietary Patterns: Potential for Personalized Nutrition from The PREDICT 1 Study. Curr Dev Nutr. 2020 Jun;4(Suppl 2):1587. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzaa062_044

Vadiveloo M, Dixon LB, Mijanovich T et al. Development and evaluation of the US Healthy Food Diversity index. Br J Nutr. 2014 Nov;112(9):1562-74. doi:10.1017/S0007114514002049

Guenther PM, O Casavale K, Reedy J et al. Update of the Healthy Eating Index: HEI-2010. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2013 Apr;113(4):569-80. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2012.12.016

Fung TT, McCullough ML, Newby PK et al. Diet-quality scores and plasma concentrations of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82(1):163-73. doi:10.1093/ajcn/82.1.163

Allin KH, Tremaroli V, Caesar R et al. Aberrant intestinal microbiota in individuals with prediabetes. Diabetologia. 2018 Apr;61(4):810-20. doi:10.1007/s00125-018-4550-1

Kootte RS, Levin Evgeni, Salojarvi J et al. Improvement of Insulin Sensitivity after Lean Donor Feces in Metabolic Syndrome Is Driven by Baseline Intestinal Microbiota Composition. Cell Metab. 2017 Oct;26(4):611-619.e6. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2017.09.008

Berry S, Ordovas J, Asnicar F et al. Influence of Gut Microbial Communities on Fasting and Postprandial Lipids and Circulating Metabolites: The PREDICT 1 Study. Curr Dev Nutr. 2020 Jun;4(s2):1547. doi:10.1093/cdn/nzaa062_004

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A central part of ZOE's science has been an investigation of the microbiome and its links with an individual's diet and metabolic health. Through the PREDICT studies, we have collected the world's largest set of whole-metagenome sequenced gut microbiome data linked to in-depth metabolic responses and diet.

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At first glance, the idea that the bacteria in your gut can influence your mind seems fairly unbelievable. How could a microscopic, single-celled lifeform impact your brain?

As researchers dig into the details, it's become clear that these legions of microbes do indeed have some sway over your brain health.

Through various mechanisms, gut bacteria can talk with your brain, and your brain can talk back. Scientists call these lines of communication the gut-brain axis.

We have a long way to go before we truly get to the bottom of this complicated web of chatter, but there are some aspects of the gut-brain axis that we know even less about.

Bacteria are not alone

By weight, bacteria make up the largest proportion of the bugs in your gut. But they're not your only onboard guests.

Your gut microbiome also includes some actors whose influence is even more mysterious. They include:

Viruses: including bacteria-killing phages.

Fungi: such as Candida albicans, a common cause of fungal infections.

Protists: a mixed bag of lifeforms that include amoeba and slime molds.

Archaea: bacteria-like, single-celled organisms.

In this article, we'll focus on fungi and their potential links with brain function and brain health. The fungi living in your gut are called your gut mycobiome.

Although scientists know much less about how fungi influence health, there are some interesting hints.

Many fungi

Gut bacteria have been the focus of most research into the gut microbiome. This is partly because they are so numerous.

Fungi make up just 0.01% to 0.1% of the genes found in human stool.

It's difficult to imagine such a small amount of fungi could have much impact, but experts estimate that your mycobiome includes around 1 billion organisms.

That's much fewer than the trillions of bacteria, but it's a substantial crowd.

As well as being less numerous, the gut mycobiome is also less diverse than gut bacteria.

Yeasts make up most of the mycobiome, such as C. albicans and Saccharomyces - a group that includes brewer's and baker's yeast.
Like your gut bacteria, gut fungi also have close links with your immune system, but what about links to the brain?
Below, we'll outline some links that scientists have uncovered between the mycobiome, mental health, and other neurological conditions.

Then, we'll investigate how fungi might be influencing brain health.

Before we get cracking, we should note that much of the research in this area is in small groups of humans, animals, or the laboratory. That means that it's tricky to translate these findings into humans.

In depression

Although there is growing evidence that depression is linked with changes in gut bacteria, scientists haven't teased apart cause and effect yet.

In other words, they don't know whether the shifts in gut bugs influence depression or whether other factors related to depression influence gut bugs.

Most researchers have only looked at changes in gut bacteria, but one group of scientists looked for changes in gut fungi, too.
In particular, they showed that people with depression had less variety of fungi and more in their poop.
They compared poop samples from 16 people without depression with 24 people who were experiencing a depressive episode.

In agreement with earlier studies, the researchers found differences in gut bacteria between the two groups. They also found changes in gut fungi.

This was a small study, though, so we'll have to wait for more research to back this up.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Another suggestion of a link between gut fungi and brain health comes from research into schizophrenia.

In one study, for instance, scientists focused on levels of antibodies to the fungi C. albicans. Antibodies are produced by your immune system when faced with a foreign invader.

According to the authors, measuring these antibodies is a way of determining lifetime exposure to the fungus.

The scientists recruited individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and people without a psychiatric condition.

They found that males with schizophrenia were more likely to have higher levels of antibodies to C. albicans. But this link wasn't present in females.

However, in females, those with higher levels of antibodies to C. albicans were more likely to score lower on cognitive tests.

In earlier studies, the same group of researchers found that, compared with healthy individuals, people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have higher levels of antibodies to a yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

S. cerevisiae is commonly used by bakers, and experts don't consider it to be a health concern.
Compared with people in the control group, those receiving the probiotic had reduced levels of antibodies and, importantly, improvements in psychiatric symptoms.
Of course, there is the classic problem of cause and effect: Do changes in fungi drive the condition, or does the condition lead to changes in fungi?

One study, however, provides a tantalizing glimpse behind the cause-and-effect curtain.

The scientists recruited 56 people with schizophrenia. They treated some of the participants with probiotics containing two species of bacteria. The other participants received a placebo as a control.

This isn't proof that fungi drive the symptoms, but it's another piece of the puzzle.

The authors of the study suggest that probiotics "restore the gut microbiota," which helps curb the overgrowth of fungi. Although precisely why this leads to changes in symptoms isn't clear.

Gut fungi and Parkinson's disease

In Parkinson's disease, cells in a part of the brain that helps control movement slowly die off.

Although treatments can slow the progression of Parkinson's, there's no cure. And scientists are still trying to figure out how and why the condition starts.

One theory is called the hibernating spore hypothesis.

One study compared the gut mycobiome of 35 people with Parkinson's with 20 individuals without Parkinson's. The scientists found significant differences.

Another study compared 34 people with Parkinson's and 25 healthy participants. In particular, they found that almost 40% of people with Parkinson's had Geotrichum molds in their gut compared with just 0.05% of the healthy controls.

Experts don't consider Geotrichum a significant threat to health, so it's not yet clear whether this is a meaningful finding.
For instance, studies have shown that some species of fungi can produce norepinephrine - a neurotransmitter - while others can produce histamine. Both of these compounds have effects in the brain.
We should also note that, although other researchers have also identified changes in gut fungi, not all studies have found differences.

