Drinking Kombucha promotes good health and helps millions of people with its excellent detoxifying and immune-enhancing qualities.  There are no known negative reactions from drinking kombu tea. Its origins are lost in history, but in the earliest records two thousand years ago it was known as ‘the elixir of long life’. Kombucha is not just a health tonic; it is a complete therapy. Kombucha has proved itself to be a quite remarkable therapeutic drink, made from sweetened tea into which a Kombucha culture is placed.  It can taste similar to apple cider or a refreshing light wine, depending on the fermentation time and type of tea used.

The Western World is becoming Malnourished!

It is well recognized that a high percentage of the Western population is getting insufficient nourishment from modern diets and, as a consequence, our health, and that of society as a whole, is suffering. Kombucha is a food rich in vitamins and minerals which are essential to good health. Many doctors believe that supplementary vitamins and minerals are unnecessary, saying that we get sufficient of these in a balanced diet. While that may be true in theory, who gets a really balanced diet now? Much of the food that we purchase, even so-called fresh food, has been grown with chemicals - herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. After this, they are sprayed with even more chemicals to preserve their color and shelf life.

Many of the fast foods that we eat are processed to the point where most of the beneficial nutrients have disappeared altogether, leaving the meal virtually empty. The nitrogen fertilizers used in commercial agriculture stimulate plant growth too rapidly for the uptake of the trace elements and minerals essential for our bodies, resulting in the food lacking nutritional value. The truth is that in the Western world we are malnourished!
Over 50,000 chemicals are either being sprayed on fruits, vegetables and
grains, or added to our food. Many of these chemicals have now entered the food chain and we are reaping a bitter harvest. Our fruits and vegetables contain substantially less vitamins and minerals than they did 50 years ago, overuse of antibiotics is causing new resistant strains of bacteria which trigger food poisoning. What is happening today, with the tidal wave of illnesses from heart disease, diabetes, Candida and high blood pressure to asthma and arthritis, is that our bodies are telling us they have had enough. It is imperative that we wake up and educate ourselves and others in ways of protecting ourselves and our planet. Many people, including doctors and scientists, don't realize how much our immune systems are vulnerable to the effects of sophisticated forms of pollution. There are also the chemicals added to our food (both in farming and in food processing) that are supposed to make us enjoy them more. These are not friendly chemicals; they destroy the body's functioning, cause allergic reactions, digestive disorders and pollute our blood - they are poisoning us! In the worst cases, of the common prescribing of powerful drugs like antibiotics, cortisone and steroids, the homeostatic balance of the body is disrupted. Some people who were suffering from the side effects of these drugs believe that Kombucha therapy was in great measure responsible for restoring their metabolic balance and health.
Encouraging Self-Empowerment

Kombucha has helped with a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions. Some of the most enthusiastic responses we have had to Kombucha have come from those people with difficult long-term illnesses such as arthritis, digestive disorders, high blood pressure, poor circulation, high cholesterol and cancer, and from older people, many of whom doctors have been unable to help. In addition, alarming numbers of
young people are developing illnesses resulting from poorly functioning immune systems, such as eczema, acne, allergies, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, etc. When Kombucha was widely publicized by the media a few years ago as a trendy new health craze, of the thousands who started to brew many gave up because they were not getting their ‘quick fix’, were not able to make a pleasant tasting drink, or because their culture failed. It is also very helpful to know of the dozens of other applications of Kombucha. For example, Kombucha tea is excellent applied topically, as a compress, or added to the bath, and made into an effective cream that can help to heal leg ulcers and fungal nail infections. Kombucha can also be used in food recipes, with animals, in gardens & around the home. Kombucha tea was known in the East, and found its way across Russia in the 1800s, becoming widely established as an effective folk medicine in many rural communities. In the 1950s, it surfaced dramatically when Soviet doctors discovered whole communities which had apparently been protected from dangerous environmental pollution by a nutritious drink called ‘tea-kwass’ or Kombucha tea. There are some over-sensational claims for Kombucha’s benefits as a panacea for all ills, to is not. It is difficult, in a symptom-based medical system, for people not to expect a cure for their specific illness, rather than seek an understanding of the underlying causes of that illness or imbalance. The human body constantly seeks health and balance, but when it has been abused for many years, this balance is compromised. Once brought back to strength through detoxification, improved functioning and an enhanced immune system, the body can initiate its own natural mechanisms for healing.

