Kombucha Tea is Not Recommended

Thanks to Doug for submitting most of this information. Doug is a member of Bee's Candida Support Group, that you are welcome to join!

Kombucha is a drink made by growing the "kombucha mushroom" (a symbiotic mixture of yeast and bacteria) in sugared black tea.

More technically, Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented using a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a "kombucha colony," usually consisting principally of Acetobacter-species and yeast cultures.

The culture contains a symbiosis (mutually beneficial) of Acetobacter (acetic acid bacteria) and yeast, mostly Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Candida stellata, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Zygosaccharomyces bailii. The culture itself looks somewhat like a large pancake, and though often called a mushroom, or by the acronym SCOBY (for quot;Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast"), it is clinically known as a fungus.

Another reference states that these several species of yeast and bacteria are bound together by a surrounding thin membrane. Although the composition of the Kombucha colony varies, some of the species reportedly found in the mushroom include S. ludwigii, S. pombe, Bacterium xylinum, B. gluconicum, B. xylinoides, B. katogenum, Pichia fermentans, and Torula.

Kombucha tea can contain up to 1.5% alcohol and a variety of other metabolites (e.g., ethyl acetate, acetic acid, and lactate). During incubation, the thin, gelatinous mushroom floats in the tea and duplicates itself by producing a "baby" on top of the original mushroom. These offspring are then given to other persons for starting their own cultures. Although there are at least two commercial producers of Kombucha mushrooms in the United States, the sharing of the mushrooms is believed to have helped to promote its popularity in the United States.

Candida sufferers cannot tolerate Kombucha tea, not only because of the alcohol content, but also because they can have negative reactions to all types and forms of fungi, yeast and molds. Also, Kombucha tea contains sugar. If Kombucha tea were fermented long enough to remove all of the sugar, the tea would be too acidic (sour) to drink.

Also, as noted in the article below, it may be unwise for most people to drink more than 4 ounces of Kombucha tea daily. Drinking more may not cause adverse effects in healthy persons; however, the potential health risks are unknown for those with preexisting health problems or those who drink excessive quantities of the tea.

References

1. Kombucha Definition & Information.
2. Unexplained Severe Illness Possibly Associated with Consumption of Kombucha Tea.