Why the link?

Scientists are still trying to understand why (and if) there are relationships between certain neurological conditions and gut fungi.

However, they've uncovered some potential ways that these organisms might interact with our nervous system.

According to the experts, it's not clear whether these products would reach the brain.

However, they might interact with nerves in the gut, which could then send messages up the chain to the brain.

Going in the other direction - from brain to gut - the neurotransmitter serotonin appears to reduce the potency of C. albicans in the lab. In this way, the brain could potentially influence the gut mycobiome.

Complicated relationships

Scientists have measured changes in gut bacteria linked to all of the conditions we've mentioned above. Could these shifts in bacteria help explain the changes in gut fungi?

These microorganisms all live in close quarters, so changes to one type of bug can influence the others.

As just one example, some bacteria can produce fungus-killing chemicals. So, if there are more of those bacteria in the gut, there are likely to be fewer fungi. Alternatively, there might be more fungi if there are fewer fungi-killing bacteria.
However, at this point, it's mostly theoretical. Any or all of these explanations might play a part, alongside a range of others.
Although we know relatively little about how gut fungi and gut bacteria play together, we can safely assume it's complicated. Like any ecosystem, changes in just one species can affect them all.

Leaky gut?

The authors of the studies looking at schizophrenia and bipolar suggest that if a fungus grows out of control, it might disturb the lining of the gut, causing a "leaky gut."

A leaky gut means that your gut walls let through compounds they would normally keep locked in.

This includes chemicals produced by bacteria and fungi, including toxins. If these breach the gut walls, they can enter your blood supply and perhaps reach your brain.

Another theory is that an abundance of Candida - a fungus that has cropped up throughout this article - might stimulate the release of immune cells. Then, once they reach the brain, they might trigger depressive symptoms.

Scientists still have many relationships to examine: interactions between bacteria and fungi, interactions between different types of fungi, and interactions between the fungi and you. And that's just for starters.

No doubt, as science plumbs the depths, we'll get to the bottom of this conundrum. It's likely to be a fascinating journey.

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At first glance, the idea that the bacteria in your gut can influence your mind seems fairly unbelievable. How could a microscopic, single-celled lifeform impact your brain? As researchers dig into the details, it's become clear that these legions of microbes do indeed have some sway over your brain health.

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Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health

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Ana M Valdes and colleagues discuss strategies for modulating the gut microbiota through diet and probiotics Microbiome refers to the collective genomes of the micro-organisms in a particular environment, and microbiota is the community of micro-organisms themselves (box 1).

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If you want to learn more about what's going on in your gut, the first step is to turn your poo blue. How long it takes for a muffin dyed with blue food colouring to pass through your system is a measure of your gut health: the median is 28.7 hours; longer transit times suggest your gut isn't as healthy as it could be. We are only now beginning to understand the importance of the gut microbiome: could this be the start of a golden age for gut-health science?

"The gut microbiome is the most important scientific discovery for human healthcare in recent decades," says James Kinross, a microbiome scientist and surgeon at Imperial College London. "We discovered it - or rediscovered it - in the age of genetic sequencing less than 15 years ago. The only organ which is bigger is the liver." And, for all that the internet may be full of probiotic or wellness companies making big health claims about gut health, "We don't really know how it works," he says. At the risk of sounding like the late Donald Rumsfeld, there's what we know, what we think we know, and an awful lot that we don't yet have a clue about.

Your gut microbiome weighs about 2kg and is bigger than the average human brain. It's a bustling community of trillions of bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses, containing at least 150 times more genes than the human genome. We are filled to the brim with microbes, which form microbiomes on our skin, in our mouths, lungs, eyes, and reproductive systems. These have co-evolved alongside us since the beginning of human history. But the gut's is the largest and most significant for our short- and long-term health. It is massively complex and its residents vary enormously from person to person. According to a study in 2020 by the European Bioinformatics Institute, which pooled more than 200,000 gut genomes to create a genetic database of human gut microbes, 70% of the microbial populations it listed - 2,000 species - hadn't yet been cultured in a lab and were previously unknown.

"It's a vital organ in your body and you need to look after it. If you do that, it will look after you," says Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King's College London, author of two books on dietary and gut health, and co-founder of the ZOE app, initially developed as a gut health programme, but temporarily re-engineered as a Covid symptom tracker early in the pandemic. (Whether the gut microbiome can be considered an organ is still up for discussion - many microbiome scientists call it an organ, given that it is both inherited and essential, while others use superorgan, supporting organ or microbial organ.) "Lots of things that people don't think about, like depression or anxiety, are very clearly modified by your gut microbes. Appetite and ability to digest food are modified by gut microbes. The key finding recently is the link with the immune system. Basically, the gut microbiome is controlling it, sending signals, because most of your immune system is in your gut, helping you fight infections, such as Covid and early cancers, that the immune system is picking off."

'If you look after your gut, it will look after you': Tim Spector. Photograph: Francesco Guidicini

Studies suggest having a diverse population of gut microbes is associated with better health. But when human populations urbanise, microbial diversity declines. Professor Jack Gilbert is an award-winning microbiome scientist at the University of California San Diego and author of Dirt I s Good. "Over the past 80 years and since the dawn of antibiotics, there has been multi-generational loss of microbes that appear to be important for human health," he says. "They're passed from mother to child [during birth, via breastmilk and skin contact] throughout the generations, but at some point in the last three or four generations, we lost some. We're not entirely sure if the cause was our lifestyle, our diet, cleanliness in our homes or the use of antibiotics. We're also missing certain immune stimulants that people in the developing world have plenty of."

What are the implications of this? "Those two things combined may be underlying a large proportion of the chronic diseases our society is suffering from - asthma, food allergies, atopic diseases and auto-immune disorders. It's difficult to prove epidemiologically - 100 years ago no one gave a crap about allergic diseases because globally 50m people a year were dying of infectious diseases. But over the past 50 years of good scientific record keeping, we've seen a significant increase in those disorders [alongside] this loss of microbial diversity in our guts."

Gut microbes do things the gut can't do, liberating or synthesising nutrients from food, especially from plants and their polyphenols, living off non-digestible substrates, producing thousands of metabolites - useful chemicals -and making vital short-chain fatty acids that are involved with immunity, with keeping the gut and colon healthy, with moderating the body's inflammatory responses and with the metabolism of glucose. To do this, microbes need about 30g of fibre a day, but the average intake in the UK is just 10-15g. Is this why modern, low fibre, ultra-processed, high-sugar diets seem so problematic for human gut health?

