History:

Kombucha tea has a long and well loved place in history. This beverage has many different names depending upon the culture and area it is found. All cultures that have tried it, embrace it for a wide variety of health giving attributes. Modern studies of probiotics (health promoting microbes such as Lactobacillus acidophilus) have supported many of these reported benefits! Anecdotal accounts from individuals report the tea to be effective at battling arthritis, hemorrhoids, digestive disorders, heart disease, allergies, asthma, and even cancer to name a few. Naturopathic medicine believes that the body is designed and capable of healing itself if given the opportunity. This belief is the foundation for all of their interventions and successes. Many biochemists believe that healing happens when the body’s chemistry is restored. More and more forward thinking medical doctors are starting to practice what one of our greatest scientists termed “orthomolecular medicine” (supplying the necessary nutrients to the body so it can heal). This scientist, Linus Pauling, was a two time Nobel Prize winner and lived well into his nineties as a healthy active individual. Although the precise mechanism for the health giving benefits of Kombucha Tea has not been identified, the long (2000 year) history, and innumerable anecdotal reports of people regaining their health after making this tea a part of their daily diet can not be ignored! A truly wise man once taught me that, “people (doctors included) are usually down on anything they are not up on”, so he admonished, “do your own thinking and be better off for it”.

Kombucha Tea is a fermented beverage, made from tea, sugar, and a Kombucha culture known as a mushroom but the proper scientific term is a pedicle. The beverage is as simple and safe to make as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, wine, vinegar or even bread. If you can boil water and measure out a cup of sugar you can make a fine Kombucha Tea.

Probiotic Studies:

Kombucha tea is a great source of probiotics!

Study after study from many of the most prestigious universities in the country support and advance the concept that probiotics are as important and basic to our health as a balanced diet and exercise. If you are like most people you say “wow, great, but what are probiotics”? Probiotics are simply micro-organisms (bacteria and yeasts) that live in our intestinal tract and contribute to our good health in exchange for a warm cozy place to live. In scientific terms this is considered a symbiotic relationship, both organisms are helped by the relationship and neither is harmed. Probiotic means “for life”. These “friendly” microbes are found naturally in breast milk, foods such as yogurt, kefir, real sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, and Kombucha tea (Emperor’s Best). Not all bacteria and yeast found in our digestive tract are good, some are bad or pathogenic (cause disease), other are neutral, others are good in limited amounts but bad at higher levels. Most microbes in our intestines can not be grown in a test tube; only about twenty percent are currently able to be cultured successfully. It is thought that we have over 500 different kinds of bacteria as a normal part of our digestive tract, and thousands and thousands of viruses. The make up or quantities of the different bacteria, what we refer to as intestinal flora is affected by diet, drugs (especially antibiotics), stress, and possibly even the water you drink. Studies show your health can be dramatically impacted by shifts in flora makeup; health can therefore deteriorate or be regained by manipulating your intestinal flora.

Elie Metchnikoff wrote a book called “The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies”. He also won the 1908 Nobel Prize. Much of his work and enthusiasm was directed at Probiotic research. Metchnikoff is by many considered the grandfather of probiotics and tirelessly championed the concept of probiotics. Much of his work was done with Louis Pasteur who developed the rabies vaccine and is credited for confirming the germ theory of disease. Although in many regards Metchnikoff and Pasteur’s work were polar opposites in directions, they eventually complemented each other giving us a much better understanding of the disease process. Metchnikoff worked on immunology (how your body fights disease) and Pasteur worked on the germ theory, while both appreciated the power of vaccination. Metchnikoff a Russian by birth may well have been the catalyst that fueled yogurts rise in popularity as a health food. Yogurt of course is made with live microbes and these microbes (Lactobacillus acidophilus, etal) are considered Probiotics.

Today yogurt companies lead the charge in promoting the health benefits of their product and indirectly the health benefits of probiotics. Many foods contain probiotic microbes and give the foods their recognizable characteristics. Other foods such as beer, bread, cheese, wine, etc use microbes to produce the food. As you may be starting to understand not all bacteria or microbes are harmful, and we have become a nation and culture of microbe-phobes (scared of all bacteria, etc). The truth is most microbes don’t harm us, and we should have no fear of them. Many are actually beneficial to our health and we are better off with them than without them.

Culture after culture through out the ages has recognized foods that are almost worshiped for their health giving benefits. One of the almost forgotten is a fermented beverage known as Kombucha tea. This tea has had a variety of names depending on where it is found. In Russia it was known as Kargasok tea, in China it was called Ling-tche, Japan it is recognized by the name Combucha, in Europe people have called it Manchurian tea or Kombucha tea, etc. All have had a love affair with this tea many term miraculous. I mention it here for two reasons, one it has a world wide history as a health promoting beverage which can be traced back for centuries, and secondly it is undoubtedly the least expensive way to obtain a steady source of probiotics when brewed at home. The best source of a starter culture for this tea is Emperor’s Best Kombucha tea.

Other food sources of probiotics include of course Yogurt, and Kefir, however be sure to look for a brand that says contains “live cultures”. Real sauerkraut the fermented kind not the brands made with distilled vinegar. Breast milk is actually an important source for newborns, and helps to correctly establish a healthy flora that will serve individuals for life. All raw foods contain various microbes some of which undoubtedly go on to become a part of our flora.

