Kombucha?

[MBombardier]

I did a search on the forum, and there was only one mention of Kombucha which didn't say anything about reactions to it pro or con. Does anyone drink Kombucha?

[Linda in BC]

Hi Marliss...
What is Kombucha? I have never heard of it...
Linda

[MBombardier]

Kombucha is a cultured drink that has been around for many years in Asia. Kombucha supposedly originated in Russia, and "kombucha" is the Russian name for it. A mother, which is a pad of beneficial bacteria and yeast is cultured for 5-30 days in a brew of organic black tea, organic sugar, and non-chlorinated water. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. It is sold at Whole Foods and other stores, or you can make it at home (far less expensively). It is not for everyone--it can taste quite vinegary the longer it is cultured because it eats the sugar and I've been told it also eats the caffeine.

No medical studies have been done on the health benefits, but there are numerous anecdotal stories. When I don't make it at home, the maker of the brand I buy claims that it is the same Kombucha that cured his mother of breast cancer. I know many who make it because they feel so much better when they are drinking it. One famous Kombucha drinker, Nobel Prize winner Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, wrote in his autobiography that drinking Kombucha helped him survive the Siberian slave camps of the former Soviet Union.

[Linda in BC]

Marliss, thank you for the information on Kombucha. It sounds like a very interesting drink.

Linda