"It's very hard to know exactly what it is in junk food that is causing a problem," says Spector. (When he talks about junk food, Spector means most prepared and packaged foods - including things such as vegetarian lasagne.) "It's not the fat, carbs and protein, it's the extra chemicals. The data is probably best for artificial sweeteners that are derived from things like paraffin and the petrol industry, so our bodies and our microbes are not used to breaking them down. But it could be other stuff, like the enzymes you don't get on the label, or emulsifiers. There are few studies on emulsifiers, and nearly all in animals, but they show that you get reduced diversity and more inflammatory microbes. The idea is that they're doing the same as they are in cooking: sticking your microbes together, creating an emulsion. Or it could be the lack of fibre and the fact that everything is refined. We haven't nailed it down, but I think it's safe to say that ultra-processed foods are bad for your gut microbes and we should avoid eating them regularly."

The great opportunity - but also the great difficulty - of gut microbiome science is that poor gut health is associated with such a vast range of conditions, from obesity and degenerative brain diseases to depression, inflammatory bowel disease and chronic inflammation. "The microbiome is associated with everything," "Pick a disease, it's associated," says Kinross. The microbiome is like a convergent science - you have to be an ecologist, a geneticist, a bioinformatician, a clinician and an epidemiologist, to try to make sense of it."

"Everything we're doing now is scratching the surface," says Spector. "We are maybe 10% of the way there, because every week, we're discovering something new. Humans want an easy answer [to improve our gut health], but you shouldn't take anyone seriously who doesn't say it's complicated," he says. "There's a massive industry that needs a simple message to sell its products. They want to say all you've got to do is eat this bar, this yoghurt or this protein drink."

Spector does, however, have skin in this game. He and Jonathan Wolf, a machine-learning and data science expert, founded ZOE four years ago with the aim of creating personalised diets based on what an individual's specific gut microbes needed. It has already launched in the US and later this year people in the UK will be able to buy into the ZOE testing process. The price for the UK programme hasn't yet been finalised, but in the US it costs $360 for six months. (The #bluepoopchallenge, started by ZOE, is free, though - the recipe for blue muffins, which hundreds of thousands of people have already used to track their digestion, is on the ZOE site.)

'In the future, we might actually prescribe certain types of fibres for certain mental health conditions': Kimberley Wilson. Photograph: Kimberley Wilson

The theory behind ZOE is that our varying gut microbes explain, at least partially, the big differences in individual responses to food: why one person who eats a lot of fat or sugar doesn't put on weight, while another does, or why some of us can tolerate particular foods better than others, even why particular people become obese. If we knew which microbes were associated with a higher risk of obesity - because they're more efficient at accessing calories, perhaps - or which best protect brain health, then we could tailor our diets to feed them.

Spector's 30-year-long study of 15,000 twins, TwinsUK, and his PREDICT studies have shown that even genetically identical people respond to the same foods very differently (our microbiomes are so variable that twins share only 30% of the same gut microbes). By feeding participants the same meals on different days, he was able to show that responses to the same meals also vary hugely between individuals, influenced by both the microbiome and genetics. This matters, says the ZOE team, because our response to food is linked to our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity, but also because it blows apart the tired and useless mantra "calories in, calories out", which doesn't make sense in a world where two people's blood glucose levels can be hugely different after eating the same slice of cake.

Microbiome testing has been around for a while, but it's never been particularly useful as a way for people to understand what's going on inside their bodies because not enough is known about what microbes do or how they interact. As Dr Megan Rossi, AKA the Gut Health Doctor, a dietitian and research fellow at King's College London, and author of Eat Yourself Healthy, puts it: "I see patients in clinic with [microbiome] tests, and it would really help me to be able to use them to get patients better, but they just don't have clinical translation. I absolutely believe in the future they will. But we're not there yet."

Spector hopes his tests - which don't just test for microbes, but also assess blood fat and blood glucose responses to specific foods - will change this. "We're just starting to get to the point where we can suggest individualised foods. This is not just isolated microbiome testing," he says. "We have trials in place to quantify this, but the initial results are exciting, with nearly everyone reporting weight loss and improved energy levels without any calorie counting or traditional weight loss methods. Previous microbiome tests have been sub-optimal [but the] ZOE approach is completely different: using state of the art sequencing allows us to detect species and strains and find strong associations between these microbes and both foods and health."

This is done via algorithm, as Wolf explains, combining his machine learning with the microbiome science. "But if we were going to do this, we were going to do it the right way; to carry out what's turned out to be the largest in-depth, nutritional science study in the world, in order to collect the raw data for the machine learning," he says. "And that meant getting thousands of people to do very intensive studies. We identified 30 key microbes that are indicators of health and linked to specific foods," he says of his PREDICT 1 study, co-created with a team at Harvard and the University of Trento, involving more than 1,000 people and published in Nature Medicine.

If our microbes are so important, can't we just package up the right ones and put them in a pill? Professor John Cryan is chair of the department of anatomy and neuroscience at University College Cork and principal investigator at the APC Microbiome Institute. "We will get strains of bacteria to have beneficial effects," he says, but he laughs when I ask him how he feels about probiotics. "That's like asking me, 'Do I like drugs?' If I have a pain in my head, I want to take a drug that has efficacy for headaches. I wouldn't just randomly pick one. But that's what we're doing with probiotics right now. The science needs to catch up. We're lumping them together as if they're the all the same thing, but, like drugs, they may do very, very different things. We need to get precision into probiotics and then I can be excited about them. But most of what's out there is complete nonsense."

While many microbiome scientists don't have much time for the commercial probiotics industry, there is growing interest in what are now called live bio-therapeutics - probiotics designed and tested to be used clinically (none are yet licensed for medical use in the US or Europe). Professor Ingvar Bjarnason is a gastroenterologist who has conducted double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on specific probiotic blends. "There is no data whatsoever for the vast majority of the probiotics on sale," he says. But he is curious about a blend he has already studied for its impact on IBS, called Symprove, and its potential as a treatment in hospitals for acute Covid. "We think of Covid as a virus of the lungs, but the microbiome of people with acute Covid can be altered very severely. Very ill people with Covid have a cytokine storm where they have multi-organ failure, due to an enormous amount of really strong inflammatory markers. The suspicion is this inflammation may come from the gut, and when the gut has been examined in acute Covid patients, it is abnormal."

A very small Italian study using a similar commercial probiotic, Sivomixx, piqued his interest after it suggested acute Covid patients treated with it might be less likely to end up in ICU or to die, and eight times less likely to suffer respiratory failure. Bjarnason is hoping to start a larger study in the next few months.

Several other gut bacteria are also being studied as biotherapeutics. "One of the bugs that appears to have disappeared from Europeans, North Americans and Chinese people over the last 50 years, is bifidobacterium longum infantis," says Jack Gilbert. This bacteria seems purpose built to digest oligosaccharides in breast milk, sugars which babies born in developed areas simply poo out. "That's why in the western world, baby poo is sloppy, whereas in the developing world, baby poo comes out pretty solid, more like adult poo, because their breast milk is being digested by the bacteria in their intestine - kids growing up in Africa and certain parts of Southeast Asia Africa and certain parts of Southeast Asia that aren't developed have tonnes of bifidobacterium longum infantis. If we put it into a mouse and feed it breast milk, it digests all the sugars. There are clinical trials ongoing, putting this bug back into children, especially in preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units, to see what impact it has."

