Is Kombucha Tea Harmful?
February 1998; Volume 1: 24
Source: Srinivasan R, et al. Probable gastrointestinal toxicity of Kombucha tea: Is this beverage healthy or harmful? J Gen Intern Med 1997;12:643-644.
Kombucha tea is a health beverage made by incubating the Kombucha "mushroom" in tea and sugar. Although therapeutic benefits have been attributed to the drink, neither its beneficial effects nor adverse side effects have been reported widely in the scientific literature. Side effects probably related to consumption of Kombucha tea are reported in four patients. The authors review the cases of two patients who presented with symptoms of allergic reaction, a third with jaundice, and a fourth with nausea, vomiting, and head and neck pain. In all four, use of Kombucha tea in proximity to onset of symptoms and symptom resolution on cessation of tea drinking lead the authors to suggest that there is probably an etiologic association.
COMMENT
Contrary to popular belief, as the authors point out, Kombucha is not a fungus or mushroom but a yeast-and-bacteria aggregate surrounded by a permeable membrane. It has the appearance of a small Frisbee or large portobello mushroom cap. Often "home-brewed" and steeped in tea and sugar, Kombucha metabolizes the sugar to produce, in one assay, "0.5% alcohol, glucuronic acid, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, heparin, and lactic acid." Although the tea’s acidity should reduce contamination with most organisms, the authors write, it should not be prepared or stored in ceramic or lead containers.
Available in health food stores and on the Internet, Kombucha is also known as Manchurian tea or Kargasok, and many claims are made for it, among them: "to cure cancer, decrease blood pressure, increase vitality, increase T cell counts."
This set of cases is marred by minimal clinical description and little actual data about Kombucha’s potential risks and benefits, or about the cases themselves. Common sense, however, tells us that open aerobic fermentation of any sugar- containing medium will be contaminated with pathogens, some of which may be virulent.
Recommendation
Although some teas may have medicinal value, Kombucha is highly unlikely to be one of them and may be associated with type I allergic reactions. Drinking Kombucha tea is not recommended, at all, for anything. Drink other tea—black, green, oolong, or herbal—for flavor, aroma, and warmth.
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