Kombucha My Lord, Kombucha

I cringe a little when I hear the phrase “it’s good for you”. Foodwise, nothing is really that good (or that awful) for a person. Mostly, the phrase is used to sell a reluctant eater on trying a food, it is like saying “This isn’t any good, now take a bite/sip”. It is the selling point of last resort – Spinach, is good for you, rather than it tastes good. Chard likewise is good for you. Lately, Kombucha is what does a body good.

Kombucha tastes like sweetened-fungal-tea –  flavors are noticeable in that order – so the phrase “it’s good for you” might be the drink’s only selling point. Kombucha’s adherents take “good for you” to a unique level. In a culture where the value of fact and opinion are conflated, treated with equal reverence, personal convictions about detox brews, liver health and anti-microbial properties might seem like universal truths solely because you feel strongly about them. If you maintain 16oz of sweetened Kombucha negates a half pack of cigarettes – fine, just don’t tell me about it.

There is little scientific research supporting the idea you can detox your body by eating certain foods. Sure not smoking, doing drugs, drinking or eating red meat for an extended period of time does the body good, just don’t think it is the brown rice, organic zucchini and Kombucha that is doing the work. Likewise, the theories about probiotics and anti-microbial activity are just that, theories.

Boosters of probiotics claim by ingesting cultured foods, like yogurt, that good enzymes will inhabit your digestive system, leaving no room or food for bad agents to colonize in your body. There is some evidence supporting this, not to the extent that it is promulgated, but nascent findings coupled with an absolute authority like Jamie Lee Curtis hinting that probiotics keep you regular, well what more evidence do you need? The hypothesis of anti-microbial activity is roughly the same – good Kombucha microbes live in your body so bad ones cannot establish themselves

A recent Cornell study, found drinking Kombucha, “demonstrated no anti-microbial properties”. Is a study that contradicts the specific issue enough to deter Kombucha partisans from believing their drink has anti-microbial properties?

Because modern, western medicine treats symptoms and not the underlining cause of a disorder, it is derided for its lack of virtue and wisdom. Without dismissing the possibilities of the regenerative strength of your own body and the power of a healthy diet, I pose this question - Whose advice would you follow - a western doctor with 12 years of training or somebody who has done ‘research’ on the internet and recommends you to treat a flare up of chlamydia with poultice of clove and pear and drinking cranberry infused Kombucha?





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