The final frontier for gut microbiome exploration is its relationship with our brains, something the new fields of nutritional psychiatry and psychobiotics are digging into. We already know the gut has its own nervous system, the enteric nervous system, and contains 100m neurons. We also know the gut-brain axis, via the vagus nerve, shoots neurotransmitters produced within the gut around the body and to the brain, which is why Cryan's lab has studied the impact of particular bacteria on sleep and how certain types of fibre can improve complex cognitive processes.

Kimberley Wilson is a chartered psychologist and author of How to Build a Better Brain. She uses nutrition as part of her treatment plans. "The short-chain fatty acids produced from microbial fermentation of fibre [in the gut] are quite similar to some mood-stabilising prescription drugs," she says. "Some of the association that we see between healthier diets and better brain health could be because your microbes are producing psychoactive substances from your diet to help stabilise your mood. In the future, we might actually prescribe certain types of fibres for certain mental health conditions." For now, she simply prescribes a lot more fibre to feed what many scientists now consider our second - much larger - brain. "The more fibre you eat, the more substrates the microbiome has available. And the better off we're going to be, psychologically. I think that's incredible."

Improve your gut health

Seven simple ways to keep the right balance

Unlocking the 'gut microbiome' - and its massive significance to our health 'Lots of things that people don't think about, like depression or anxiety, are very clearly modified by your gut microbes.' An illustration of the digestive system, with food and gut bacteria, on a pink background Illustration: Harriet Noble/The Observer

Eat more fibre Most of us eat only half the recommended 30g a day. But start slowly - our guts don't like rapid change

Eat the rainbow Choose colourful fruits and vegetables and try to eat
30 different plants, nuts and seeds every week

Eat foods rich in polyphenols These include dark chocolate and red wine

Eat fermented foods Tim Spector favours kombucha, kefir and kimchi, as well as unpasteurised cheeses

Eat more omega 3 New research suggests a relationship between gut microbes, omega 3 and brain health

Let kids play with dirt and dogs Jack Gilbert's research has shown that since the gut's population is seeded in early life, allowing small children to dig in soil and play with domestic animals can undo a lot of the damage modern lifestyles do to our microbiomes

Avoid processed foods Cut back on salt and sugar, both of which seem to affect microbial diversity in the gut
L eon Happy Guts: Recipes to Help You Live Better by Rebecca Seal and John Vincent (Octopus Books, £16.99) is available for £14.78 from guardianbookshop.com

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Unlocking the 'gut microbiome' - and its massive significance to our health

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Scientists are only just discovering the enormous impact of our gut health. Rebecca Seal reveals how it could hold the key to everything from tackling obesity to overcoming anxiety and boosting immunity

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https://www.lexico.com/definition/phenomenology
Philosophy
The science of phenomena as distinct from that of the nature of being.

‘In origin, as described by philosopher Edmund Husserl, phenomenology is the intuitive appreciation of phenomena as they are immediately perceived, without reference to scientific theory or prior learning.’

More example sentences

1. 1.1An approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience.
‘A phenomenology of consciousness, then, explores neither the metaphysical composition nor the causal genesis of things, but the ‘constitution’ of their meaning.’

https://www.lexico.com/definition/phenomenological

https://www.lexico.com/definition/phenomenologically

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Does English Have More Words Than Any Other Language?

Basic Guidelines For English Spellings

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Here Are The Top English Writing Tips

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PHENOMENOLOGY | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com

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Does English Have More Words Than Any Other Language?

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http://timothyquigley.net/vcs/em-sum.pdf

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Why is Ecosophy important?

Ecosophy instead encapsulates the understanding that human beings are but a part of an intricate biodiversity, in which every living organism is inter-connected by delicate, invisible threads of co-existence, needed to create and sustain a vibrant, healthy planet

Ecosophy and ecophilosophy are neologisms formed by contracting the phrase ecological philosophy. Confusion as to the meaning of ecosophy is primarily the consequence of it being used to designate different and often contradictory concepts by the Norwegian father of deep ecology, Arne Næss, and French post-Marxist philosopher and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari.

"Remaking Social Practices" - by Felix Guattari
https://1000littlehammers.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/remaking_social_practices_screen.pdf

Arne Næss -
Surveying the continuing destruction of the environment, Mr Naess was pessimistic about the 21st century but optimistic about the 23rd. By then, he predicted, population control would show results, technology would be noninvasive and children would grow up in a natural environment. At that point, he said, “we are back in the direction of paradise.”

http://ses-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SES-vol4-n2_2018_Pavo.pdf

https://www.ecology.gen.tr/deep-ecology.html

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Once dubbed the most liberal product in America in 2009, kombucha is experiencing a surge of sales and quickly becoming an influential player in the domestic beverage economy. The misunderstood ancient fermented beverage has a complicated history in terms of media perception, alcoholic regulation and availability of human-based medical studies. However, big business is taking note of the developing consumer preferences for the functional beverage and its noted health benefits.

So how did this ancient Chinese beverage that is brewed with an unappetizing yeast disc become an artisanal beverage and an influential part of PepsiCo's brand portfolio in 2016? How was it possible that an alcohol regulation scandal in 2010 inversely generated huge consumer interest for the product? To understand its current state and growing market potential, a critical lens should be given to the drink's long history and its surprising informative pivots.
HOW IT'S MADE
If you are not familiar, kombucha is a fermented and sweetened tea often made with black or green tea. It is largely classified as a (a pancake-shaped symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is placed in a sweetened tea mixture and left to ferment at room temperature for 1-3 weeks, and then bottled for 1-2 weeks to contain released CO2 and encourage carbonation. From there, bottled kombucha is placed in a refrigerated environment to slow down the carbonation and fermentation processes. Lack of awareness around this second fermentation cycle led to misregulation of alcohol content in recent years. Additionally, the functional beverage, meaning that it is a non-alcoholic drink that contains vitamins, amino acids or other nutrients associated with health benefits. The process of preparing kombucha can vary but generally involves a double fermentation process wherein a SCOBY antimicrobial properties of this process make its production process sanitary and safe for homebrewing.
HISTORY (200 B.C. - 2010)
Kombucha originated in Northeast China (historically referred to as Manchuria) around 220 B.C. and was initially prized for its healing properties. Its name is reportedly derived from Dr. Kombu, a Korean physician who brought the fermented tea to Japan as a curative for Emperor Inkyo. Eventually the tea was brought to Europe as a result of trade route expansions in the early 20th century, most notably appearing in Russia (as "Kambucha") and Germany (as "Kombuchaschwamm"). Despite a dip in international popularity during WWII due to the shortage of tea and sugar supplies, kombucha regained popularity following a 1960s study in Switzerland comparing its health benefits to those of yogurt.

