Health-Ade Kombucha is being sued

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up. Today’s edition is powered by SteadyMD, partnering you with a doctor who understands CrossFit.

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“I am not before.

I am not after.

I am here now. Learning, struggling, stumbling, and loving.

Now is the masterpiece. Growth is the juicy consequence.”

— Sarah L Harvey

HOW MUCH SUGAR IS ACTUALLY IN YOUR KOMBUCHA?

The story.

Health-Ade Kombucha is being sued for the second time within one month over the amount of sugar in their drinks— more specifically, that they are greatly understating the amount on the nutrition labels.

Details.

According to their website and nutrition labels, the products yields 5-7g of sugar per serving, but after testing, results consistently show between 11-13g of sugar per serving. That’s a pretty big difference.

Yeah, but…

If you know your booch, you know how tricky this can be to sort out. Kombucha is essentially a sweetened tea that is fermented with a SCOBY (a globular, monster-looking thing made from bacteria and yeast) to create a bubbly, gut-healthy beverage. The sugar is actually there to feed the culture, not the drinker.

SO, the amount of sugar leftover can really vary based on how long the beverage is allowed to ferment. This means that even once it’s bottled, it can continue to ferment and the sugar levels can decrease. No wonder it’s so tricky to get the nutrition labels right.

So what now?

It’s no surprise given the nature of the process that there can be discrepancies when it comes to finished products. It looks like it’s going to be up to the industry to sort this one out and figure out better ways of accurately measuring and reporting the amounts of sugar present.

Meanwhile, we’re going to keep sippin’, because that’s none of our business.

COFFEE BREAK CONVERSATIONS

What to tell your friend who’s already got a hankrin for margs…

If you’re sitting there at work wishing you were on a sandy beach somewhere sipping a Corona with lime, then you’re a) not alone, and b) in luck. The ultimate candy store for grown-ups, Sugarfina, just came out with a Corona flavored gummy bear so when you’re jonesing for beach time along the Mexican Riviera all you need is a pack of gummies. P.S. No one should have ever done this, ever. Corona belongs in a bottle, not in a gelatinuous bear. 

THINGS TO…

WATCH: Journey to the Games with Maddie Sturt

Already a two-time Games athlete, 21-year-old Maddie Sturt is preparing for the Pacific Regional to earn another spot back to the CrossFit Games. She shares her training routine, diet and stories from being kicked out of the training area at the Games cause she looked like a teen athlete.

MEET MADDIE. 

DO: Hang with Lauren Fisher in Bali

Looking for a summer vacation on a beach focused on fitness, healthy eating and working out with your new bestie Lauren Fisher? Then you should probably check out this August 23 – 30 trip to Bali cause it’s probably going to sell out fast. 

SAY HELLO TO SUMMER.

HEAR: All American Weightlifter Jessica Lucero 

Jessica Lucero is one of the few American athletes to ever clean and jerk double bodyweight. She joins Beyond the Barbell for an episode chatting about the sport of weightlifting, how she got started and being married to another pro athlete.

TUNE IN.

EAT: All The Seeds Protein Balls

Protein balls seem to be all the rage right now. If you’re getting caught up in the trend, here’s another recipe for these healthy snacks on the go. 

GET THE RECIPE.

BUY: 20% off Barbell Apparel

From now through Wednesday, Barbell Apparel is offering us a huge spring 20% off discount on everything from jeans to polos to shorts. Just use code “CHALKUP20” at checkout. 

START SHOPPING.

Today’s edition of the Morning Chalk Up is powered by

CHALK UP COMMUNITY

• FITNESS FOR THE HOMELESS — Kettlebells4Kids, supported by $40,000 raised by CrossFit New England, recently held the 2nd official ribbon cutting for an in-shelter Bright Space for homeless kids in Massachusetts.
• VOLUNTEER AT THE CROSSFIT GAMES — Registration is now live to volunteer at the 2018 CrossFit Games in Madison, WI. 
• REMEMBERING OFFICER SCIULLO — On Saturday, CrossFit Pittsburgh teamed up with West Penn Hospital and the Center for Organ Recovery and Education to honor fallen Pittsburgh police officer Paul Sciullo. Officer Sciullo was killed on April 4, 2009, in Stanton Heights during a domestic dispute.

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Strongman Eddie Hall skied 100m on the erg in 13.1 seconds to break his own 100m World Record • Harrison Maurus set a new training total PR with a 341 pound/155kg snatch and 440 pound/200 kg clean and jerk • Congratulations Jeremy
Golar on getting your first rope climb • Rich Froning’s dad borrows Mat Fraser’s flame thrower to do some cleanup • Thuri Helgadottir and Bjork
Odinsdottir led Team Iceland to a gold medal at the European Small Nations weightlifting tournament • Kathleen Winters hits a double body weight clean and jerk at 224 pounds/102kg. If the event she was lifting at was a USAW sanctioned event, then that would make her the seventh woman in US history to hit that • Looks like Sammy Wood is ready for any kind of handstand obstacle course at Regionals • Adrian Conway is taking a year off so he does 38 deadlifts at 385 pounds in just two sets.

