Kombucha, What Can You Do for Me?

Five years ago, I accompanied a friend to a specialty furniture store. She ordered a custom chair to be made for her. She paid a substantial amount to have this creation made. The chair was never made because the store owner had suddenly taken ill in his battle with cancer. The store had closed without warning. My friend ended up paying to trace the store owner and filed a lawsuit. The owner wheeled himself into court barely able to prop up his head, obviously overtaken by this horrible disease. My unsympathetic friend, mumbled, " I'm sorry, but why don't you take care of yourself and drink Essiac tea to get better. Three months ago, I saw this same man humming in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods. He was loading up his cart with these cylinder like glass bottles. I approached him and complimented him on how improved he looked. He attributed his turnaround to drinking Kombucha ( pronounced Kom-Boo-cha) Tea.

I picked up one of the glass bottles. It read "SYNERGY" organic and raw. The label on the bottle was an interesting read. The owner of the company created the product for his mother. The label attributes his mothers success of battling breast cancer to Kombucha tea. It listed that Kombucha supports Digestion, Metabolism, Immune System, Appetite Control, Weight Control, Liver Function, Body Alkalinity, Anti-Aging, Cell Integrity, Hair and Skin.

I asked a store employee to help me answer questions about the product. The employee was unable to answer questions about it. ( Which proves the tip in my previous article, always do your research from reference books and online sites you can trust because, store employees rarely know how to make a good product recommendation.)

Another employee approached and said, "I have seen many people buy the grape flavor, the other ones take some getting used to."

A pregnant woman walked next to me and loaded six bottles of grape in her cart. She swore it was a wonderful drink when she was having her first child and trusted by it for her second.

I bought a bottle and saw the contents unsettle in it. At the register, I started to shake it. You would think I committed a crime. The Cashier grabbed the bottle out of my hand like I was holding a loaded weapon, " Do not open this, it will explode everywhere." Apparently I missed reading that part on the label. Never shake a bottle of Kombucha Tea, unless you want a tea bath.
The floater in the bottle was a natural component of the drink. When you open an unshaken bottle a strong bubbly effervescence will rush upwards and naturally mixes everything into place.

I opened my mouth and took a big gulp expecting to taste a divine grape. It pretty much tasted like Apple Cider Vinegar soda. The grape buffered the intensity of it, but the smell and taste could not be fully masked. the bubbles were refreshing. Drink it in a private place where you can enjoy the pressure relief of a good burp. quite soothing to the digestion.

If Kombucha could really prove these health benefits, I wouldn't mind drinking it. I ran home to research the beverage online. Much to my surprise, there was way too much conflicting information available. A link comes up for Mayo Clinic to an article that completely negates the claims and denies it has any benefit. My family and I are all Mayo Clinic patients. We have no reason to deny the research of one of the best hospitals. Yet this time, the article states, there has been no definitive study or research done to prove or disprove it's benefits. So how can anyone in the medical profession deny that it works unless they have research to back it up ?

Kombucha is a handmade Chinese tea that is cultured for 30 days, nutrients naturally form in the tea during this time Enzymes, Probiotics, Amino Acids, Antioxidants and Polyphenols.

To make it at home yourself, is quite a production process and you have to be careful not to contaminate the tea. There are kits you can buy online as well as instructions.

I know that I would prefer to have the tea safely made and bottled for me.
I interviewed the owner of SYNERGY, G.T. Dave. http://www.synergydrinks.com/
A very warm and down to earth person. He shared his vision with me in a detailed phone call.

The benefits of Kombucha tea is more reported by first hand account of the user. He doesn't promote this as a supplement, vitamin or herb. It is simply a Whole food plain and simple. Whole foods have healing effects on the body by bolstering the body's immune system response, cellular oxygenation and alkaline balance. It nourishes the body with living food vs. dead cooked processed microwaved food. Your body is alive and responds better to living food. Simply all of these reported results emanate from eating food in its purest natural state. Kombucha encapsulates the highest living state in a beverage form.

When a person thrives on Kombucha, they do not go to the store to buy just one, they are buying their one week or one month supply, whatever they can afford. The cost range is from $3.00- $3.50 a bottle. One bottle can be divided in thirds and can last three days once opened. A starter would drink 1/3 of a bottle a day. G.T's mom, drinks two bottles a day. G.T. personally tests all of his batches for quality each day and drinks a gallon and a half per day of Kombucha. Everyone detoxifies in a different manner. It is recommended to start small and work your way up.

I personally drink 1-2 bottles a day. In my first week, I felt a mild cold coming on like some detoxifying effect, I now enjoy the good natural buzz I feel without the caffeine.

There are articles online that advocate drinking Kombucha. They are mainly first hand accounts written by people overcoming debilitating illnesses. A majority of the stories written are by patients in Cancer recovery. There are adverse articles warning about drinking Kombucha and calling it a fraud.

Based upon the entirety of my research. If you are going to brew this yourself. Be careful. It is so easy to contaminate this beverage. I would recommend buying it already made and trying it to determine a taste baseline before attempting to make it yourself.

For all the trouble, It find it easier to just buy it already prepared.

I recommended the beverage to two friends, Chuck and Roland. Chuck shook up his bottle and got it all over his kitchen. He didn't listen to my warning. He enjoyed the Divine Grape Flavor. He was drinking a bottle a day for a week and he said he didn't feel anything. This was until he ate a Snickers Bar. He could not tolerate the usual taste of sugar in his mouth. He then tried some potato chips, they tasted way too salty. Then the words of G.T's phone conversation came resonating back. Your taste buds will amplify the sweet and salty tastes of junk food as you detoxify and get on a healthy whole food regimen. Your taste for junk food may wear off. Chuck was pleased that he no longer craved eating junk.

My friend Roland claimed he tried it before but bought a flavor he didn't like. He tried the Divine Grape an commented that he could "handle" drinking it. He drank an entire bottle a day for two days on day three. He called me with sinus congestion. " I think I am detoxing, it all looks clear but I feel stopped up." He stopped drinking the Kombucha. He rode through symptoms for 3 days. He then started to feel better. I asked him to re-try it only drinking 1/3 of the bottle a day. He has had no problems since. He has reported improved digestion and no heartburn in a week. He was taking Prilosec for his heartburn but has completely stepped off his medication.

Since drinking the Divine Grape as a starter beverage flavor. I have discovered other flavors available that I have equally enjoyed; Citrus, Rasberry and Multi- Green. There are many other flavors available and can be viewed in your local health food store or online.

I have made further distinctions about Kombucha based upon my years of research in the field of alternative health. For women who have yeast problems and chronic urinary tract infections, they may find this beverage to be very soothing and alkalizing with the probiotics to provide good bacteria to the intestinal flora. I made the decision to give this product in a starter dosage of 2 ounces per day to my daughter who is autistic. Based upon the premise that most autistic children have similar food allergies to gluten and dairy (casein) as do Celiac Patients. Autistic children do benefit from the intake of probiotics to help with leaky gut syndrome. In addition Kombucha does contain Folic acid, and B vitamins including B2, B6, B1, B3, B12. Most autistic children cannot properly digest B complex vitamins in the form of Cobalmin. This beverage provides a non-cobalmin form of B vitamins which is more easier to assimilate. I find that anyone suffering from inflammatory illnesses including Fibromyalgia may want to give Kombucha a try in the very least for the alkalizing benefit.

With all the conflicting information out there, consider the ingredients and the premise of Kombucha as simply another whole food option. The buzz deals mainly with the fermentation process which is the key to creating it.