Kombucha most meaningfully gained popularity in domestic markets in the 1990s. Sandor Katz, a leading fermentation expert and author of The Art of Fermentation, noted that this initial popularity was due in part to consumers who believed that the beverage was a powerful health aid for serious medical conditions. Katz explained, "I first tried kombucha around 1994, when a friend of mine with AIDS started making and drinking it as a health practice. It was touted as a general immune stimulant, though claims of kombucha's benefits have been extraordinarily varied and broad."

Initially kombucha in the United States was distributed solely by grassroots efforts wherein enthusiasts would share their SCOBYs (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast disc) with others so that they could homebrew the tea themselves. Many attribute the formal start of the domestic kombucha industry to GT Dave who founded GT's Kombucha, which has continued to be the leading domestic kombucha brand. GT's Kombucha began in 1995 as a mission-driven family business that initially sold to local health stores before gaining widespread popularity.

Much like the anecdote of Sandor Katz's friend, Dave partially credits his passion for kombucha to his belief that it cured his mother's cancer. The GT's Kombucha website still explicitly cites this claim: "In 1995, my life came crashing down when I heard that my mother, Laraine had just been diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of breast cancer. After a week of emotional turmoil, I was relieved to find out that her breast cancer had not spread and that the pungent tasting cultured tea that she had been drinking was part of the reason why." Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center notes that kombucha tea has not been shown to treat cancer or AIDS in humans.

Studies conducted through 2010 suggested that the health benefit anecdotes associated with kombucha have occasionally been overblown by the media and industry figureheads, due to overbiasing positive results from nonhuman studies and anecdotal human studies. However, researchers believe that kombucha's tea base and fermentation process imply that the beverage contains similar benefits to plain tea and fermented foods, including probiotic benefits that encourage gut bacteria diversity and aid digestion.
2010 REGULATION CRISIS
Through the early 2000s, kombucha continued to see healthy growth due in part to increased consumer awareness via expanded grassroots distribution and the increased availability of GT's Kombucha. However, the production and distribution of kombucha halted abruptly for two months in 2010 following a Whole Foods inspection by Maine Department of Agriculture Consumer Protection Inspector Randy Trahan. During a routine bottle audit at the Whole Foods in Portland, Trahan noticed leaking kombucha bottles. Trahan explained, "Some of the Kombucha bottles on the shelf were leaking. Being a public health official, I know that alcohol is a by-product of the fermentation process. I could immediately see that there might be a public safety issue...Kids could get hold of this and get a buzz."

Trahan submitted a few of the store's bottles for testing at the Food Sciences Lab at The University of Maine where it was discovered that the bottles contained alcohol levels ranging from slightly over 0.5% to over 2.5%, which was well above the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's regulation that labeled non-alcoholic beverages must contain less than 0.5% ABV. This suggests that many producers were not taking precaution to halt or account for the continued ABV development during kombucha's second fermentation and bottling, and that regulators had a lack of awareness about kombucha's second fermentation.

Shortly after the analysis results had been released, Whole Foods removed kombucha from its shelves on June 15, 2010 alongside a display note that read, "Key suppliers and Whole Foods Market have elected to voluntarily withdraw kombucha products in bottles and on tap from our stores at this time due to labeling concerns related to slightly elevated alcohol levels in some products. This is not a quality issue. Sorry for any inconvenience."
NEW STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
In response to the falsely labeled alcohol content on some kombucha bottles, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau updated its guidelines to highlight that that it would regulate any kombucha products that contain 0.5% or more ABV, even after the product was bottled and continued to ferment.

Around this time, kombucha expert Hannah Crum also helped to co-found Kombucha Brewers International , a trade association for commercial kombucha brewers that aimed to educate consumers and retailers about kombucha as well as promote industry ethics and labeling standards. KBI was the first kombucha organization that could act as a third party to work directly with regulators without the biased perspective that may have been associated with advocacy from conversations held by a single brand. Crum noted, "It was clear as a result that most government agencies and businesses don't want to hear the point of view from the brand. So if you can create an industry hub where the information comes from the broader industry and not just the brand, it has a lot more weight." KBI has since worked closely with regulators to help create a standardized alcohol content test and a quality verification process.

Once new regulations were in development, kombucha producers diverged into two paths as a result: some complied with the ABV guidelines through various changes to their manufacturing processes, while others stuck to their original formulas which measured above 0.5% ABV and some even created consciously-labeled kombucha beer brands. Those who decided to decrease their ABV used a combination of de-alcoholizers, alterations to recipes and sugar content, yeast manipulation and more.
POST-2010 RECOVERY AND GROWTH
During the two month production break, the kombucha industry was also hit with an associated outbreak of media confusion about kombucha's alcohol content due to allegations that Lindsay Lohan 's alcohol-monitoring bracelet was set off in July of 2010 due to the star's regular consumption of kombucha.

Despite the distribution halt and seemingly negative media coverage, there was an increase in consumer awareness and demand for the product which led to a 28% category sales increase YoY through June 2011. Leading kombucha industry expert and co-founder of the Kombucha Brewers Guild, Hannah Crum , spoke with a number of kombucha companies shortly thereafter and noted, "Nearly all Kombucha companies interviewed agreed that the difficulties of last summer generated more consumer interest and led to expansion rather than contraction." She added that existing kombucha fans could have helped this increase in sales due to their strong product loyalty and increasing fandom bred by diminished availability. She added, "Most fans spent the summer wondering not why it was removed, but obsessing over how and when it would be coming back."

Additionally, the removal of major brands like GT's Kombucha from the shelves of national retailers resulted in the visibility and growth of smaller, regional kombucha brands, like Buchi. In an with Hannah Crum, Jeannine Bucher of Buchi stated, "Because we self-distribute, the national distribution withdrawal was a golden opportunity for us to introduce Buchi to Kombucha drinkers whose national brand was no longer available."

As many brands altered their recipes, there were mixed reactions from longtime kombucha fans who believed that these new de-alcoholizaition processes minimized the health benefits of kombucha as well as negatively impacted the taste. As a result, some producers continued to produce their original unadulterated kombucha formulas which contained above 0.5% ABV and have them regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and shelved accordingly in stores. However, this awareness of the health benefits of undoctored kombucha and its potential alcohol content led way to the creation of a new kombucha beverage segment: kombucha beer.

A number of kombucha beer brands have since arose in recent years. Unlike kombucha that adheres to the 0.5% non-alcoholic guidelines, kombucha beer is typically allowed to naturally ferment for longer periods of time through its second fermentation and then not pasteurized, preserving much of its live bacteria and associated health properties. Kombucha beer is consciously marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional beers based on its lower caloric contents and gluten-free properties, as well as being positioned as an artisanal beverage.

