Kombucha is an immortal healthy elixir, a type of fermented tea that has become incredibly popular, primarily because of its supposed health benefits. The idea that kombucha is health is nothing new. The history of this drink dates back to 2000 years.

During this time, it was called the “Immortal Healthy Elixir” in China, spread worldwide, covering Russia as a health drink, made at home by the millions, commercialized and sold on a large scale in the US and sold on everything from digestive aid to cancer cure.

The Mayo Clinic, the FDA and others have warned ahead of time about the possible dangers of kombucha. What to believe in this sum of ideas about the health (or harm) of kombucha?

How does it hurt people’s kombucha?

Kombucha, like many medicines, has the potential for harm. In most cases, problems arise from a lack of careful practices among home brewers. In several other cases, problems arise because kombucha, such as fermented food, naturally contains a small amount of alcohol. Let’s talk first about the last question.

Kombucha tea contains alcohol. Usually not much – the maximum is often around that of weak beer, but more alcohol than fruit juice. Some people are not at all sensitive to this alcohol, while others are. For most, it depends on their individual level of sensitivity to alcohol. Women tend to be more sensitive to alcohol than men, and those with lower body weight are also more vulnerable.

But unless you consume more than a large glass or drink a very old kombucha, the impact is usually moderate “buzzing” at most.
Now, for less careful preparation at home. While the harm of homemade kombucha is rare, it is still worth considering when you drink and (especially) prepare kombucha. The problem is related to the fact that most people in the world who drink kombucha drink a home-made product made from raw, fermented materials.

This means that (ideally) you use good bacteria and yeast to ferment something and then consume it without cooking to kill the bacteria. If you only have good bacteria in the mix, it’s incredibly healthy. But when your bacteria get contaminated, then you are headed for problems.

You can often tell when a batch of kombucha is bad because of its “missing” smell and taste. However, some types of pollution are not observed in the aroma and taste of the batch, so even if your homemade kombucha looks good, it may not be the case.

For most people, drinking a glass of the drink will not hurt much, but if you have health problems or get some particularly nasty bacteria in your knuckle and drink lots of them, you could cause an allergic reaction, infection and / or upset stomach.

In addition to the issue of contamination, uninformed or uncharacteristic home cooking can also lead to long-term lead poisoning. How is that? If you ferment your kombucha in ceramic containers, it may leak lead from the glaze and gradually poison you. Fortunately, this potential problem is quite easy to avoid. Simply boil the kombucha in a glass jar, like fermenters for wine or beer.

How Does Kombucha Affect Health?

There has not yet been much official research on the health benefits of consuming kombucha, so most of the evidence for its benefits is anecdotal. However, there are many anecdotes and cultural beliefs about the health benefits of kombucha.