Sheree 0:00
Welcome back to another episode of The Wild and wild collective. Today we have the incredible owner, Steph of clover ferments, which is a batch brewed fermented tonic designed to improve digestion, gut health and immunity. And I can tell you from a first hand experience how incredible these products are. And I cannot wait for Sif to share not only her story about how she helped heal her daughter's debilitating gut issues, but how she's now helping heal so many New Zealanders with issues from eczema and psoriasis to bloating and constipation, and even for myself, help me heal my food intolerances. We are so lucky to have her on here, and I love sharing products that I found really, really beneficial, and I know this is going to serve and support you so deeply. So without further ado, here is Steph. Hi. Steph, welcome to wildmore Collective. We are so excited to have you here today.
Unknown Speaker 0:56
Hi guys, thanks so much for having me on.
Sheree 0:58
I am really just wanting to dive right in, because I'm such a huge fan of your products, and I know that there's a really beautiful story behind it. And so would you mind starting off sharing with us exactly how you created your products and what they are? Yeah,
Speaker 1 1:14
sure. Okay, so basically, when I had my second born, her name's clover, we quickly realized that she could only tolerate three foods, and obviously, at this stage, she wasn't even eating solid food. So this was literally just through my breast milk. This is how sensitive her gut and her system were. So basically, if I ate anything apart from these three foods, which, by the way, I'll say, because everyone always asks were lamb leek and green beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, she would have quite severe reactions and would often end up in hospital. So it'd be things from nappies full of blood to breaking out in hives, eczema, up all night, screaming. It was just horrendous. So anyway, so I was on this three food diet, and then when she started solids around six months, she also started on these three foods. And for the first year and a half of her life, we tried so many different things to help her gut issues, from Baby probiotics to osteopath to like, honestly, the list, I won't even go down there, because it's just such a long list of what we tried and nothing was helping her. And then I met some other mums online with babies because I thought, oh my gosh, am I the only person in the world? You know, we're in New Zealand, in such a small country, I hadn't heard of any other babies like this. And I met these other mums online who had babies in a similar situation around the world. And eventually, some of these mums suggested to me. They said, Hey, have you tried anaerobic fermentation with your daughter? And I didn't even know what it was, you know, so I learned all about it. And I started making fermented tonics for clover. And once they were ready, so they take 21 days to ferment, and once they were ready, I started giving them to her. And the interesting thing is, like, because they're made of carrot, beechey and cabbage, she couldn't eat those vegetables. So I was thinking, like, this isn't going to work. You know, she can't tolerate those vegetables, so how is she going to have these tonics? But surprisingly, she did tolerate the vegetables when they were fermented. And not only did she tolerate them, but after four weeks of her and I having the tonics, I started to reintroduce all the foods that she'd failed and she never failed them again. Just within four weeks, was enough time to build up her gut microbiome so that it was strong enough to tolerate foods that she couldn't tolerate before.
Christa 3:36
Oh my gosh, I love that. A quick question back on that, was she a C section delivery or vaginal delivery? Vaginal delivery. And I just asked that, because sometimes, you know, we the babies, and all of my babies, were C sections. So, you know, I I wish I would have known now what I knew then, or, sorry, other way around. I wish I would have knew then, because they're not exposed to the same bacteria.
