What is Kombucha Tea?

Kombucha is a tea drank for medicinal purposes. Kombucha tea has a 2,000 year history as a tonic or elixir and is believed to have originated in China. According to anecdotal reports, kombucha tea offers many life enhancing and healing qualities including:

• Increased energy
• Clear skin
• Improved hair and nail quality
• Weight loss and reduced fluid retention
• Arthritic pain relief
• Improved digestion
• Detoxification
• Allergy reduction
• Assists with addiction
• Speeds healing
• Improved mental health
• Regulation of blood glucose
• Reduces PMS
• Improved immunity

Like many other alternative therapies, I have not found a formal study on the health benefits of kombucha consumption, so there is no “proof” of its healing qualities. In my own practice I drink about 4-6 ounces of kombucha in the morning and afternoon, and I believe it has enhanced my digestion and overall health. I don’t think of it is a cure-all but rather a component of a whole foods diet.

While mass-produced kombucha tea products are increasingly available at natural food stores, you’ll save money and enjoy a better product if you brew it at home.