…and watching this little girl school this University of Nevada football player is all the motivation you need to get through Monday. 

“Why CrossFit Is Free but CrossFit Gyms Are Not” by Mike Warkentin, CrossFIt Journal

“CrossFit’s too expensive.”

I heard a lot of that after we published the article “How to Come Back to CrossFit.” The complaint also pops up regularly whenever we encourage people to find gyms or trainers if they’re struggling with health and fitness.

I understand. I’m a cheap guy. I budget down to the dollar—personally, at CrossFit 204 and when working on the CrossFit Journal. I also understand the pressures on families or people who have lost their jobs in hard times.

But CrossFit is not too expensive. I can assure you of that.

Here’s why: CrossFit.com posts a free workout every day, with scaling options and all sorts of tips and instructional content. Check it out here. That programming—which is excellent—will always be free.

5/4 – 5/5: Tough As Nails (Lubbock, TX)5/4 – 5/5: No Gutz No Glory (Denver, CO)

5/4 – 5/5: Throwdown in Joe Town (St. Joseph, MO)

5/4 – 5/6: European Masters Throwdown (Budapest, Hungary)

5/5 – 5/6: Tribal Clash (Quarteira, Portugal)

5/5 – 5/6: Barbell de Mayo (Woodbridge, VA)

5/5 – 5/6: Manila Throwdown (Manila, Philippines)

5/5: Cinco de Mayo Classic (San Antonio, TX)

5/5: The Locomotive Games III (Youngstown, OH)

5/5: Granite Games Throwdown (Southaven,  MS)

5/5: Battle of the Boro (Goldsboro, NC)

5/5: New WODs on the Block (Grand Rapids, MI)

5/5: The Crawfish Challenge (Columbia, SC)

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5/5: Burpees de Mayo (Phoenix, AZ)

5/11 – 5/12: Beast Mode Games (Greenville, SC)

5/11 – 5/12: Midwest Monster (Joplin, MO)

5/11 – 5/12: Reebok’s Ready for Action – Fittest in Israel (Israel)

5/12: Barbells for Bullies (Danbury, CT)

5/12: The Mountain Meltdown (Park City, UT)

5/12: The 5th Element (Bedford, NH)

5/12: Soho Brawl (Tampa, FL)

5/12: Fallout in the Falls (Wichita Falls, TX)

5/12: Unfinished Business – The Lift Off (Pottstown, PA)

5/18 – 5/20: East Regional (Albany, NY)

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5/19: Raising the Bar for Recovery (Medina, OH)

5/19: East Coast Battle (Hanover, MD)

5/19: Barbells in the Burbs (Carol Stream, IL)

5/19: Gladiator Games (Concord, NC)

5/19: The Pillage of Palm Harbor (Palm Harbor, FL)

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5/19: SilverFox Masters Competition (San Clemente, CA)

5/19: Ultimate Fitness Championship (Kennewick, WA)

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5/19: T-Town Throwdown (Tifton, GA)

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5/19 – 5/20: GameDay Mankato (Mankato, MN)

5/25 – 5/27: West Regional (Del Mar, CA)

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5/26: Beauty is a Beast 2 (Indian Rocks Beach, FL)

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6/1 – 6/3: Atlantic Regional (West Palm Beach, FL)

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6/1 – 6/3: Pacific Regional (Sydney, Australia)

6/2: Kegs and Kilos (Manhattan, KS)

6/2: Long Island Masters (Hauppauge, NY)

6/2: Texas WOD Fest (Houston, TX)

6/2: Tacos and Tequila Throwdown (Highlands Ranch, CO)

6/3: Summer Sizzler Individual Masters Competition (Burlington, MA)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/9: Gulf Coast Games (Mandeville, LA)

6/9: WOD Wars 6 (Humble, TX)

6/9: Big Orange Brawl (Knoxville, TN)

6/9 – 6/10: The Heartland Games 2018 (Chicago, IL)

6/9 – 6/10: Alaka’i SUPER Summer Slam (Kapolei, HI)

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/16: East Coast War (Wilmington, NC)

6/23: Garage Girls CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)

6/23: 2018 Summer Swolestice (Gresham, OR)

6/23: HAMCO Heat (McLeansboro, IL)

6/23 – 6/24: Asbury Park Summer Games (Asbury Park, NJ)