Kombucha Danger

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha tea, also known as kombucha mushroom tea, is a fermented beverage containing tea and a yeast-fungus mixture. Those making kombucha tea place a cake, known as a kombucha mushroom cake, along with black tea and sugar with boiling water. The beverage sits for about a week until it is properly fermented. The Chinese first wrote about kombucha tea in the year 250 B.C., calling it “the immortal health elixir.” Chinese physicians prescribed kombucha tea to cure a variety of ailments, especially stomach and spleen problems.

Today, you can find kombucha tea in health food stores and natural grocers nationwide. Others prefer to brew their own kombucha tea, purchasing the starter cake at a supplement or health food store and creating the beverage at home.

Health Benefits of Kombucha

Like several other nutritional products and supplements, no long term studies prove the health benefits of kombucha, but ancient populations relied on the drink as an overall health tonic and gastrointestinal cure. According to nutrition expert Katherine Zeratsky, dietician at the Mayo Clinic, there are no peer-reviewed studies pointing beneficial effects of kombucha. A systematic review of published literature also turns up no thorough scientific study backing up kombucha’s health claims. Preliminary chemical analysis suggests that kombucha enhances liver function, adding to the liver’s ability to cleanse toxins from the body. This may explain the strong anecdotal evidence from many kombucha drinkers that they feel better within hours or days after ingesting the beverage.

Because kombucha contains caffeine, some people report an energy boost and upbeat mood after drinking it. Kombucha may also contain alcohol, thanks to the fermentation process, which may also add to that happy feeling kombucha drinkers report. Kombucha tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine, an acid that occurs in green tea and black tea. L-theanine crosses into the brain and stimulates positive, relaxed feelings.

If you’re considering kombucha for detoxification and to help gastrointestinal problems, consider herbal supplements, a good multivitamin, and a detox diet to improve overall health.

The Kombucha Danger

Anyone considering adding kombucha tea to their dietary supplement regimen must consider kombucha dangers alongside kombucha benefits. The CDC provides a report on the dangers of drinking kombucha that lists several case studies of individuals reacting badly to kombucha tea.

Allergic reactions are the most common kombucha danger. The primary components in the kombucha mushroom cake used to brew the tea are bacteria, so the suggestion is that individuals may be sensitive to the bacteria itself. The only other ingredients in pure kombucha tea are black tea, water and sugar or sweetener, so it seems that the likely culprit is one of the many strains of bacteria growing in the beverage.

Several people have reported jaundice or liver problems after drinking kombucha tea for prolonged periods. The liver problems disappeared as soon as the individuals stopped drinking kombucha, and reappeared when they resumed their kombucha habit, thus confirming the doctors’ opinion that the kombucha tea caused liver problems.

Other drugs that appear to interact negatively with kombucha are medications for hypertension, renal (kidney) problems, and hormone replacement medications. In all cases reported to the CDC pointing to an interaction between kombucha and these medications, the person recovered as soon as they stopped drinking kombucha tea.

The last kombucha danger is contamination. If brewing your own kombucha tea, be sure to use squeaky-clean containers. Bacterial contamination can create dangerous combinations. One report showed lead poisoning as the culprit because someone brewed kombucha tea in a ceramic container. Doctors believe the ceramic glaze used on the container contained lead, common in some imported ceramic items, and the lead leached out from the heat and acids of the black tea. Use caution and common sense when brewing your own batch of kombucha tea, and always consult a physician if you become ill, tired, or experience any adverse symptoms after drinking kombucha.