One of the leaders in this new segment is Kombrewcha , a New York City based brand founded in November of 2014. Founded by Barry Nalebuff, co-founder of Honest Tea and a professor at the Yale School of Management, and Ariel Glazer, a natural foods entrepreneur and former Goldman Sachs analyst, the pair sought to create a tea-based beverage that was low in both calories and alcohol content. Kombrewcha contains 65-75 calories, 4-6 grams of sugar and 2% ABV and is naturally gluten-free because it is made from tea as well as contains live probiotics.

Kristina Marino, Kombrewcha's Director of Marketing, explained how their product is fundamentally different from those in the non-alcoholic kombucha and alcoholic beverage markets: "The problem we saw is that alcoholic beverages-mixed drinks, beer, and hard cider-are either too high in alcohol and calories or too low in taste. A regular 12 oz beer ranges from about 140 calories to over 300 calories, same for hard cider - mixed drinks often have more than 300 calories. Even light beers typically have over 100 calories."

Additionally, Kombrewcha is departing from the traditional alternative health image of kombucha by conciously positioning itself as an artisanal beverage. The brand has partnered with a number of highly regarded restaurants and bars across New York to serve and increase exposure for the brand, including Murray's Cheese Bar , Roebling Tea Room and Angelica Kitchen . A number of these establishments also serve Kombrewcha-based cocktails, such as Meadowsweet's Kombrewcha Mule .

Kombrewcha has experienced profound growth and expansion since its 2014 debut, indicating that consumers are responsive to the concept of kombucha beer. In 2016, the brand's sales increased 40% YoY and the brand plans to launch on the West Coast in 2017.

Across all segments of kombucha, the beverage saw impressive growth and sales through 2016. Errol Schweizer , executive global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods Market, noted that kombucha occupies up to one-third of refrigerated functional-beverage shelf space in Whole Foods stores. Additionally, US consumers purchased almost $400 million in kombucha in 2014, compared to its 2010 sales of a little more than $100 million during the aformentioned 2010 regulation crisis.
KOMBUCHA'S FUTURE
Despite its 2010 regulation crisis and rippling product confusion among consumers, kombucha sales are stronger than ever and projected to keep growing. Kombucha is considered the fastest-growing product in the functional beverage market with sales estimates of $1.8 billion by 2020. Additionally, domestic kombucha sales have a CAGR of 25.0% between 2015 to 2020. Analysts believe this is due in part to the new alcoholic segment of the kombucha market, like the aforementioned unadultered kombuchas and kombucha beers.

Most recently, PepsiCo has taken notice of the promising future of kombucha with its purchase of leading kombucha brand KeVita in November 2016. An announcement posted on the PepsiCo website on November 22, 2016 by Chris Lansing, PepsiCo Premium Nutrition's general manager and vice president, explained, "I am pleased to welcome KeVita into the PepsiCo family. Under the leadership of CEO Bill Moses, KeVita has become an innovative, high-growth brand that is transforming the functional beverage space... This announcement is further evidence of PepsiCo's focus on delivering Performance with Purpose by continuing to evolve our health and wellness offerings to meet consumers' changing needs."

KeVita will join PepsiCo's 22 global brands that are purchased by consumers one billion times a day in over 200 countries. This move is a strong signal of market confidence in kombucha's growth potential, in particular because Pepsi has a history of investing in multiple long term horizons, regardless of conflicting present consumer sentiment. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi recently explained the company's investment strategy alongside another controversial announcement that the company may eventually invest in bug proteins. Nooyi stated, "One year, three year, five year, ten year: we have different people looking at different horizons, because if you believe in the ten year horizons and what we are seeing, some of the weirdest food and beverage habits are showing up."

Kombucha's strong future is evident, and perhaps best compared to the popularity arc of yogurt. Hannah Crum explains this belief within the kombucha industry when she stated, "We consider ourselves the 21st century yogurt. In our parents' generation, you had to make your own yogurt because it wasn't a commercial product, but then people heard the health benefits and how it could extend your life and then it became a multi-million dollar industry. We think people in the future will grow up just accepting kombucha as a product they had as a kid."

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Kombucha 101: Demystifying The Past, Present And Future Of The Fermented Tea Drink

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How did this ancient Chinese drink that is brewed with an unappetizing yeast disc become an artisanal product and an influential part of PepsiCo's brand portfolio in 2016? To understand how the industry got here, a critical lens should be given to the drink's history and its surprising pivots.

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Kombucha Recipe: 1 Gallon “Shortcut” Method | Kombucha Kamp

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The right Kombucha Recipe makes for the best tasting Kombucha. Click Here to Save Time & Get a FREE Kombucha Recipe 1 Gallon download too!

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of the KBI & Oregon State University Kombucha SCOBY DNA Sequencing study. With your help we sequenced nearly 100 samples provided by over 70 different companies from 26 states and 9 different countries around the world. The largest SCOBY DNA Sequencing Study to date! Previous studies that sought to improve our knowledge of SCOBY microbial populations have been more limited in scope. We now have more data points which can provide a clearer understanding of which microbes are common across commercial SCOBYs, and an opportunity to learn which strains may be responsible for different fermentation and flavour outcomes.

For each sample received, we blended a standardized amount of SCOBY under controlled conditions, and then extracted the DNA from all microbes present in the sample. Regions of DNA that can be interpreted as 'barcodes' were amplified from each sample and sequenced using Illumina Miseq technology. The sequences of these 'barcodes' were compared to large databases of fungi and bacteria, and assigned to Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). In this study OTUs were defined at a standard cutoff of 97% similarity. In other words, if two 'barcodes' are only 96% similar in DNA sequence they would not be grouped into the same OTU.

Is an OTU representative of a species? Sometimes yes, but often no - within many genera (particularly for bacteria) individual species cannot be reliably differentiated using current DNA 'barcodes'. This approach is highly robust when used to provide resolution at the genus level, meaning that all OTUs for one type of organisms are grouped together. For example, if a SCOBY contained both their DNA 'barcodes' would be grouped together as Lactobacillus. Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum

After the samples are matched at the genus level, each 'barcode' detected is counted to provide the frequency with which it appears in the sample to determine the proportion at which each genus of the whole bacterial or fungal population exists. These are the numbers of the sample represented as as follows: Dekkera 0.67 means that 67% of the fungal population in your sample belongs to the Dekkera genus.

Interpreting Your Results

Each sequencing report provided participants the bacteria and fungi profile of the sampled SCOBY. Below is an example of a report of bacteria detected. The genus level is read as "g_GENUS". The number provided indicates how much of bacteria was present in the sample. For instance, 94.8% of this example sample is Gluconoacetobacter. Some other OTU groupings could not be reliably defined at genus level, in which case they will be named at family level but assigned as 'Other' or 'g__' at genus level. In this example, 2.7% of the bacterial population is made up of bacteria within family Acetobacteraceae that could not be assigned to a genus.

