More than a few people have asked me if the benefits of Kombucha Tea are fact or fiction. I truly wish I had a definitive answer, but there really haven't been too many studies on kombucha for me to give you all a simple "fact" or "fiction" answer.
For those of you that have never heard of the stuff, kombucha tea (pronounced "com-boo-cha") is a health drink that supposedly boosts the body's ability to fight sickness and disease as well as bring a healthy balance back to your metabolism and organs. Often referred to as a mushroom, kombucha is actually a symbiosis of bacteria and yeast. When sugar and black or green tea are added to kombucha, a fermentation process results in the "tea." The final product of this process is a liquid containing vinegar, B vitamins and a number of other chemical compounds. Popular with models and health foodies, I have heard a lot of anecdotal evidence mostly in the positive about drinking kombucha. Some folks think it just tastes awful, but most claim the drink gives them a calm energy and that they feel like it helps cleanse them of toxins.
On the other hand, even though it has been consumed by the Chinese since 221 B.C., there hasn't been a single human trial that has been reported in the peer-reviewed literature on the benefits of kombucha. A study of this sort would give the drink some serious cred with scientists. While that doesn't necessarily mean there are no benefits to the tea, it does make all the claims seem a bit suspect to me. Many people brew their own tea at home, which poses health risks since a home-brewing process can lead to contamination.
I am curious if any of you have tried kombucha tea, where you found it, how it tasted and if you felt the benefits? With all those questions, you can tell I am really curious. Tell me about your kombucha experience in the comments section below.
Michael Stars
Nuovegioie
Sessun
I love this stuff, I actually enjoy the weird taste and it does seem to make me feel really good.
gtskombucha.com or wonderdrink.com - I like gts better, it seems stronger and has less added sugar.
Whole Foods and Wild Oats has both drinks - it is kind of expensive though, like 2.50 or 3.00 bucks a bottle which is sad.
I have seen pics of Halle Berry and Lindsay Lohan drinking it.
I like GTS all flavors. I have only had one flavor of Wonderdrink.
Are there other brands out there I should look out for??
1I'm game to try any tea. If this one lives up to the hype, even better!
2My mom is Chinese, and she made her own for a long time. She totally believes in its health benefits. I sometimes drink it, but I can't say anything about its health effects. It may make me feel better or it may just be a placebo effect. I'm only one person, and personal anecdotal evidence from a few people doesn't mean anything scientifically. I can say that if you don't grow it correctly, it can go moldy.
3I'm with MWMSjuly19, I love most teas so I'll definitely give it a try.
4My boyfriend loves this drink - to me it tastes funny and I can't get past it. It reminds of something that I can't put my finger on, which is also irritating.
5i get gt's organic raw kombucha too, kat. pretty good, but it needs to be extremely cold for me to drink it, lol.
6it's carbonated and because of the fermentation process, it might contain a "trace of alcohol (less than 0.5%)." I think that is actually a big part of the "weird" taste that everyone is talking about. Even before I found out about the "trace of alcohol" think, I thought it tasted something like beer.
On the bottle, it's said to support:
Digestion
Metabolism
Immune System
Appetite Control
Weight Control
Liver Function
Body Alkalinity
Anti-Aging
Cell Integrity
Healthy Skin and Hair
Now, if Kombucha doesn't actually do all this stuff, you have to admit, it's still better than drinking a sugar filled gatorade or downing beers during a game. haha
My mother used to drink this tea 15+ years ago. She used to make it herself, grow the mushrooms, ferment the tea, etc. It's pretty easy to make and she'd often have so many mushrooms that she'd have to either find people to take them or throw them away. She'd used them again more recently for hot flashes - and she also said it worked well. The taste isn't the greatest... but you can get the idea as it's pretty much the same if you pick up any of the bottled kombucha tea drinks.
7i adore kombucha. i feel it really cleanses my system and i have more energy when i drink it. for best results, you are supposed to drink 8 oz in the morning on an empty stomach and 8 oz after lunch. i try to follow this as best i can.
i also drink the 'synergy' komucha found at whole foods for about 3.45$/bottle.
try it, it's awesome!
8i tried to like it i really did but after 3 sips i wanted to be sick. The taste is really hard to get down...it sounds like those who finish bottles love it--but i dont know if that will ever happen.
9I drink gt's too.....i like the ginger flavored one, it tastes like a really tart gingery soda, a little weird, but you get to like the taste of it.... I love the way it makes me feel, i get a total boost of energy without getting the jittery effects of coffee...and it seems like it settles my stomach too!
10i make this before but i dont really like it...healthy thou!