Speaker 1 4:00
That's so interesting because my first born was emergency cesarean, and she did also have allergies, which I'll probably talk about later, allergies and tolerances to gluten, dairy and soy. But it's really interesting that then my second born, who was a vaginal birth, had some more severe allergies. But I know that people say, like, if Mum doesn't work on their gut health, each baby gets worse and worse. So it was probably more down to that. Yeah,
Christa 4:27
interesting. It is interesting how the womb environment and their delivery and whether they're not their breastfed can all impact that. However. I mean, it sounds like she was breastfed also, yeah, so
Speaker 1 4:38
I felt like I was doing all the right things, but still she was just and I do think that it really relates back to my gut health, because looking back, even though at the time, I didn't realize I thought I was healthy, but actually I was always bloated and gassy, but because I'd always been like that, I was like, that's just me. But only now that I've done work on my gut health have I realized. That my gut health was not ideal at all. And you know, at Babies inherit their mother's microbiome, so no wonder my girls ended up having gut issues as well. Yeah,
Christa 5:08
I'm super curious about how you found is it so your tonics now, do they contain different vegetables? Are they all like? Describe a little bit. I'll
Speaker 1 5:20
go into the tonics now. Okay, so, first of all, so for clover, we were making the carrot Beatrix and cabbage separately. I remember sherry. You tried them like that. Love them, yeah, initially. And it was great. We had feedback from customers that. Number one, it was a bit of admin, having to take all three daily, because they all work together. And then number two was that like the cabbage, for example. I mean, you guys probably like the taste of sauerkraut, but some people found the cabbage one like, just not that pleasant. So then our head fermenter Georgia, she experimented with fermenting the three vegetables together, and we called that the blend, and then we put it out there to our existing customers to see if they continue to get the same results. And they did, so that's been a game changer, bringing out the blend, because it's just the one tonnet And the three in there. But then we've also expanded a little bit. We've kept our beak of us, because that one is the traditional Eastern European beverage that's been around for centuries to help with all sorts of things, from liver detoxification. It's used for pregnant women and post birth regaining strength. And then we also created the turmeric, ginger, lemon and pepper, one which has been such an amazing addition because of its powerful anti inflammatory properties and immune support. And, yeah, that one has just been such a great addition, but we've still kept the range really small, because we're not really about, like, new flavors and this and that. We're like, we're all about what works, and this is what's working, because our customers are getting such amazing results from just adding them. Can you
Sheree 6:58
talk to us a little bit about, I guess, the science behind it? Like you said, the beak of us has been around for like, such a long time, and I do love that you spoke to the fact that you're not really about, hey, let's just try and introduce a whole lot of flavors and have a big product range your head actually help heal. And I think that's one of the most beautiful things. Is like, I know firsthand that it works, and I've seen it work with my clients time and time again, and it's just nice to know that, like, Okay, if I just pop this in, it's super simple. It tastes delicious, but it's, can we dive into some of the science? Because I know that's where the juice really
Speaker 1 7:30
like, yeah, okay, so because people often say to us, like, Okay, which one's the best for my eczema, or which one's the best for this and that? And we're like, all good for gut and skin issues, because all three of the tonics are wild for meds, so they're all full of bacterial sorry, beneficial bacteria live cultures and digestive enzymes, so adding in any of them will help with your gut and skin issues. It's more just that, then they all had slightly different benefits. So like the blend, for example, is really high in vitamin C because of the fermented cabbage, and also is really good for digestion. The turmeric, as I said before, is a really powerful anti inflammatory and immune support. And then the B is really rich in B vitamins, nitrates. It's also a natural electrolyte. So, yeah, they've all got the slightly different things going on, and so all have the same benefits, but then additional benefits, if that makes sense,
Christa 8:28
I love it that it's coming from natural food versus a supplement, exactly. And
Speaker 1 8:32
that's what I was going to say. Back to your question, Sherry, was it was, you know, the age old natural probiotic, before the pills were invented, this is what they were using in Eastern Europe. It's a probiotic, rich tonic, so and so much more easily absorbed by the body because it's just organic vegetables, water and sea salt. The body recognizes that and knows what to do with it, rather than seeing it as like a foreign invader. And
Christa 8:58
what is it that changes in if you could talk us through kind of the science of fermentation, why can't we just have a diet rich in these vegetables, either cooked or raw, and get the same benefit?
Speaker 1 9:10
Because, yeah, I guess so, when the vegetables are just cooked or raw, that because they haven't been fermented, they don't have the live cultures, digestive enzymes, beneficial bacteria. So once the vegetables are being fermented, and like I said, so for our ferments, it's a wild ferment. We're not using any culture starters, so each batch is different as well. So rather than, let's say, a probiotic pill where you're getting the same strand each time you're having that pill with our tonics, because each batch is different, because it's from organic vegetables, which are different each time we're getting them from this beautiful farm offering different strands. And I think that's one of the reasons why people are seeing such good results, is there's so much diversity because they're, let's say they're having. For the minimum, which is we recommend four weeks, which is enough time to allow the digestive enzymes and cultures to build up and take effect. Then within that four weeks, they've had so many different strands.