Using the values provided we can create a visual of the bacteria composition.
Please note that the taxonomic name of organisms can change. For example, Dekkera is now known only as Brettanomyces (previously the names were interchangeable), while Gluconoacteobacter xylinum and Acetobacter xylinum have been reassigned to Komagataeibacter xylinum . We're sorry, but this is just as confusing for seasoned microbiologists! Q: "My report says "unknown" for some of the organisms. What does that mean?"
A: Sometimes 'barcodes' are not able to be definitely assigned at the genus level due to a lack of resolution or because the sample may contain a species that has not yet been identified by the microbiology community. These OTUs are then grouped at the family level and genus may be given as 'undefined', 'unknown' or 'other'.
How do your results compare to the "average" SCOBY

Each company received an individual report listing the respective percentages of each type of bacteria and yeast found in their sample.

In the aggregate, it was found that the organisms occurred in these relative percentages:
DOMINANT YEAST AND BACTERIA
As presented at KombuchaKon18, results from the study confirm that there is variability in SCOBY samples collected from different brewers. However we were able to identify core microbes that are present in most SCOBYs. On average, the most common fungi were Brettanomyces/ and Starmerella , while the most common bacteria were Gluconacetobacter , Gluconobacter , and Lactobacillus .

The near constant fluctuation of organism name changes presents its own kind of challenge. In previous SCOBY & Kombucha DNA Sequencing studies, for example, there are no instances of Starmerella being detected, however, when doing cursory research, it turns out this is a newer nomenclature for many species that used to be known as different types of Candida spp. which have been identified in other studies. However, without going to the species level, it is difficult to ascertain which stains correspond to those found in previous studies versus which may be novel to Kombucha.

Identifying the prevalent organisms within the SCOBY is the first step towards answering this question. We do know that different types of yeast convert sugar to alcohol at different rates. It is also known that different types of bacteria produce varying kinds of organic acids in similar fermentation models, i.e. beer, wine (see table below). There is likely some overlap in how these microbes influence kombucha.

For the next study, we aim to determine how different microbial profiles influence your finished raw product. Continued participation in these studies will go a long way to addressing these questions.

In the meantime, some of the organisms found in Kombucha are also found in wine & beer. Here are some links to charts that outline the flavor profile and characteristics of some of those organisms.
UC Davis Wine Server Database Our yeast and bacteria are considered spoilage for beer & wine!
ARE SCOBYs MORE VARIABLE IN THEIR BACTERIA OR YEAST POPULATIONS?

On the whole, there seems to be more variability in the bacteria profiles of SCOBY samples. Bacteria are responsible for converting most of the ethanol into organic acids and for building the SCOBY. We will continue to study how different types of bacteria influence the secondary fermentation.

VARIATION BETWEEN SCOBY AND STARTER FLUID MICROBIAL POPULATIONS

For this study we only examined the SCOBY and not the starter fluid. For the second sequencing study we will look at both! As mentioned in the presentation at Kombuchakon, acetic acid bacteria build the the SCOBY. They do not have to live in the SCOBY to produce acids (e.g. vinegar is made without a SCOBY), just as yeast do not have to live in the SCOBY to degrade sugars. The SCOBY does, however, enable repeated fermentations to be started with multiple species present, something that would be difficult to achieve otherwise. The SCOBY effectively buffers microbes against what would otherwise be a fluctuating environment as the sweet tea goes through alcoholic fermentation and acetification. .

METADATA ANALYSIS

At the time of sample collection, a couple of questions were asked in order to analyze the data according to a couple of variables - namely age of the culture sampled and location. We then sent out a follow up survey for additional metadata including age of the culture sampled, type & quantity of tea; type & quantity of sugar; and batch size to see if the data would show any trends or patterns based on these variables. Not all participants answered this part of the survey and we hope to have a more thorough Metadata Analysis available in future studies. This will greatly enhance the applicability of study results to the KBI community.

REGIONAL VARIATION

Preliminary analyses suggest there may be some region-to-region variances in the bacteria and fungal composition of the SCOBY, though it should be noted that sample numbers and the amount of metadata provided were uneven. Future studies will request additional metadata in order to determine the influence of types & quantities of tea, sugar and other variables.

NEXT STEPS

KBI & OSU will be partnering on a new DNA sequencing study and will also be conducting an analyte study. We hope to receive at least as many samples as last time if not more so that our knowledge base will continue to deepen. Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

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KBI OSU DNA Sequence Study Analysis Report - Kombucha Brewers International

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By Dr. Chris Curtin & Keisha-Rose Harrison of Oregon State University & Hannah Crum of Kombucha Brewers International & Kombucha Kamp Thank you to everyone who participated in the first round of the KBI & Oregon State University Kombucha SCOBY DNA Sequencing study. With your help we sequenced nearly 100...

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https://theculturedfoodie.com/scobys-how-to-start-and-maintain-a-kombucha-scoby-hotel/

https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/kombucha/how-to-store-your-kombucha-scoby/

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The SCOBY Hotel is an important resource in every Kombucha brewer's tool box. Since a healthy Kombucha culture reproduces with each batch, it would be foolhardy not to keep a few around in case mold strikes. Plus, with all the great uses for extra SCOBYs you never know when one will come in handy.

So you followed the instructions in our SCOBY Hotel video and made your hotel, but now your SCOBYs have been in there for awhile. What happens next? Can they just hang out in there forever?

Unlike other more delicate cultures such as milk kefir or water kefir which will disintegrate and disappear if not fed regularly, the Kombucha culture is a very hardy organism and can remain in stasis for extended periods of time. This is in part due to their very protective pH (2.5-3.5). It makes Kombucha one of the safest ferments to brew at home. However, the SCOBY hotel does need to be maintained from time to time. This ensures that the cultures remain viable after weeks, months or even years!

S-C-O-B-Y

As the name implies, the SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. Although the bacteria and yeast live in symbiosis, they are also in competition. Our role as brewers is to maintain balance by nurturing the bacteria and removing excess yeast. This same principle applies to the hotel.

Perform maintenance on your hotel every 2-6 months or when you observe a build up in yeast to keep your cultures healthy, happy and ready to brew at a moment's notice. Remember, never store your Kombucha SCOBYs in the fridge as the bacteria may go deeply dormant or perish, leading to flat, weak flavor and usually mold.

Hotel Maintenance

Yeast Removal

Yeast are a vital part of the Kombucha fermentation process as they provide carbonation and nutrition for the bacteria (and humans!). They are the brown clumps or strands that hang from the SCOBY and ultimately accumulate on the bottom of the vessel once they've completed their life cycle. It is important to remove some of the yeast to prevent the symbiosis from getting out of balance.
As always, start with a clean space. Wiping down counters with (Kombucha) vinegar water and using clean towels and utensils is a crucial step to prevent contamination.