Kombucha, a Nutritious Food

The Kombucha beverage should be regarded principally as a food unusually rich in nutritive properties, rather than just a health drink. As in yogurt, the bacteria are a great source of nutrition, but in addition Kombucha has a wide range of organic acids, vitamins and enzymes that give it its extraordinary value. It contains the 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. There is also vitamin C which is a potent detoxifier, immune booster and enhancer of vitality.

Tea and Sugar's Role in Kombucha

Tea is very nutritious, especially in its unfermented green form. It is high in fluorides and has anti-carcinogenic properties; it provides nitrogen, minerals, vitamins, and other substances essential for nutrition, and promotes the growth of the micro-organisms and the cellular construction of the Kombucha culture. Green tea is also high in vitamin C.
Sugar plays an essential part in Kombucha's brewing process, providing a nutrient solution for the culture, assisting in the feeding and
respiration of the micro-organisms, and activating the yeasts. It also gets the fermentation process going. The yeast cells make certain organic acids, vitamins and supplementary yeasts, while the bacteria produce carbonation, ethanol and other organic acids. The bacteria break down the sugars into acetic acid and carbon dioxide.

How Does Kombucha Work?

Kombucha is an effective metabolic balancer (helping the various organs work together), probiotic (supporting the beneficial bacteria), adaptogen (balancing processes that get out of kilter) and detoxifier. The probiotic case for Kombucha is that it encourages healthier intestinal flora by introducing lactic acid-producing bacteria. These work in a similar way to acidophilus bacteria, the active ingredient in live yogurt. An old saying, ‘healthy gut, healthy body,’ puts it simply. The acidity level of the gut is all-important, as is the health of its microbial flora which play a crucial role in the functioning of the whole body.

Bacteroides and Bifidobacteria

The bacteria in the intestines can be divided into two main types;1 the less acid-forming bacteroides are responsible for the decaying matter in the colon; elderly people tend to have more gastric disorders; these stem from a low hydrochloric acid production in the stomach, creating more room for fungi and parasites to take hold; bacteroides are encouraged by a diet high in fats and proteins.The more acidic ones, called bifidobacteria, are more beneficial because they produce essential organic acids, such as acetic, lactic and folic acids, which raise the acidity of the intestines, preventing invading pathogens from taking hold. In addition, by keeping down the bacteroides population, they discourage the putrefaction from becoming toxic. The bifidobacteria are favoured by a diet high in carbohydrate, fiber and lactose-vegetarian food and are more common in individuals who were breast-fed as babies. They are also assisted by drinking Kombucha tea.

Kombucha – a Nutritious Food

Kombucha culture has a wide range of organic acids, vitamins and enzymes that give it its extraordinary value. It contains the 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. There is also vitamin C which is a potent detoxifier, immune booster and enhancer of vitality.Probiotic Organic Acids. There are two organic acids produced by Kombucha culture which encourage the activity of the resident bifidobacteria, thus restoring a healthy balance with the bacteroides:
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. Kombucha’s Vital Organic Acids. Other valuable organic acids produced by the Kombucha culture, some of which have a more direct effect on other organs include: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.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. A product of the oxidation process of glucose – glucuronic acid – is one of the more significant constituents of Kombucha culture. 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. Another byproduct of glucuronic acid are the glucosamines, the structures 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.

Sugar, Yeast and Tea

When Kombucha tea is made correctly, all the sugars are fully converted into organic acids during fermentation, enabling Kombucha tea culture to be is safely drunk by diabetics and Candida sufferers. Also the yeasts found in the Kombucha culture do not stimulate the Candida yeasts as they are of a different type; Candida sufferers have therefore often found considerable relief in taking Kombucha. Black or green tea may be used as a nutrient for the culture, but as green tea has anti-carcinogenic properties, is beneficial to the heart and blood circulation and is particularly nutritious, it is preferable to use.

Balancing the Body

Metabolic balancing is perhaps the most important function of Kombucha. This is one reason why it is not symptom specific , why it does not always help a specific immune related illness, but rather seems to go to a person’s own weakness or personal imbalance. Such a substance which has no specific harmful effect is called an adaptogen. Kombucha’s adaptogen effect is seen mostly through its influence on the liver, the
blood and the digestive system, where it normalizes the acidity or pH.

The Acidity Factor

Human metabolism depends on the acid-alkaline balance which is constantly responding to the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, and to our emotional state. The body has a remarkable balancing system that maintains the different organs at the pH level each requires for health. A cell’s pH balance is disturbed by toxins, which create more acidity. The body gets rid of toxic acids by various means. One is through breathing – that is why deep breathing is so therapeutic – it makes the blood more alkaline. Another is byflushing out – one of Kombucha’s roles is to flush out the toxins through the kidneys.