11Seems like everything that is infused with water is called "tea" I think that some of these infusions actually turn some people off to real tea. I know when I was young my mom always gave me "tea" that tasted like yuk and I never drank tea because of that. It was later in life that I actually experienced real loose leaf tea and it became such a passion and enjoyment that
I started my own tea company.
www.tealaden.com
12tea laden, what do you mean by "infused with water?"
13I had never heard of this but will definately try it!
14OK i just tried the ginger one and it tasted and smelled like cider vinegar! Is that how its supposed to taste?
15I tried it and found the taste to awful to care about any health benefits.
16I love the taste (I am drinking Guava now) but I mostly love the marketing buzzwords on the front: organic, raw, restore,rejuvenate,replenish, revitalize, regenerate. I'm a sucker for that stuff!
17I make this stuff myself, and LOVE it. It turns out different every time, and is like a work of art. I've given away many cultures.
18I blogged about it at www.freshcrackedpepper.com if you'd like directions. Just do a search there for "kombucha."
I also love the taste. I like the citrus and grape flavors. I actually have taken it at the onset of a cold and it has helped me recover very quickly like in a couple of days. It does help detox the body and I feel energized. I am a long distance runner and enjoy drinking Kombucha at least 3 times a week.
19I must say, after a week of drinking the grape flavored Kombucha tea by Synergy (sold at Whole Foods) my energy levels have noticeably increased! I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder in which fatigue is an almost ongoing symptom. Since drinking the Kombucha, I've had better mental clarity, less food cravings (I also have blood sugar problems), better bowel movements (too much info?) and yes, more energy. I groom dogs for a living, and since drinking this stuff, I have been able to work longer without taking a break. I'm really impressed! I also read on a message board that there was a study done in a Turkish university where Kombucha was discovered to destroy a certain bacteria that is theorized to cause Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I am not sure if it's true, but it was because of that message board post, and a positive testimonial thread written by a person who claimed to have cured himself of hashimoto's after drinking the tea, that I decided to try it for myself. It also tasted disgusting at first, but now I actually enjoy it.
20BE CAREFUL!
POTENTIAL FOR DEADLY REACTION!
A coworker got some of this stuff from whole foods and had a terrible reaction to the ingredients in the tea. The result was nearly deadly causing a failure of liver and kidney and week long hospital stay. I would check with a doctor before messing with this stuff as you never know how your own body will respond.
21as an opera singer, i find kombucha to be very beneficial in both soothing and clearing the throat of excess mucous. It also has a calming effect.
22I started drinking this about a year ago. Two to three times a week. I haven't had so much as a sniffle since then. Even when half my office is walking around with some illness.
23I've always been a healthy eater. Thats why I was surprised when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in May of 2008. I opted to not take any medication. Instead I started drinking 16oz of Kombucha a day, usually at night. My first experience with kombucha was a turn off. I started with synergy ginger flavor- I thought that the stringy floaty culture things slipped by the inspectors at the factory. I tried it and spit it out, and made my kombucha loving friend down the rest of the bottle.
24I researched some of the health effects of the drink and decided to give it a second chance. Mystic mango and guava goddess from synergy are actually more palatable in my opinion. Ive even grown to love the green one, and old ginger gag too. Since I've added 16oz/day of Kombucha to my diet, Ive had enough energy to exercise, lost thirty lbs, and my glucose fasting test is reading an average of 110-which is really, really good compared to the 190's I was reading before. So, do I think kombucha has health benefits? YES. For those of you that also adore kombucha, do you notice how it kind of makes you sweat a little about an hour after you've had one? I think that's proof that it cleaning out your system.
I have been drinking the kombucha synergy organic and raw for awhile now, and since then ive been drinking a lot of it-around at least 32 oz everyday. i wonder if it's way too much? I am addicted to it and would hate to give it up. Please let me know! I was diagnosed with acid reflux where my esophogas was a bit inflamed. on top of that, I recently was diagnosed with a cyst on my right and also water retention in the last fallopian tube (mild hydrosalpinx). Does any one know if kombucha synergy drink has any good or bad contribution to my current condition? Please let me know! I am 25 yrs old...
25I drink Kombucha all the time and I love it. When my friend first introduced me to it it made me want to throw up every time I even smelled it. Still, she convinced me to start drinking it and now I actually love the taste (GT's grape flavor is my favorite). I definitely feel more energized when drinking them but thats about it. However, my friend who introduced me to them has seen incredible results. When myself and four other friends got the flu, she stayed perfectly healthy, even though she was around us everyday and usually has a terrible immune system. Her hair and skin also look amazing ever since she has started drinking them. Even if it is a placebo effect, if it works it works!
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