Kombucha

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History

Kombucha Tea is a popular health promoting beverage and natural folk remedy. The ancient Chinese called it the “Immortal Health Elixir” It’s been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich anecdotal history of preventing and fighting cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

It has been noted to be originated in Asia during the Chinese Tsin dynasty in 212BC. Spiritual Zen Masters regarded Kombucha as a source of chi – a revitalizing life energy that aligns and harmonises the body and mind with the soul. The Japanese Samurai warriors often carried Kombucha tea in their hip flasks to replenish their energy levels during battle.
With the extension of trade routes, it spread to India and Russia through travelers and traders. Kombucha resurfaced in Japan between the Wars after a Japanese visitor to Kargasok (Russia) found this fermented tea drink responsible for their astonishing health, longevity and well-being. It may have been introduced to Japan by a Korean physician by the name of Kombu around 415 AD. Today the tea once routinely used by Samurai is widely used again in Japan.

What is Kombucha

Kombucha is SCOBY: Symbiotic Culture OF Bacteria and Yeast. It metabolises tea by the Kombucha culture which is a continuously reproducing, symbiotic colony of friendly bacteria and fission yeasts which are free of the spores some people, particularly women, are allergic to, and which can help alleviate rather than aggravate conditions like candida.

Over the course of several days, a chemical reaction similar to how yeast reacts with complex sugars during the brewing of beer – the Kombucha culture digests most of the sugar, breaking it down and converting it into a potent force of organic probiotic acids, enzymes, minerals and vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 and B15.

Early research

Kombucha appeared in Germany about the turn of the century from Russia. Extensive scientific research was done on Kombucha in Russia and Germany, mostly because of a push to find a cure for rising cancer rates. Russian scientists discovered that entire regions of their vast country were seemingly immune to cancer and hypothesized that the kombucha, called “tea kvass” there, was the cause. So, they began a series of experiments which not only verified the hypothesis, but began to pinpoint exactly what it is within kombucha which was so beneficial.

German scientists picked up on this research and continued it in their own direction. Then, with the onset of the Cold War, research and development started being diverted into other fields. It was only in the 1990s, when Kombucha first came to the U.S. that the West has done any studies on the effects of Kombucha, and those are quite few in number. As is typically the case in the U.S., no major medical studies are being done on Kombucha because no one in the drug industry stands to profit from researching a beverage that the average consumer can make for as little as 50 cents a gallon.

Due to its rising commercial popularity in the last decade, the older Russian and German research has been made available in English to Westerners, and a few wide-spread anecdotal surveys have been sponsored by Kombucha manufacturers, but that’s about it. While there are limited amounts of research done on the beverage, there has been lots of research done on many of the nutrients and acids it contains in large quantities (such as B-vitamins, antioxidants, and glucaric acids).

Benefits

Kombucha is a probiotic. Scientific research shows the benefits of Kombucha, whose high concentration of probiotic-organic acids can provide a powerful energy boost, and detoxify and cleanse the blood of disease-causing toxins, allowing the body to alleviate a wide spectrum of ailments and conditions; from the mildest indisposition to the most serious diseases. In the 1960s, specific cancer treatments utilised Kombucha’s high concentration of glucuronic acid to balance intestinal flora (the Russian author Alexander Solzhenitzyn often stated his belief that drinking Kombucha tea cured his stomach cancer and saved his life during his internment in Soviet labour camps). Positive effects of Kombucha constituents are the organic acids, vitamins and enzymes:

Range of B vitamins

particularly B1, B2, B6 and B12, that provide the body with energy, help to process fats and proteins, and which are vital for the normal functioning of the nervous system.

Vitamin C

which is a potent detoxifier, immune booster and enhancer of vitality.

Lactic acid

which is essential for healthy digestive action (through its derivative lactobacilli) and for energy production by the liver, and is not found in the tissues of people with cancer.

Acetic acid

which is an antiseptic and inhibitor of pathogenic bacteria.

Glucuronic acid

normally produced by a healthy liver, is a powerful detoxifier and can readily be converted into glucosamines, the foundations of our skeletal system. As a detoxifying agent, it has come into its own today in our highly polluted world. It is one of the few agents that can cope with the pollutive products of the petroleum industry, including all the plastics, herbicides, pesticides and resins. It ‘kidnaps’ the phenols in the liver which are then eliminated easily by the kidneys.

Usnic acid

has selective antibiotic qualities which can partly deactivate viruses.

Citric acid

is an antiascorbic.

Oxalic acid

encourages the intercellular production of energy, and is a preservative.

Malic acid

also helps the liver to detoxify.

Gluconic acid

is a sugar product which can break down to caprylic acid to work symbiotically with –

Butyric acid

(produced by the yeast) protects human cellular membranes, and combined with –

Gluconic acid

which is produced by the bacteria, strengthens the walls of the gut in order to combat yeast infections such as Candida.

Nucleic acids

like RNA and DNA transmit information to the cells on how to perform correctly and regenerate. Glucosamines the byproduct of glucuronic acid. The structures are associated with cartilage, collagen and the fluids which lubricate the joints. Collagen reduces wrinkles, while arthritis sufferers have their deficient cartilage and joint fluids replenished.

Amino acids

which are constituents of proteins, produce important enzymes, such as glutathione a powerful antioxidant which provides protection from alcohol and pollution, and which is depleted by drug regimes.

Other documented reports on people consuming Kombucha include:

• • Helps to relieve congestion in airways
  • Thicker hair
  • Energy boost
  • Helps osteo arthritis Licked Calcifying tendonitis
  • Regulates Intestines.
  • Diminish Candida Overgrowth.
  • Aids digestion
  • Eliminates or reduces heat rash.
  • Clears and Improves skin
  • Stops severe menstrual cramps
  • Reduces / stabilizes blood pressure.
  • Prevents eczema and psoriasis
  • More energy
  • Improves the sense of well being for people with liver Cancer
  • Helps Arthritis sufferers
  • Cleanses toxins from the system
  • Returns grey hair to it’s natural color for some people
  • Improved eyesight

The effects of drinking Kombucha tea vary from person to person. Those who find it especially beneficial generally experience an immediate ‘lift’ and report sustained vitality and well-being after just 2-4 weeks of daily use. Positive effects on some diseases, infections and ailments can occur within the first few months, and dramatic changes are noticeable by some within one year.