Many probiotic species are what is referred to as transient, which means they are here today and gone tomorrow. Transient species don’t stick around to long they are helpful while they are present but lack staying power. Most probiotics found in foods are transient in nature, and require constant replenishment.

Other sources of probiotics can be found in supplemental form at health food stores. These either come in pill, powder, or liquid forms. All have varying potency, some rate potency at time of manufacture others guarantee potency up to a certain date. It has been reported by some consumer watch organizations that some have no viable organisms at all. Every manufacturer has a different variety of species, not all are as beneficial as others. Some include FOS a type of sugar that has been dubbed a pre-biotic or a source of food that only feeds good bacteria, however several reports indicate that Klebsiella pneumonia thrives on FOS and may initiate and infectious state. Supplemental probiotics are the most expensive source and potency and composition can have an enormous impact on any benefits. Dr. David Williams is a medical doctor that has made a career looking for answers to ailments that his and all other medical doctor’s training and medications fail to help. One such ailment is Crohn’s disease he has found that adding “butyric acid” to the diet has been beneficial at eliminating Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. One of the byproducts of probiotics (friendly bacteria) is butyric acid. Butyric acid also stimulates the growth of more friendly bacteria in a self perpetuating circle. According to Dr. Williams Kombucha tea is one of the highest and best sources of naturally occurring butyric acid, and a great source of probiotics. Emperor’s Best™ Kombucha tea culture is available Here and is the finest Kombucha tea available. Home brewed tea is always the freshest, most enjoyable, and the cheapest costing only pennies for a pitcher of tea. A starter culture and easy to follow instructions are included.

Possible Health Benefits of Drinking Kombucha Tea
Anecdotal or individual reports of the health giving benefits of probiotics or their associated food sources include such a wide variety of ailments and conditions that at first blush you are tempted to dismiss these as not possible. The trouble with such a quick judgment is it lacks serious consideration and review of relevant information. What seems impossible today with the right information or knowledge can seem self evident tomorrow. As one very astute doctor once noted “people (doctors included) are down on anything they are not up on”. History is proof that anecdotal evidence or limited observations is the root of all scientific accomplishments. Science starts with observations, which are then followed up with experimentation to support or refute suggested hypothesis for explaining the observation. To date we have failed to do sufficient follow up studies to support or refute these anecdotal reports regarding probiotics and noted health improvements. Individual reports of health benefits attributed to probiotics consumption include, but are not limited to the following conditions:

Scientific Validation:

Research is showing that many of these claims can now be supported with studies that pass the peer review test and are readily published in major professional journals world wide. Some of these articles can be found in journals like; The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, The Journal of Microbiology, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Urology Times, Pediatrics, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and numerous nutritional publications. This list is in no way exhaustive, new and exciting studies are being conducted and published daily. Keeping up with this is virtually impossible. This research is being fueled by previous successes and has been growing exponentially for a decade or more. Depending on what level of study you accept as reliable, I believe at some point I have read a publication that supports just about every claim listed above. A few publications are listed below:

• Borody, , Leis, Surace, Ashman, and Siarakas. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. July 2004;38(6) pgs 475-83.
  Supports for use in diarrhea, colitis, clostridium difficile syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and constipation.
• Isolauri, Arvola, Sutas, Moilanen, and Salminen. Clin. Exp. Allergy. 2000; 30 pgs 1604-1610.
  Supports for use in eczema.
• Casas and Dobrogosz. Review Article- Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease. 2000; 12 pgs 247-285.
  Supports broad spectrum protection against disease, autism, heart disease.
• Vanderhoof, and Young. Probiotics In Pediatrics. Pediatrics. May 2002. Vol 109 Issue 5.
  Supports immune regulation, diarrhea, crohn’s disease, respiratory infections, food sensitivities, arthritis.
• Bottcher, Nordin, Sandin, Midtvedt, and Bjorksten. Clin. Exp. Allergy. 2000, 30 pgs 1590-1596.
  Supports flora differences between allergic and non allergic individuals.
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• Vuopio-Varkila and Varkila. Infectious Immunology. 1996, 64 pgs 5403-5405.
  Supports anti-cancer.
• Isolauri. Probiotics in Human Disease. American Journal Clinical Nutrition. 2001. 73, pgs 1142-1146.
  Supports broad spectrum protection.
• Coconnier, Lievin, Hemery, and Servin. Applied Environmental Microbiology. 1998. 64 pgs 4573-4580.
  Supports antagonistic activity of probiotics against Helicobacter pylori infection in humans – anti ulcer.
• The Microecology of Clostidium difficile. Clin. Infectious Disease. 1993 16pgs 214-218.
  Supports antagonistic activity of probiotics against Clostridium difficle.
• Farrel and Peppercorn. Lancet. Jan 26, 2002. Vol 359 Issue 9303.
  Supports the use of probiotics in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
• Jones and Hoffer. Canadian Medical Association Journal. June 11, 2002. Vol 166 Issue12.
  Supports anti cancer activity.
• Reid, Gregor and Bruce. Journal of Infectious Diseases. March 2, 2002. Vol 183 Issue 5.
  Supports the use of probiotics in reducing urogenital infections.