The Liver Filters Toxins

The liver is vital to life; it has the ability to restore itself and has many functions – to assist digestion, to store important vitamins and minerals, to metabolize proteins, fats and carbohydrates to provide energy for the body, to recycle red blood cells, and remove toxins from the body. Because of its role in pH regulation and of its detoxifying acids, Kombucha is a valuable restorative of liver function.Blood – Brings Life to the whole Body. When blood gets too alkaline calcium tends to crystallize out of the blood solution.  These crystals are deposited near the joints, causing joint tenderness, arthritis, rheumatism and allergies. Older people’s blood becomes more alkaline, which can affect their circulation, oxygenation and energy. An acidic blood condition can lead to diabetes where fat and protein wastes are not being discharged. Another acidic condition results in
adrenal depletion and general exhaustion. Conventionally, blood is thought to be sterile. But through his dark-field microscope research, Professor Gunther Enderlein has shown that it is teeming with microbiological life. Normally these micro-organisms are in a mutually beneficial symbiotic state of balance but, for example, the lowering of the oxygen content of the blood, nutritional deficiency and toxicity may lead to the development of pathogenic microbial flora which can result in disease in other organs of the body. These micro-organisms can travel freely between the blood plasma which surrounds the blood cells, and the interstitial fluid which surrounds the fixed tissue cells of the body.6 Kombucha is known to have a balancing effect of the pH of the blood which is likely to make it less hospitable to pathogenic bacteria.

Contamination and Toxicity

It is important to remember that Kombucha has a home-brewing safety track record of two millennia. Contamination of the culture by molds is not a problem if normal standards of kitchen hygiene are observed and if the ambient temperature of the fermentation is adequate. If it occurs, the culture and brew are disposed of, just as one would a moldy tomato paste. Kombucha tea has its own protection against pathogens,
as it contains an antibiotic and, containing acetic acid (vinegar) it is self-protecting. Those who mention toxicity in connection with Kombucha misunderstand the nature of what is called a ‘healing crisis’ – the discomfort experienced with rapid detoxification of the liver. Kombucha is a powerful detoxifier and we always recommend anyone who begins taking Kombucha starts with a small amount to avoid any discomfort, gradually building up to the normal dose of 150 mls (one wineglass) three times a day.

Research on Kombucha’s Benefits

There is an extensive literature (some 300 books and research papers) dealing with the analysis of Kombucha Tea and its therapeutic effects. The independent medical research has been conducted principally in Russia and in Germany over the whole of the present century. Among early reports were those listing the benefits of Kombucha for stomach, digestive and intestinal disorders. One of the most famous of the later researchers was Dr. Rudolf Sklenar of Oberhessen who recognized the detoxifying properties of glucuronic acid in Kombucha for removing waste matter such as cholesterol and toxic deposits. He developed a biological cancer therapy based on Kombucha, and it is his recipe which is
still generally used today and for the production of the commercially bottled brew. He became a champion for the remedy, which he found helped invigorate the entire glandular system and the metabolism. He successfully treated arthritis, constipation, obesity, arteriosclerosis, impotence, kidney stones, rheumatism, gout and significantly, cancer, especially in its early stages.The Importance of Polysaccharides in Cancer and Digestive DisordersSugars also play a part as polysaccharides, which form the fundamental connective tissue of all human organs. Their ability to cope with
metabolic waste products is a crucial part of a healthy body. The Japanese have conducted interesting research with these substances within the area of immune-therapeutics, very much the domain of Kombucha therapy. These tests focus on the role of polysaccharides which are found in Kombucha and their positive effect on macrophages and T-cells. One trial showed that the survival rate in cancer sufferers given
polysaccharides was twice that of patients undergoing conventional treatment. A Germannaturopathic clinic in Gaggenau, Germany, did trials which showed the curative effects of polysaccharides on gastro-intestinal ailments as well as cancers.