Sheree 10:13
It's just phenomenal. Like, when you think about it, right? And I love that you talk about probiotics, because I think sometimes we get stuck in a habit. And I know this. I know Chris does the same, like with our clients, like, if you do give them an actual probiotic, I'll quite often change that, like three months on this one, and switch up to the different varieties and strains, because we aren't, unfortunately, as a culture, eating enough variety in our food. And when we think about the key things for a microbiome to be healthy, it's the diversity and the richness. So I'm curious when we think about the how this relates to the food intolerances, was just where it all started. Can you talk us through that a little bit and like how it kind of helps the microbiome tolerate more foods? Yeah,
Speaker 1 10:53
sure. So I feel like this is kind of the area that we need to do some more testing in, yeah, because at the moment, everything is anecdotal, you know, so we've got all these amazing success stories, but we haven't yet got the funding. Like, I'm sure you guys are aware, you know, it's incredibly expensive to test all these things, so at the moment, we're kind of just going by the results people are getting. And so it seems to me that when people are having these food intolerances like that, their gut is not strong and it's can be leaky and all sorts. And then so just by adding in the tonics, which are, as I keep saying, rich in the digestive enzymes and life cultures, it's essentially strengthening and sealing the gut. So that when people are doing that for a few weeks and then trying to bring these foods in, again, they're finding that their gut is in a place where they can actually tolerate them. Because that's the other thing I say to people, and this is what we did with clover. I'm like, don't just take them for a week and then think, Oh, I'm going to introduce dairy now, like, take them for a minimum of four weeks, because otherwise you're going to introduce dairy when your guts still compromise and it's just going to fail again it needs some rest. So I know some people aren't a fan of an elimination diet, and we're not long term, but I think temporarily for some people, is worth removing these foods that are triggering their issues and then introducing them again when their gut is in a better place, 100% right?
Sheree 12:24
Like, that's what gives the body a chance to heal. It reduces the inflammation. And you know, now we know, like, you can do blood testing for food intolerances and that sort of thing, but the gold standard in holistic practice is to actually do an elimination diet and see what
Speaker 1 12:38
Clover like when we're doing these tests with her, like it was coming up and she had nothing, yeah? And I'm like, that's definitely not true, you know, because I guess she didn't have any one she didn't have any allergies, like, where she would have an anaphylactic reaction, yeah? So it's lots. So when I was doing this testing, things weren't coming up for her, but at the end of the day, it was the elimination diet and testing foods, bringing them back in was the only thing that kind of gave us more of a clear picture. But I know that can be tricky, because, you know, there's always so much at play, so much going on in people's lives. So it can be tricky. Is it the food triggering, or is it something else? Or
Christa 13:17
I think it's interesting also that you were treating her for symptoms that included skin flare ups, right? I don't know that people automatically think about their gut health when they have a rash or when they've been diagnosed with psoriasis or eczema. I
Speaker 1 13:31
never would have thought of it before this journey. I only would have thought of creams. It's only since going through it and now lots of our customers having these skin issues and clearing the map that I've realized, oh my gosh,
Christa 13:43
yeah, the inflammation that's sourced really from the gut, the response that the body has because of that gut permeability shows up sometimes in ways that we wouldn't expect. It's not always just diarrhea, constipation, bloating. It's sometimes in anxiety or rashes. And that brings me to the question of, you know, a lot of times rashes or reactions can be a histamine driven response. Can we talk a little bit about fermentation, and how, in some people that can really drive a histamine response? And actually,
Speaker 1 14:15
so I'm happy you brought this up, because that was another thing with clover, was she did have histamine intolerance, because at one point with her, I was trying, like on that gas diet, with the bone broth and things, and with it, sorry, meat stock. I think they call it, and I realize that can be a healing thing for some people. But because she had a histamine intolerance, it was they were too high in histamine for her. So anyway, with the tonics, though, so I know lots of people who have gut issues do get recommended to have fermented foods, but then, if they've got a histamine intolerance, they find they can't tolerate the fermented foods, so it's actually making them more bloated and things but as I referred to it earlier, so we ferment our tonics anaerobically, so where no oxygen enters our tanks and so. Actually ends up creating a low histamine ferment. So lots of people who can't tolerate just general store bought ferments find that they can, in fact, tolerate our tonics. I know everyone's different. Some people who have a really severe histamine intolerance may not be able to, because, of course, there is still some level of histamine, especially each time the bottles open, you know, the histamine level does go up, but it's been really amazing to see that. And that's the other thing that when people who do have a histamine intolerance start on our tonics, I'm like, Hey, we've got our general recommendations of what dose to start on and what to build up to, but you don't need to go by that, because for you, you might find that staying on, let's say 30 meals a day is enough to get the fermented foods in, but not tip your histamine bucket so that you're still getting all the benefits, but you're keeping your dosage low. Like I always say to people, the best dosage for you is the dosage that you can tolerate, not what it says on the bottle. Yeah,
