Kombucha tea is a unique fermented tea. You make the tea by leaving a flat, gelatinous disk of bacteria and yeast over steeped black tea with sugar for several days. As the tea ferments, the bacteria and yeast puff up, taking on a shape similar to a mushroom. You discard the original mushroom-shaped bacteria and yeast piece. The smaller mushrooms, which form on the first one, make more kombucha tea. Reports of health problems make the consumption of kombucha risky. However, claims made about kombucha state that it can fight cancer, boost immunity, help a wide range of diseases and act as an antioxidant. Enough scientific research confirming this is lacking.
The American Cancer Society Warns About Kombucha Tea
The American Cancer Society cautions about the use of kombucha tea, following reports of serious illness and even death. The ACS states that the yeast and bacteria used to make Kombucha tea can be harmful to certain people. For example, if you have a weakened immune system, you should not drink kombucha tea. The tea may cause fluids in the body to become highly acidic, warns the ACS. Too much acid in the body is known as acidosis and can be fatal. Also, they say, contamination of the kombucha yeast and bacteria with other types of mold or fungus, could be dangerous. According to the ACS, kombucha tea is not proven to be effective against cancer.
Preliminary Evidence Of Kidney Benefits
Kombucha has possible benefits as well. Results of an experiment published in the journal "Chinese Medicine" November 2009 by Egyptian researcher Ola Ali Gharib suggests kombucha has antioxidant activity and protects the kidneys. The study, conducted on rats, tested kombucha's ability to protect against a known kidney toxin, trichloroethylene. Trichloroethylene is a toxic industrial chemical. Experimental conclusions state that the acetic acid in kombucha protects the kidneys by acting as an antioxidant. Furthermore, glucuronic acid in kombucha helps to flush toxins from the body.
Use Caution When Brewing Kombucha Tea
Don't use a ceramic pot to brew kombucha tea. The glaze contains lead which may leach into the beverage because of the tea acids, say Australian researchers from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales. Their report, published in the December 1998 "Medical Journal of Australia," describes a case involving a couple who got lead poisoning. They drank kombucha tea over a period of several months from a ceramic tea pot.
Other Cases Of Possible Kombucha Tea Poisoning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on two instances of possible kombucha tea poisoning. In April 1995, two women from the same town in Iowa became sick and one of them died. Both women drank kombucha tea around the time of their illness and both ended up with acidosis. Other persons in the town also drank kombucha tea, but did not become ill. In spite of a thorough investigation, it is unknown why those two women experienced symptoms but other people in the town did not. Four other cases of probable kombucha tea poisoning exist in the literature. These cases are described in the "Journal of General Internal Medicine," October 1997.
References
- American Cancer Society: Kombucha Tea
- "Journal of Food Protection"; Kombucha, the Fermented Tea: Microbiology, Composition, and Claimed Health Effects; C. J. Greenwalt, K. H. Steinkraus, R. A. Ledford; July 2000
- "Chinese Medicine"; Effects of Kombucha on Oxidative Stress Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats; Ola Ali Gharib; November, 2009
- "Journal of General Internal Medicine"; Probable Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Kombucha Tea: Is This Beverage Healthy or Harmful?; Radhika Srinivasan, M. D., Susan Smolinske, Pharm. D. and David Greenbaum, M. D.; October 1997
- "The Medical Journal of Australia"; Lead Poisoning from Drinking Kombucha Tea Brewed in a Ceramic Pot; T. G. Phan, J. Estell, G. Duggin, I. Beer, D. Smith and M. J. Ferson December 1998
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Unexplained Severe Illness Possibly Associated with Consumption of Kombucha Tea: December 1995
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