By obtaining your own kombucha culture or kombucha tea you can start your own detoxifying program or simply use it as a daily health tonic.  Traditional, Kombucha is used for aiding the body in detoxifying the body, maintaining metabolic balance, but it is said to also promote overall wellbeing throughout the body.  People from all parts of the world use it as a general daily health tonic. Use before meals to lose weight, after meals to gain weight.
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Standard 1-Gallon Kombucha Recipe
Scale up or down depending on the size of your vessel
Supplies

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6-8 bags green or black tea
• Starter Culture
• Starter liquid
• purified/bottled water
• tea kettle
• brewing bottle (1 galon)
• cloth cover
• rubber band

Steps

• Boil 4 cups of water.
• Add hot water & tea bags to pot or brewing bottle.
• Steep 15 minutes, then remove tea bags.
• Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
• Add purified cold water, leaving just 3-4 inches from the top for breathing.
• Add SCOBY and starter liquid.
• Cover with cloth cover or paper towel and secure with the rubber band.
• Say a prayer, send good vibes (optional but recommended).
• Set in a warm location out of direct sunlight.
• Do not disturb for 7 days.
• After 7 days, or when you are ready to taste your Kombucha, poor a little of the liquid into a small glass and taste it. If too tart, then reduce your brewing cycle next time.  If too sweet, allow to brew for a few more days.  Continue to taste every day or so until you reach your optimum flavor preference.
• Decant & flavor (optional).
• Drink as desired! Start off with 4-8oz on an empty stomach in the morning, then with meals to help with digestion or as your body tells you it would like some more! Drink plenty of water as it is a natural detoxifyer and you want to flush the newly released toxins out.

Get A Kombucha Culture Today & Start Brewing

Quick Brew Tips

• Sanitize bottle with hot water or vinegar – no soap: it kills the kombucha.
• Airflow is key – find an open area for your Kombucha Tea.
• If you see mold, throw everything away.
• Keep a kombucha Hotel for backups and extras.
• Kombucha is a LIVING organism. Many believe the energy in the room will    directly influence your culture.

More Kombucha Recipes
Ginger Lime Kombucha Recipe
Ginger is perhaps Kombucha’s best friend, producing delicious fizz and flavor. Citrus pairs well with Kombucha, though in small amounts. These instructions call for flavoring after the brew.

• 5-6 teaspoons green tea/reusable tea bag
• 1.25 cups evaporated cane juice

for later:

• fresh squeezed lime juice
• fresh ginger slices

Do a shorter steep with these green tea bags, 3-5 minutes. Brew only 6-7 days, decant into bottles already flavored with ginger (to taste) and lime juice (no more than 1/2 ounce per 16 ounce bottle) and allow to second ferment for 3-5 days, burping each day to prevent explosions. Once desired fizz is achieved, move to fridge.
My other secret tip? Once you’ve tried secondary flavoring, try boiling the whole ginger root right in the water you will brew with to infuse the flavor in a totally different way.
Kombucha Recipe made with Agave
Agave nectar, while less popular than it has been, can be substituted for the sugar. Agave turns Kombucha a bit more sour and can benefit from a small boost of Karo (corn) syrup to kickstart the yeast and protect the brew.

• 4-5 teaspoons black tea/reusable tea bag
• 1 cup agave nectar (or 80/20 with corn syrup)
• 2 cups mature kombucha (the brew needs a little extra protection)

Prepare as normal, but check your brew a few days earlier to prevent it going sour too quickly. Monitor, bottle and refrigerate at the right flavor. Extendd secondary fermentation is not recommended with agave.
Cholesterol Busting Kombucha Recipe
I’ve talked about good old Ernie from CajunErnie.com on my Kombucha benefits page. He talks of many things Kombucha has done for his health, and one of them is a drop in his cholesterol.
Take it away Ernie: “In late 2001 my cholesterol level was 273. I stayed away from the popular drugs and thru better diet dropped it to 230. I then started drinking Kombucha because of my arthritis. By May, 2005 my cholesterol level had dropped to 165 and my blood pressure was at 122/54. Not bad for a 65 year old that works 60 hours a week.”
Ernie’s Cholesterol Busting Recipe:

• 6 bags of green tea
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar

Brew as normal for 6 to 9 days.
Power Kombucha Recipe
Looking for an extra energy blast from your Kombucha Tea. Try this Kombucha recipe for Power Kombucha.
**note** Always consult your physician before undertaking any dietary change. This recipe is for informational purposes only.

• 4-6 teaspoons green/black tea blend
• 1.25 cups evaporated cane juice

for later:

• 1 tablespoon maca powder
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon of bee pollen – lightly crushed

Brew as normal for 7 to 10 days, until slightly effervescent
Then:
Add flavorings to finished Kombucha and close tightly for 4 days to infuse.
Organic Kombucha culture: $25.00