Sheree 16:02
I know this was a big factor for me, because, I mean, I've tried a number of things, and I think it's one of the things I often suggest to my clients as well. Because people the first thing they think of when they're like, gut health, they're like, oh, I need to eat more yogurt, or I need to have these probiotics, or I need to have these things, and I'm sorry, prebiotic foods, and I'm like, sometimes that can actually make things a million times worse. And that's why I was so grateful when, you know, we connected and reached out. And I was like, my body can tolerate these so well. And when we think about the relationship with histamine and then estrogen, which in women, is often a really big issue, having those high levels of estrogen, and then the histamine kind of feeds that we end up getting with all these hormonal imbalances. So you know, when we think about period health and how much that relates to gut health, and how everything's interconnected, it's nice to know that there's a product, and like you say, that can still work at a dose that's actually tolerable for for you, and a smaller amount to give the body a chance to heal, to give the body the nutrients it needs. Because,
Speaker 1 16:56
yeah, it's really interesting, as I'm talking to this mum recently, and she had started her son on, like, the so he had rashes and XMA on the, like, kid's dose. And she said, Oh, you know, it's actually got a bit worse before it's got it. Can it get worse before it gets better? And I explained to her how it can and explained to her about die off and detox. But I said, Hey, I want you to bring his dose down. She said, Oh, I thought you're gonna say I should increase it. And I said, No, I want you to have it. And a week later, she messaged me and she said, You're completely right. The rash is cleared up. So he was having too much for him. So I think that's the thing. People often think more is better, but that's not the case with these. It's what you can tolerate. How
Christa 17:36
does the dosing happen with this? Are they? Are they eight ounce bottles and their little shots, and
Speaker 1 17:43
it's a 500 mil bottle, and they come in a three pack. So you get three 500 mil bottles. You can either get, like some people get, you know, all three beats, because they just love the beat so much, or but most people do get one of each. So one of the beat, one of the blend, and one of the turmeric, and then for I'll say children first. So for children, we recommend starting on one teaspoon twice a day, like So that's if they were just having one, let's say the beetroot. So one teaspoon twice a day, if they're having the beetroot and the blend, they'd have one teaspoon of the beetroot, one teaspoon of the blend, and then increasing to up to two tablespoons twice a day. So it's still quite a small amount. That's for children over two. And then adults, we recommend starting on 30 mils of each tonic a day. So that's if you've got all three tonics, and increasing to up to 70 mils. And then we say to people, Hey, have a full dose. That's a full dose for them. May only be 50 mils if that's what they tolerate for four weeks. You know, have it for four weeks to allow time for the natural digestive enzymes and live cultures to build up and take effect. And then after that, lots of people say, now, what do I do? You know, do I stop them completely? What do I do? And we say, okay, you've got three choices. This is what our customers seem to do. Choice number one is, if your issues seem to have cleared up, yep, exactly, stop them, and then perhaps in six to 12 months, do another round, whether that's because you want to, or because you have had a flare up in something. Let's say you've had a stressful time in your life and something's flaring up option number two and lots of our customers do this. They've come to love them so much that they just carry on as they have been for those four weeks. Well, option number three is to continue to get them, but just have a really small dose, because all the research shows that with fermented foods, the thing that makes a difference is small amounts daily. So we say, hey, why don't you just get one pack a month, or one pack every three weeks, and that way you're still exposing your body to all that goodness regularly, but on a in a smaller dose. And then also, of course, that's more affordable for people who are budget conscious, we always say some is still so much better than none. If you can't afford to get one pack a week or one pack every second week, then how about one pack a month? Do. Yeah,
Christa 20:00
that's interesting, just the taper up or the taper down, and how it can really respond. My question with these tonics is the taste like you had mentioned fermented cabbage, for instance. So are savory tasting or do you add sugar as part of the fermentation process? We
Speaker 1 20:15
don't add any sugar, any flavors or any colors, so the ingredients are literally just organic vegetables. So in the case of the beetroot, organic beetroot water and sea salt. So it is savory. It's funny, when tastings, we always warm people, you know, they're like, going to put it up to their lips, thinking it's going to taste like kombucha. And we're like, say it's savory salty.
