I might have all started with Lindsay Lohan, when few years ago she was caught DUI, and she defended herself it was kombuchas’ fault, which would be equivalent of getting high just by passing by a coffee shop. Fortunately, it didn’t start that way, still it caught the eye of celebrities worldwide, like what is it, what’s it for, where can I get it, is it expensive enough, and you probably know the rest of the pathway from here.
Celebrities like Madonna, Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow use it regularly, and it is because they know it works, probably because they have consulted many many experts before consuming it, or at least their personal assistants did, however, they wouldn’t consume it if it weren’t good and healthy.
What is kombucha, and where did it came from? With origins dating more than 2000 years in the Far East, and known as the “Immortal Health Elixir”, Kombucha Tea became very popular in the Western world at the beginning of the 20th Century. Taken from China it next spread to Japan and Russia, and then the recipe was transferred to Europe and the USA. A lot of experiments proved the health beneficial characteristics, however, when Kombucha Tea arrived in the USA, no major studies were being conducted, mainly because it was a non-expensive cure that can be made at home for less than 50 cents a gallon, so there was no profit for the drug industry, hence, no research grants were available.
But times are changing, and ever since celebrities started walking around with kombucha bottles in their hands, kombucha production have turned into a $150 million a year industry.
And what is the big fuss, and why is suddenly everybody talking about it. Well, the big fuss is known for quite some time now, it just wasn’t PR-ed properly, but now that we have celebrities waving with it, here’s a fact or two. Kombucha is a fermented beverage made of black tea and sugar (any sugar, cane, fruit, honey), containing a colony of bacteria and yeast, which one mixed with sugar starts fermentation process. After this process is done, you will get a carbonated drink containing vinegar, enzymes, small amount of alcohol, actually 0,5% (remember Lindsay Lohans excuse), probiotics, vitamin B and a high concentration of acetic, gluconic and lactic acid.
So no wonder it makes miracles. Allegedly, it makes you younger, or it slows down your aging, but this is a long shot, we need some 20 years of careful watch on celebrities faces to conclude that (if of course they would stay off of plastic surgery). But some of the benefits why you should drink it are scientifically proved, and many studies are backing this claim up. Health benefits such as healing arthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer, constipation, diabetes, gallbladder disease, gout, hemorrhoids, hair growth and color restoration, headache, hypertension, HIV, immune boosting, indigestion, increased vitality, treatment of alcohol and coffee addictions, and wrinkle reduction. But, despite the long list of all benefits, three of them are certain to happen in a short period of usage.
- Detoxification – one of the most important, because by detoxification your body, a storm of benefits happen, and a lot of unwanted diseases are being affected, normally positively. The presence of many of the enzymes and bacterial acids in your body, are also present in Kombucha Tea, and this reliefs the load on the pancreas and it helps the liver do a better job. Also the richness of glucaric acid helps prevent, and in some proven cases even cure cancer, clearly by detoxification of your body. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize winning Russian author, claimed that Kombucha Tea cured his stomach cancer. President Regan also made similar claims, saying that the tea stopped the spreading of his cancer in 1987.
- Digestion improvement – studies from the Harvard Medical School explain that a healthy gut contains more than 100 trillion microorganisms, so any help is always welcomed. The rich presence of probiotics in Kombucha Tea helps digestion, by adding a huge number of the needed microorganisms. The mixture helps healing leaky gut, helps treatment of ulcers. Also, many people use it for treating candida from overpopulating, using the live probiotics form the tea. The apathogen (good) bacteria form Kombucha Tea help balance the digestion system by fighting the pathogen (bad) bacteria in the gut and stomach.
- Makes your immune system stronger – the high level of antioxidants in Kombucha tea naturally helps the immune system. It contains D-saccharic acid-1, 4- lactone (DSL) which provides great antioxidants properties. This compound also detoxifies your body on cellular level, and it is only found in fermented teas, not in unfermented. DSL, together with Vitamin C, also found in the tea, are considered by many scientists as the main reason why Kombucha is so effective in preserving cell damage, tumors, inflammations and lowering of the immune system.
So, you have facts and you have celebrities to prove it, kombucha works! There might be some side-effects, but non still proven, and a lot of them based circumstantially. The amount of alcohol is small, if you have a gallon of kombucha, you might get drunk, a bit. There are some concerns about liver damage, metabolic acidosis and coetaneous anthrax infections. However, with regular and responsible drinking, no harm can be done, and you might just have that Madonna look you have longed to.
One last thing, packed and industrialized kombucha is what all celebrities are walking around and taking their photos with. It might be so because they just love the taste of that particular producer, or it might be because they are being paid to walk around with it. However, friendly advice, instead of buying that expensive celebrity packaging, order a kombucha “SCOBYs,”- symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast or “mushrooms” , some sugar, tea and water, and do it yourself, it is many times cheaper, and probably healthier, since you pick your own ingredients.
