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| Kombucha (Fungus japonicus), though often reported to be a mushroom, is actually a colony of yeast and bacteria producing a jelly-like skin on a favored growth medium. Mostly anecdotal reports have suggested that Kombucha tea has helped with a variety of acute and chronic conditions. Some of the most enthusiastic responses have come from people with difficult long-term illnesses such as arthritis, digestive disorders, high blood pressure, poor circulation, high cholesterol or cancer, and from older people, many of whom conventional doctors have had difficulty helping. Despite the testimonials and guarded endorsements by health professionals, claims for kombucha's beneficial health effects are as yet unsubstantiated by science. When Kombucha tea is made correctly, all the sugars are fully converted into organic acids during fermentation, enabling Kombucha tea to be is safely drunk by diabetics and candida sufferers. Some candida sufferers have found considerable relief in taking Kombucha. Kombucha has a home-brewing safety track record of centuries. Contamination of the culture by moulds is not a problem if normal standards of kitchen hygiene are observed and if the ambient temperature of the fermentation is adequate. If contamination occurs, the culture and brew are thrown out, and one starts with a fresh preparation. Independent medical research has been conducted principally in Russia and in Germany. Sometimes the culture floats on the surface, sometimes it sinks to the bottom of the liquid. When the culture sinks to the bottom a new culture (a baby-culture) will begin to grow on the surface of the tea. The Kombucha culture needs some time to reproduce itself. It begins with a thin and filmy layer. The longer you leave it in peace, the thicker the new culture will grow. While growing on the surface of the tea the culture thickens considerably. The thickened culture will be composed of easily-separable superimposed layers. If the culture should sink to the bottom of the vessel, a new culture will form on the surface of the tea. The more times a culture is used, the darker it slowly becomes. Thus this unique culture can provide you, your family and your friends with an ongoing supply of Kombucha tea at very low cost. |
| Bacterial Dysbiosis |