Unknown Speaker 20:40
That's why I like it so much.
Speaker 1 20:41
I love so much of a shot. So, yeah, obviously the beetroot is tastes like beetroot because it is just beetroot and so and the blend tastes a bit more like sauerkraut because it's got the cabbage in there. It's a bit more tangy, and then the turmeric is more fiery and strong. And everyone has their favorite and also they can be just shot, that's how I do it. But also they can be mixed into things. So I love mixing the blend into my salad dressings. It's so delicious. It acts like the vinegar would. And also it's a beautiful, vibrant color. The beetroot goes amazingly into smoothies, into raw desserts, into um, little cocktail like spritzer type drinks, the turmeric is also really good in drinks and salad dressings. There's so many ways you can use them. And also for kids, because some kids, especially after the age of one, you know, before one, they just love it. But when they start getting a bit fussier, when they've been exposed to more sweet food, they can be fussy. And so what the ones that seem to work really well for kids with the beetroot is in smoothies, and it makes it a beautiful color. They can't taste it. There's berries in there, you know. And then the blend, this has been the ultimate hack for mums, is so you can't heat them, but you can add them to warm things. So I say to mums, okay, let's say you're having, like, a classic New Zealand and a like spaghetti bolognese, you know, you're putting that, that in their bowl, and then you pour in a splash of the blend, stir it through, and they cannot taste it. It's just a little bit salty. Wow, because, because, yes, you know kids who are quite fussy. They're like that. They can tell with some stuff that has been snacking, but in their dinner, it's already a savory meal. So it's not like savory trying to be snacking to sweet, and it's just a splash mix through their dinner. So it's just, yeah, like I said, it tastes a little bit salty. I
Christa 22:31
love that easy, like, easy to blend these in, yeah. What advice do you have for you know, one of my questions before we even started, I was asking, Cherie, oh, could we get these in the US? And I know you're New Zealand, and it hasn't come over to us yet. So what advice do you have for people if they don't have access to this? I mean, I think, you know, Kombucha is different, right? And it's so
Speaker 1 22:51
different, yeah? I mean, it's amazing. It has its own place, but it is really different, yeah, both in its taste and its benefits. So we have had lots of people from the States be like, Please, can you ship them over? You know, and at this stage, we can't. I do think it's worth people in the states googling like their area. Let's say I don't know, San Diego cavas, and seeing if there is anyone in the area who's making it, because I have seen a few US companies, and I'm not sure how far they shit, but also because of this reason, because we've had so much international interest, we have created an ebook so people can learn to make them at home, because we want it to be accessible to everyone. You know, I want people who are going through either what I went through, like with their children, or going through with themselves, to be able to create these tonics and heal themselves. And we that's why we purposely the recipes that we put in the fermenting at home ebook are very easy. So the blend, for example, is not easy, like I would never make that in my home kitchen. You know, that's only made in our fermentary. So we didn't put that one in there. We put in there the recipes that anyone could make at home. And you don't need any special, fancy processing equipment. The only thing you do need is the glass fedos, which you can get all over the world, and earlucks again, which you can get all over the world. And so sometimes, if people are struggling to find them. I'm like, hey, just email me. I'll do the research for you and send you the links where to buy them in your country. But they're so easy to make yourself as well. And, you know, we've got people in New Zealand who have got our products now making their own, and then sometimes they've run out, so they'll order a pack from us, and then they'll make their own again, you know. So, you know, just trying to make them as accessible as possible and get the information out there, because it's still such an go drink cavas is still not well known at all. Yeah,
Christa 24:49
I love that. That's really generous, that you share the recipe. And I think people still, you know, people have online meal services all the time, right? I mean, there's. Still value. And your company, you know, locally, I think because it is going to be a task, but I think
Speaker 1 25:05
because at the end of the day, you know, lots of people, it's just like sauerkraut, like it is easy, but sometimes you just don't want to go home. Everyone's so busy already, yeah,
Sheree 25:16
I mean, I'll happily put my hand up and say I'd probably never make it. It's just not exactly if I can have it delivered to my house, I'll do it. I love getting creative.