1. Remove the cultures from the hotel into a separate bowl or . Cover immediately with a or lid to prevent fruit fly contamination.

2. Filter the liquid of the hotel through a strainer, sieve or cheesecloth into a clean container. The yeast strands are large and will not pass through the sieve. But there is more than enough yeast in the liquid and SCOBY. (Bonus Tip: Save the filtered yeast to make Kombucha Sourdough starter!)

3. Now you have potent starter to get new batches going (see below). Reserve a portion of this starter liquid to return to the hotel.

4. Rinse the hotel jar with hot water to remove all traces of yeast from the bottom and sides of the vessel. If it has been a while, a good scrubbing may be needed.

5. Once you have completed SCOBY Thinning & Trimming (see below), place the SCOBYs back into the hotel jar or use a . Add fresh until the jar is about half full. Then top off with the potent starter to provide a protective pH and prevent mold. The mix of starter to sweet tea should be about 50/50.

KKamp does not recommend rinsing the cultures to remove all of the yeast as some yeast is required to obtain carbonation. We simply want to reduce their number to maintain balance.
SCOBY Thinning & Trimming

Kombucha loves to GROW! Even in the hotel, a new layer will form across the top. The longer it sits, the thicker the layer. If the SCOBY gets too thick, fresh oxygen cannot reach the liquid below. Thinning or trimming it down to a smaller size will keep the oxygen flowing and prevent stagnation.

1. Remove the thick top layer from the vessel .

2. First, see if it's possible to simply pull the layers of SCOBY apart with your hands. If it formed in thin layers, they may peel easily or even rip at times but you cannot hurt the SCOBY this way.

3. If you cannot rip it apart, sanitize a pair of scissors or serrated knife with Kombucha vinegar or distilled vinegar.

4. You can trim the culture with scissors to reduce the width/thickness. Or it's also fine to slice the culture in half with the serrated knife. Hold the SCOBY flat on the cutting board with hand over the top. Work the knife horizontally through the thick SCOBY like a bread roll. CLICK HERE for more about Trimming SCOBYs

5. Discard any soft, gelatinous edges or unwelcome bits as needed.

Freshly trimmed pieces of healthy SCOBY culture make excellent bandages for cuts or burns or can be tossed into the blender to make SCOBY face cream.

Using Your SCOBY Hotel as a Source for Potent Starter

With so many cultures in such a small space, the liquid in the hotel will become super sour. Go on, take a sip or a whiff - I dare you! Kombucha face is guaranteed.

One option for maintaining the hotel as you go is to use this sour KT as starter for your batch brews. This is an especially important tip for those batch brewers that prefer a short brewing cycle for their Kombucha. Using starter liquid that is only 5 or 6 days old for one batch is fine - doing that for multiple batches in a row may dilute the strength of the bacteria and result in dominant yeast and off flavor.

Consider letting an entire gallon batch go to vinegar, then converting that to your SCOBY Hotel and using 1 - 1.5 cups of liquid from the top of the Hotel as starter liquid for the next batch. You don't have to add sweet tea back in each time, but after a few batches you will want to replenish the Hotel and give it a chance to convert that sugar, which it will do quickly.

This method allows you to use all of your batch brew at bottling time. Result: more Kombucha to drink (bonus!). Plus, keep your backup SCOBYs happy and ready to go on a moments notice.

SCOBY Rotation

Some brewers prefer rotating SCOBYs through their batches and Hotel, taking both the starter liquid and a SCOBY from the Hotel for the new batch and returning the previously used SCOBY (and maybe also the new baby) to the Hotel until needed. This creates a dynamic Hotel environment which keeps more cultures vibrant and active. Yet they still get rest periods which may benefit the cultures.

Other brewers prefer to keep one SCOBY going from batch to batch once they have found a balance and flavor they like. Each brewer must find their own rhythm and discover what works best in their environment and with their SCOBYs. Enjoy the journey & Happy Brewing! 🙂

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The SCOBY Hotel is an important resource in every Kombucha brewer's tool box. Since a healthy Kombucha culture reproduces with each batch , it would be foolhardy not to keep a few around in case mold strikes. Plus, with all the great uses for extra SCOBYs you never know when one will come in handy.

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Kombucha
https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/kombucha/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha/

Jun
https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/blogs/kombucha/how-to-make-jun-honey-kombucha/

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How do I make my own kombucha? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Hannah Crum, The Kombucha Mamma, on Quora:
Kombucha is fermented sweet tea. The process itself is simple and once a few variables are dialed in, many find they are able to make delicious Kombucha batch after batch.

First we make sweet tea. Tea is Camellia sinensis and all tea comes from the same plant. The difference between green, black, white, oolong, etc. is when it is plucked and how it is processed. It is important that we use tea rather than peppermint "tea" or chamomile "tea" which are herbs that do not contain the same nutrients as tea.

For a 1 gallon batch of Kombucha, we use 4-6 tea bags which is approximately 4-6 teaspoons of loose leaf tea in 4 cups of hot water. Steep the tea at the proper temperature for 15 minutes. Then remove the tea bags and stir in 1 cup of sugar until its fully dissolved.

This is our sweet tea concentrate. Now add 10 cups of cool, filtered water to the jar to bring the temperature down quickly. Provided you are able to put your hand in the tea and not feel burned, then it is safe to add the SCOBY & starter liquid to the sweet tea.

The SCOBY ought to be 4-6oz by weight per gallon along with 1-2 cups of starter liquid. Starter liquid is simply already fermented Kombucha. If you purchase a culture commercially or receive one from a friend, make sure it comes with at least 1 cup of liquid to start. Starter liquid for future batches will originate from the previous batch (also known as "back slopping" yum!)

Once the SCOBY and starter liquid are in the vessel, cover with a tightly woven, yet breathable cloth cover. Avoid cheesecloth as the weave is too loose and will allow fruit flies (aka vinegar flies) to invade your brew.

Place the vessel in a warm location (75-85F w 80F the sweet spot) and then leave for at least 7 days. Once that time has passed, take a straw, gently slip it under the SCOBY and take a sip. When the brew has a sweet yet tangy flavor that tastes good to you, then it's ready to harvest.

To harvest, decant the brew into individual bottles (you may need a funnel) flavorings may be added (not too much!), then cap tightly and allow to sit at room temperature for 2-4 days to build carbonation. Move to the fridge and enjoy!

Most people will immediately start their next batch so that by the time they finish drinking the first round, they are ready to flavor a second round. More details about the Kombucha brewing process including a downloadable recipe may be found.

This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions:

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How do I make my own kombucha? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Hannah Crum, The Kombucha Mamma, on Quora: Kombucha is fermented sweet tea.

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Scoby : S-C-O-B-Y As the name implies, the SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.

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Scoby : S-C-O-B-Y As the name implies, the SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.

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https://quorasessionwithhannahcrum.quora.com/How-does-SCOBY-form-its-biofilm