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Kombucha & Weight Loss

Jul 23, 2011 | By Tricia McMillan

Kombucha tea is commonly marketed as a weight loss aid, but interestingly, the only information available about its effectiveness in this area comes from the people trying to sell it to you. Most of the benefits of kombucha tea center around the fact that it is fermented, and fermented foods contain beneficial bacteria that may improve the condition of the digestive tract. But as scarce as information about kombucha and weight loss is, information about potentially deadly side effects is widely available.

Kombucha

Kombucha is commonly referred to as a mushroom, but it is really a colony of bacteria and yeast that form a flat body that resembles a mushroom cap. The kombucha is left floating in a glass of sugar-sweetened tea for several days, and the fermentation process results in a tea that contains B vitamins and vinegar. During fermentation, the colony feeds off the sugar in the tea and can produce small nub-like growths that can be removed and given to friends or saved for another batch. The combination of nonsterile fermentation conditions and questionable growing practices are the main causes of negative effects.

Appetite Effects

A 2000 study in the journal "Nutrition" found that mice who were fed kombucha tea did eat less and weigh less than did the control group, and the difference was even more pronounced if they exercised. The mice who drank kombucha tea lived longer than the mice who did not, although this benefit was more uniform among the females. The researchers were hesitant to apply these results to human mechanisms, because rats and humans have different physiologies, and the negative effects linked to kombucha use in humans makes designing human studies difficult.

Kombucha Deaths

Deaths have been attributed to kombucha tea, and lactic acidosis is believed to be the cause. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 59-year-old Iowa woman presented with a severe metabolic disorder and died three days later. At autopsy, doctors found fecal contamination in the abdomen, though no bowel perforation was found. Toxicology results were negative, and clinical and historical findings did not yield a cause for her death apart from kombucha tea consumption. A few days later, another woman presented in respiratory distress with a similar metabolic disorder, but recovered and was released. Again, no clinical or historical evidence revealed a cause for her condition other than the consumption of kombucha tea. Further investigation revealed that both women obtained their kombucha from the same source, leading the Iowa Department of Public Health to issue an advisory against kombucha tea.

Considerations

Kombucha tea is linked to side effects such as allergic reactions, upset stomach and infection, and the acid in the tea may draw lead from the glaze of ceramic pots. The home-brewed nature of the tea makes the tea itself and the sprouting buds dangerous -- sugared tea is basically a growing medium for the yeast and bacteria that form kombucha. Once fermentation is initialized, there is no way to control what microorganisms grow. Unless the kombucha is isolated in a sterile field, there is ample opportunity for contamination by opportunistic microbes that may cause serious illness when ingested. The CDC, the Mayo Clinic and the American Cancer Society all recommend avoiding the tea because of these risks, but if you feel it may help you, consult your doctor before use.

References

Article reviewed by CarmenN Last updated on: Jul 23, 2011

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