Speaker 1 25:26
Gonna make it. And then there's people that want it to be delivered to their house, and we're so happy that we can provide options for both those people. Yeah,
Sheree 25:33
and I think it's beautiful to have it, like you say, have the recipes available and for people to know. And like you say, the Kivas isn't really a well known drink, or even a well known is
Speaker 1 25:41
more well known, though, especially because it's not like we've just made it up. It's actually been around for centuries in Eastern Europe, supporting all sorts of things. Yeah. So I think it is going to be, you know, having a little not come back. I don't know what the word is, but yeah, it's going to be showing,
Christa 25:59
it's fascinating, the connection, like we mentioned before, with skin, also with mood, potentially, the gut microbiome can really affect anxiety, depression, etc. Do you have any patients like there are clients like that, or, you know, absolutely.
Speaker 1 26:12
And that's, again, one of the things that when we launched them, I didn't even think about it, because when we launched them, I kind of only thought about, this is what worked for clover, for her food intolerances and skin issues, but I didn't think about things exactly like mood and Sherry, you mentioned before, hormones. So, yeah, we've had amazing testimonials from people around their mood, even being able to come off their antidepressant, which was something I was not and that's something we didn't promote, you know, we weren't promoting it for that, people would message me and say, Hey, does it help with this? And I would say, honestly, I don't know, at this stage, when it was really early in the business, but I said, Why don't you give it a try? You've got nothing to lose. All you are doing is doing some really good things for your insights, you know, but you and you might find that you see results elsewhere, and then people do, and then give send us these amazing testimonials.
Sheree 27:05
I think that's the thing we underestimate, is the power of actually healing your gut like you addressed before. A lot of the time we have the food intolerances because there's a leaky gut or because there's something deeper going on. We actually in a lot of cases, and I know Chris, you'll find this too. When you test someone's microbiome, it's not even that there's an overgrowth of something or a parasite, which is what most people think is like the problem. It's the fact that there's not enough good bacteria. And so as soon as you do something like this, where you run a four week course, and you actually give your body not only the nutrients it needs, but the ability to continue to grow the cultures inside your microbiome. It makes sense that your mood's going to improve. It makes sense that, like 70% of our immune system lives in the gut, so you're going to feel like you're able to handle more your stress levels and like can come down, like everything starts to be a lot more balanced when we put those extra beautiful, like live bacterias into our bodies, and it's so much easier to digest and break down than a tablet in many cases as well.
Speaker 1 28:04
Yeah. And also, I think that's the other thing that I found so amazing, is, like most of our customers, results are just from adding them in, but not making any other changes. Of course, there are going to be a few people like I mentioned before, who may need to do some temporary elimination and then reintroduce. But most of the results have just been from the tonics being added in, but nothing else changing. And I know for some people, that's a real positive to them, because especially, like my dad's generation, you know, like he doesn't want to change his ways, but if he's just gotta add something in, okay, you know, I'll do that helps
Sheree 28:43
with that restrictive mindset, too. Because a lot of people, you know, when you're working with clients constantly, they can develop a fear around food. You know, I remember for years I wouldn't eat bananas because it had showed up on an intolerance test, and I was petrified that this was going to be something like, every time there was a banana, I was, like, my whole body would, like, tense up and stress out. And you think about, Okay, gotta, oh my God, I've gotta take all these things out, and it can pop us into that real restrictive mindset. And so moving people into the space of it's actually something you get to add in, and nothing else really has to change. And it comes back to being that scientist in your own body, because that's the only thing you're changing, you're also not taking out things. You're just adding this in and seeing how your body responds.
