If I say,"I've got this bottle of stuff that I think you'll like, it's bacteria juice."
Would you drink it?
Of course not.
But if I said "drink this kombucha, mother made it…"
Yeeeahhhhhh, buddy!
Healing each other is in our DNA, it seems.
As far back as we have historical record, we have mixed up elixirs and potions for every
ailment.
In the Odyssey, Helen is given nepenthes pharmakon -- which was probably opium -- to heal her
mind.
Coca-cola was marketed as a cure for a hangover, of course it had cocaine in it… so… it
probably worked.
The modern version of this attempt to provide healing might be word of mouth cure-alls,
like kombucha.
Kombucha tea has been popular with holistic health proponents for decades; likely branching
from centuries-old Asian (do we know what region in particular?) medicine.
If you've never seen it before, modern kombucha "tea" comes from a strange looking container
of brownish liquid with a blob floating in it.
It looks like something H.R.
Geiger would invent for a kids movie.
And if you're thinking "dear god what IS that thing?"
It's a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, or SCOBY, floating in a brew of regular old
tea and sugar.
The yeast eat the sugars, just like they do in beer-making, and create alcohol and CO2,
then ethanol is eaten by the bacteria and turned into acetic acid.
The final result is a vinegary, acidic, slightly alcoholic, vaguely effervescent brew.
In fact, if you leave it in there long enough, it will become alcohol and even longer and
it becomes vinegar -- which if drunk like a beverage can erode tooth enamel and cause
digestive problems and ulcers.
// Science!
A 90s Newsweek piece said it allegedly "turns grey hair black, clears up bad skin, boosts
T-cell count, and induces spiritual well-being… and [clears up] cellulite."
Manufacturers claim it can improve "liver, gall bladder and digestive function… and
enhance the body's normal toxin elimination process" The thing is, there's no actual medical
evidence whatsoever that kombucha does these things.
And believe you me, science is looking.
One of the major manufacturers was sued for claiming health benefits and concealing health
risks.
I found dozens of studies looking at what is growing in that strange jar; and they found…
yeast and bacteria, depending on the source and geographic location, the species of the
microbes would vary -- not a surprise; and that depending on the brew, the pH level -- or
acidity, could vary too.
A compilation study in the Journal of Environmental Health for the FDA laid out all the current
knowledge and found kombucha isn't harmful, as long as you're already healthy; but that
you should never drink more than 4 ounces per day, according to the CDC.
The real problem is the tendency for kombucha drinkers to make it themselves.
Similar to home brewing of any fermented beverage, this can expose the drinkers to dangerous
levels of mold, bacteria and fungi, which naturally live in our environment, but can
be dangerous when allowed to culture for days at a time -- which is how kombucha works.
There are NO proven scientific benefits to drinking kombucha at all, even after decades
of searching.
It doesn't seem like it would hurt you if you bought it at a store, but it's not going
to help you much either...
Home brewing, on the other hand, IS risky.
If ceramic pots are used, lead poisoning could result, if non-sterile conditions are used,
contamination could cause severe illness.