Kombucha tea's therapeutic uses
Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage made from sweetened black tea and a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). It is popularly believed to offer a range of therapeutic benefits, including support for digestive health, immune function, detoxification, mental well-being, heart health, and even potential anti-cancer properties. Advocates suggest that Kombucha can normalize weight, improve blood pressure, increase energy, relieve arthritis pain, and enhance skin health, among other claims. However, while some studies have indicated that Kombucha may contain beneficial probiotics and antioxidants, comprehensive scientific evidence supporting these health claims remains limited.
Concerns regarding the safety of Kombucha are also noteworthy. The complex mixture of microorganisms can lead to varying effects, with reported side effects including nausea, liver inflammation, and even severe lead poisoning when brewed in certain ceramics. Therefore, caution is advised, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. Although commercially produced Kombucha may be safer than homemade versions, it's essential for consumers to be aware of both the potential benefits and risks associated with this popular drink.
Kombucha tea's therapeutic uses
DEFINITION: Natural plant product used to treat specific health conditions.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: None
SUGGESTED USES: digestive health, immune system support, detoxification, mental health, heart health, anti-cancer
Overview
Just as friends can pass along sourdough starter, a small, round, flat, gray, gelatinous object has become a popular gift among natural medicine enthusiasts. Individuals insert this object in sweetened black tea and let it ferment for seven days. By the end of the week, it creates a strong-tasting drink and a big, flat, gray, gelatinous object that can be cut up and passed on to friends.
Variously described as Manchurian mushroom, Kombucha tea, or just Kombucha, this tea is said to have been used for centuries to cure various illnesses. The earliest known scientific analysis of Kombucha occurred in Germany in the 1930s, and subsequent studies have provided accurate information about this dubious product.
“Kombucha” means “tea made from kombu seaweed.” However, what is called Kombucha tea today has no seaweed in it. Furthermore, despite the name “Manchurian mushroom,” Kombucha is not a mushroom either. The gelatinous mass is a colony of numerous species of fungi and bacteria living together, and the same microorganisms permeate the tea. The precise composition of any sample of Kombucha depends significantly on what was floating around in the kitchen when it was grown.
The microorganisms most commonly found in Kombucha tea include species of Brettanomyces, Zygosaccharomyces, Saccharomyces, Candida, Torula, Acetobacter, and Pichia. However, some analyzed specimens have been found to contain completely different organisms, and there is no guarantee that they will be harmless.
Therapeutic Dosages
It is not recommended to use homemade kombucha tea. Commercially produced Kombucha should be safer, but its known medicinal effects are largely anecdotal.
Therapeutic Uses
Kombucha tea is widely supposed to have miraculous medicinal properties, ranging from curing cancer to restoring gray hair to its original color. Other reputed effects include normalizing weight, improving blood pressure, increasing energy, decreasing arthritis pain, restoring normal bowel movements, removing wrinkles, curing acne, strengthening bones, improving memory, and generally solving every health problem that exists. However, although there is growing evidence that Kombucha tea may be effective for these or any other uses, scientific evidence remains extremely limited, and more study is needed.
As the twenty-first century progressed, more evidence-based studies were performed examining the efficacy of Kombucha in treating certain medical conditions. Kombucha was found to be a good source of probiotics, promoting gut health. It was also found to have similar antioxidant properties to green tea and was shown to be effective in killing Candida. Kombucha contains glucuronic acid, which may help detoxify the liver. One small double-blind, placebo-controlled study found Kombucha lowered the average fasting blood glucose levels of type-2 diabetes patients. Finally, Kombucha showed promise in combating heart disease.
Safety Issues
In a set of animal studies, researchers prepared a batch of Kombucha and found that it was essentially nontoxic when taken at appropriate doses. However, because Kombucha is a complex and variable mixture of microorganisms, it is not clear that any other batch of the tea would be equally safe. In fact, there are case reports which suggest that Kombucha preparations can cause such problems as nausea, jaundice, shortness of breath, throat tightness, headache, dizziness, liver inflammation, and even unconsciousness. It is not clear whether the cause of these symptoms is an unusual reaction to a generally nontoxic substance or a response to unusual toxins that developed in a particular batch of Kombucha.
In addition, there is one case report of severe lead poisoning caused by regular use of Kombucha brewed in a ceramic pot. When it is brewed or stored in some ceramics, a risk of lead poisoning results because Kombucha tea is acidic. Many ceramic glazes contain a low level of lead that would not make the pottery dangerous for ordinary use, but if an acidic solution like Kombucha is steeped in them for a long time, a dangerous amount of lead may leech into the solution.
There is also one report of Kombucha becoming infected with anthrax and passing along the infection to an individual who rubbed it on his skin to alleviate pain. Apparently, anthrax from nearby cows got into the Kombucha mixture and grew.
Due to Kombucha being a fermented beverage, small amounts of alcohol remain in commercially brewed Kombucha, though it is not considered an alcoholic drink. Still, children and pregnant women should remain cautious when drinking Kombucha.
Bibliography
Battikh, Houda, et al. "Antibacterial AND Antifungal Activities of Black and Green Kombucha Teas." Journal of Food Biochemistry, vol. 37, no. 2, 2013, pp. 231-236, doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4514.2011.00629.x. Accessed 19 Aug. 2023.
"Drinking Kombucha May Reduce Blood Sugar Levels in People with Type 2 Diabetes." Georgetown School of Health, 1 Aug. 2023, health.georgetown.edu/news-release/drinking-kombucha-may-reduce-blood-sugar-levels-in-people-with-type-2-diabetes. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
Mendelson, Chagai, et al. "Kombucha Tea as an Anti-Hyperglycemic Agent in Humans with Diabetes - a Randomized Controlled Pilot Investigation." Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 10, 2023, p. 1190248. Frontiers, doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1190248. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
Richter, Amy, and Jillian Kubala. "7 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Kombucha." Healthline, 14 Dec. 2023, www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-benefits-of-kombucha-tea. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
Vijayaraghavan, R., et al. "Subacute (Ninety Days) Oral Toxicity Studies of Kombucha Tea." Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, vol. 13, 2000, pp. 293-299.