Speaker 1 29:24
Yeah, and that's the other thing that I found really cool, is like, with mums, well, also adults, but let's say their kids got constipation. And I'm like, Hey, why don't we haven't had one unresolved case of constipation yet. I'm like, why don't you try these first, and then if they don't work, but I'm thinking, I'm sure they will, then you can always go to the pharmaceuticals. But I think people are definitely coming to a place where they are keen to try the more natural options first that don't have side effects. And, you know, don't mess with our gut microbiome. In fact, they help it. I really think there's such a shift. Because I know when I was growing up, or I don't know if it was just in my family, but we didn't have any idea about, you know, we were always straight to the pharmaceuticals, which was partly contributing to my compromised gut health. Yeah,
Christa 30:16
yeah. What is the difference between the tonic and kombucha? Because you had mentioned, like, yes, they're very different. Kombucha everywhere. I feel like right now, like, you can buy it at the grocery store pretty easily, which, by the way, I think anybody listening to this, if you're drinking kombucha, always look at the sugar content, because some of them to kind of mask that vinegar flavor that fermented. It's really high in sugar, so you kind of gotta shop around. But ultimately, what's the difference? Is it different constituents of like, the foundation of it, or the type that it's fermented in? Yeah,
Speaker 1 30:46
sure if I, if it's okay, I'm Can you guys, I'm just gonna go buy some of our post, because I feel like that's got really good information on there that will be more easy to understand. Yeah. Okay. So basically, kvass has, so Okay, Kombucha is has a sugary base, so it's initially made using a sweetened tea mixture, which provides the fuel for the fermentation process. But the sugar content can be relatively high in some cases, and even though much of it is consumed by the yeast and bacteria during fermentation, some residual sugar might remain, contributing to the calorie content, whereas kvass so beetroot crevasse has a lower sugar content, since it's primarily made from beets and water, and the sugar is mostly consumed during fermentation. So there's the sugar aspect, and then the acidity. So Kombucha is naturally acidic due to the ferment fermentation process, and while this can provide a tangy taste, excessive consumption might not be suitable for individuals with sensitive stomach or certain health conditions, whereas with Kivas, the it's generally less acidic, and so it's more gentle on the stomach for individuals who are sensitive to highly acidic foods. So yeah, so they're both and also, the alcohol content is a lot higher in kombucha from the process of being fermented with sugar. So I know that it's not recommended for pregnancy, but our alcohol content is so low, it's below and all the tonics below 0.15% so it's basically non existent and safe, yeah. And also, just my personal observation is that I haven't seen people healing their issues through drinking kombucha like we have seen through our Kivas, but I think, obviously it's a great recreational drink, and so much more of a better choice than soda and still offering you some live cultures. But I haven't seen, and I could be wrong, but I just haven't personally seen people healing their issues through drinking it.
Unknown Speaker 32:56
I've actually seen,
Unknown Speaker 32:57
I hope that was an alright explanation. Yeah, no, totally.
Sheree 33:00
And I love the way you broke it down, because I think, you know, even from what I've seen and even personally, like anecdotally, what I've experienced, we forget that Kombucha is yeast, right? And so that that yeast can actually aggravate a lot of gut issues as well. A lot of the clientele that we have Candida overgrowths, you know, the fungal overgrowth. And so the amount of women that started to get, they started drinking it. One, you know, the sugar content is higher than you'd expect, which you've touched on. And two, the yeast component, they started to get flare ups of thrush. They started to get, like, the vaginal microbiome starts to go out of whack. They like, for me, it would make my scalp itchy, because that's how my Candida was presenting itself. And I was getting horrific Dan giraffe, and I was constantly itchy all the time. And as soon as I took the kombucha out and switched up some of the other things I was doing, it made sense inside a lot of my clients, it was like, the same thing, are you drinking? Oh, yeah, I drink a butcher all the time. And like you said, it's a great recreational option. I think it's also provided people with an option instead of alcohol as well, because, like some people take that with them when they go to parties or, you know, barbecues and things like that. But we also forget the impact that if that doesn't agree with your particular microbiome, it can actually make things worse, whereas is, like you say, but cavas actually got a healing property to it. It's not just life cultures, yeah,
Speaker 1 34:25
yeah. And yeah. And we found that yeah, people have actually seen positive changes from being on the tones with the Candida, yeah.
