Kombucha.... health additive, or scam ?

Leifer

Senior Member.
I have tried.... to find good and/or pro benefits for drinking "Kombucha". .....basically, it is fermented carbonated tea.
So far, all I have found is verbal acceptance that there might be a medical or clinical use for this delicious drink. (it does taste good)
I have not found any info that seems to add any health advantages.... related to a steady intake of Kombucha..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha
 
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Sorry, not much other info. I have grown my own years and years ago. I think I always added a bit sugar to make it more tasteful. Never drank if for the health benefit though; it was just something else then the regular 'cup of tea'.

Also when you didn't change the tea soon enough it would get "sparkling".
The fungus itself could get messy too, although you could tear it up and start with a small piece again. I once ended up with one in a 10 liter bucket.
 
Article:
Proponents claim kombucha tea helps prevent and manage serious health conditions, from blood pressure to cancer. These claims are not backed by science. Limited evidence suggests kombucha tea may offer benefits similar to probiotic supplements, including promoting a healthy immune system and preventing constipation. At present, however, valid medical studies of kombucha tea’s role in human health are very limited — and there are risks to consider.


Article:
Claims about kombucha’s power to aid digestion come from the fact that fermentation makes probiotics. Probiotics help with diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and they may even strengthen your immune system.

When kombucha is made from green tea, you get its benefits, too. This includes bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, that act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect your cells from damage.
Green tea may also help you burn fat and protect you from heart disease. Studies in animals show that the drink lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels, among other things. But research hasn’t shown that it has the same effects in people.

Kombucha Risks
Making kombucha involves letting bacteria grow in a liquid you’re going to drink. Many of the bacteria are considered probiotics, but if it’s not prepared properly, it can grow harmful bacteria or mold.

Note that beer and wine are also made by letting yeast "grow in a liquid you're going to drink".
Article:
Advocates of kombucha’s health properties go as far as to assert that the beverage can halt the spread of cancer in the body, claiming that its high levels of glucaric acid can kill cancer cells. Also known as saccharic acid, the compound occurs naturally in grapefruit, apples, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and several other fruits and vegetables. A process known as glucuronidation is what destroys toxic chemicals and substances in the body and eliminates them through digestion. This process can, however, be reversed, releasing these same harmful substances back into the body. Responsible for this phenomenon is the enzyme beta-glucuronidase, a substance that none other than our friend glucaric acid elminates.

What we know about kombucha
So far, researchers have only tested the effects of glucaric acid on animals, but they have shown some promising results. In one study, scientists gave animals a glucaric acid supplement during the first and second stages of cancer, subsequently reducing tumour growth by 50%. Though that certainly is impressive, scientists have never actually performed a test of the same calibre on humans.

Simply put, there isn’t enough trusted research to rely on. The human studies that have been performed come from individual case reports, which, according to Allison Dostal (PhD, RD) in her essay Keeping Up with Kombucha: Fact-checking the Fad, are some of the least trustworthy forms of scientific research. Of the studies that have actually been published, the outcome hasn’t been exceptionally positive.


I think you could do a lot worse for your health than drink Kombucha, but I wouldn't treat it as a cure-all.
 
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