Christa 34:32
100% need a whole bunch of this in my office.
Unknown Speaker 34:36
Whereabouts in the state? CEO, uh,
Christa 34:38
we're in, I'm in Texas. And, amazing, lot of people with gut microbiome issues. You know, when we look at a stool test, and I can see, you know, I've plenty of people with yeast overgrowth, plenty of people with just overgrowth or undergrowth. I had a patient a few years back who she fatigue, anxiety, all the things, but she. She spent most of it. She's like, I barely eat during the day. I just drink a large soda every day. Yeah, and I it was very interesting to see her particular gut microbiome. There was a lack, a huge lack of even the commensal good bacteria. It was just wiped out. It's like, just what you're talking about Cherie, when you don't have a variety of fruits and vegetables and a variety in your diet, you essentially are not, you're not a good harboring place for even commensal bacteria, which help a lot of things, our immunity and the gut lining. And so that was a really fascinating test to see. But more commonly, it's just, it's overgrowth of the bad bacteria, overgrowth of yeast, and just that connection with our mood and our skin to the gut health is just really, really an interesting field of study.
Speaker 1 35:47
Yeah, and I was thinking, Sherry, I had to do something with you on hormones and things, because that's not an area that I'm well and that I'm really knowledgeable in. But obviously I know there's a connection, so I'd love to dive deeper into that with you at some point,
Sheree 36:02
definitely. Yeah, it's just amazing. We know that the gut is where everything starts from. Like, you know, Hippocrates said, 2500 years ago, all disease begins in the gut. And I think we quite often will look at hormones, or we'll look at energy, or we'll look at mood, and it's like, start at the root. That's the foundational approach that we have here. Is like, always start at the root cause, and it's going to have a positive knock on effect in every other area of your life, if you can heal your gut. So
Christa 36:26
cool. Thank you for sharing your product. And I love your just your motherly your intuition that you have in your child and from that kind of,
Speaker 1 36:36
oh, I have to share, when you said that my motherly intuition, that my ultimate success story. Okay? So as I said, my first daughter had the three, you know, allergies and intolerances, gluten, dairy, soy, then Clover was nearly every food. So then my husband's like, I want to have a third. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, they're going to be able to eat nothing, you know. I'm like, Are you serious? Are you crazy? So I'm like, Hey, okay, from what these other mums have told me, if each baby gets worse and worse, if Mum doesn't work on her own gut health. So pre pregnancy and pregnancy, I was having the tonics and working on my gut health. And third baby, zero food intolerances, zero skin issues, she has never and I'm like, it just can't be a coincidence, you know, yeah, yeah. Like, if only I know you can't think like that, but if only I'd known what I know now that I
Unknown Speaker 37:29
wouldn't have created
Speaker 1 37:31
other people pre first baby, yeah, and work on their gut before. No,
Christa 37:37
I love that. I love that advice too, to women to just pay attention your body. It does matter. The health of your body in many, many ways. It matters so if you're even if you're not planning on pregnancy now down the road, I mean, it's just, it's an a million dollar investment, you know, it's worth that to invest in your raw health pre pregnancy as well. Thank
Speaker 1 37:56
you so much for having me on it was so great to talk to you guys. Well, thank
Sheree 38:00
you, Steve. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and your beautiful products. Where is the best place for people to find you, connect with you. I also just want to comment how like, what a beautiful energy you have. You obviously have a really close connection to your clientele and your community, because the amount of success stories you have and people obviously reaching out, even going to the extent of doing research for people, it's such a beautiful, beautiful thing to be doing. My
Speaker 1 38:22
husband always jokes. He's like, Oh, you're making besties with your customers in like, on the phone to them, and, you know, okay, but anyway, so, yeah, so we're Clover ferments.co.nz is our website where you can buy our tonics and also our fermenting ebooks. And then we're on Instagram at Clover ferments and on Facebook as well, beautiful. Thank you, and you can message me, as I said, email message me. I always make sure I apply to everything. So
Christa 38:54
thank you so much for this information. We appreciate you being here.
Unknown Speaker 38:57
Thank you. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
