Kombucha: benefits and harms to the body

Kom­bucha is a sub­stance based on yeast and bac­te­ria. It is used to make a drink con­tain­ing B vit­a­mins, pro­bi­otics and oth­er sub­stances. Researchers of the kom­bucha drink, which is made on the basis of the mush­room, are sure that it is nec­es­sary for peo­ple who want to nor­mal­ize cho­les­terol lev­els and pro­tect them­selves from a heart attack.

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Useful properties of kombucha

For many years, research has been con­duct­ed on the ben­e­fits and harms of kom­bucha. Sci­en­tists came to the con­clu­sion that the mush­room is very use­ful, but in some cas­es it can harm the body.

Among the use­ful prop­er­ties and qual­i­ties are:

1. 
   Improv­ing the func­tion­ing of inter­nal organs. The mush­room con­tains many acids that nor­mal­ize the func­tion­ing of the liv­er, kid­neys and pan­creas.

2. 
   Strength­en­ing immu­ni­ty. Due to the drink, there is an increase in uri­na­tion, which caus­es the nor­mal­iza­tion of the work of inter­nal organs. This allows the body to pro­tect itself from many dis­eases and infec­tions. Glu­car­ic acid in the com­po­si­tion helps to strength­en the immune sys­tem, is the pre­ven­tion of can­cer cells.

3. 
   Accel­er­a­tion of metab­o­lism. Con­stant use of the drink elim­i­nates clog­ging of cells, cleans­es the body of tox­ins, acti­vat­ing metab­o­lism.

4. 
   Joint strength­en­ingin. The main ingre­di­ent of the com­po­si­tion is glu­cosamine, which strength­ens the joints and skele­ton, there­by reliev­ing pain and inflam­ma­tion.

5. 
   Gen­er­al improve­ment in the func­tion­ing of inter­nal organs. This effect increas­es phys­i­cal capa­bil­i­ties, and the drink also has a detox effect.

6. 
   Sat­u­ra­tion with ener­gy. Kom­bucha is a nat­ur­al sub­sti­tute for cof­fee or oth­er drinks that give you ener­gy for the whole day, but it is a safe method, bet­ter than ener­gy drinks and sodas.

7. 
   Lots of enzymes and vit­a­mins. It con­tains a lot of B vit­a­mins, acids and enzymes that allow you to keep a per­son in work­ing and active con­di­tion.

8. 
   Nor­mal­iza­tion of diges­tion. The use of kom­bucha has a pos­i­tive effect on the work of the stom­ach and facil­i­tates diges­tion. After tak­ing it, it is pos­si­ble to accel­er­ate the secre­tion of gas­tric juice. Pro­bi­otics and yeast remove par­a­sites, helminths and oth­er harm­ful microor­gan­isms.

9. 
   Improved men­tal state. The ben­e­fit is caused by vit­a­min B12, which affects the psy­cho­log­i­cal state of a per­son.

10. 
    Pro­motes liv­er health. Mush­room antiox­i­dants pro­tect the body from oxida­tive process­es and dam­age.

11. 
    Treat­ment of dis­eases of the mouth and throat. The rich com­po­si­tion helps to relieve inflam­ma­tion, removes bad breath. The drink has all the nutri­ents that help to cope with sore throats and scar­let fever.

12. 
    Reduced PMS symp­toms. Kom­bucha relieves women from pain and oth­er dis­com­fort, as it replen­ish­es the body with iron, increas­es the lev­el of hemo­glo­bin in the blood. Reg­u­lar use of the drink leads to a grad­ual reduc­tion in symp­toms.

13. 
    Nor­mal­iza­tion of the skin con­di­tion. The effect is caused by the cleans­ing of pores, their nar­row­ing and reju­ve­na­tion of the skin. In addi­tion, skin prob­lems are often asso­ci­at­ed with the work of the stom­ach, all the con­se­quences of kom­bucha elim­i­nates.

14. 
    Pos­i­tive effect on repro­duc­tive sys­tems. Men who drink the drink quick­ly improve sperm motil­i­ty.

15. 
    Increase in mus­cle masscaused by amino acids in the com­po­si­tion, which pre­serve the mus­cles and pro­mote their growth.

In tra­di­tion­al med­i­cine, a drink based on kom­bucha is not used, but many doc­tors can rec­om­mend it to improve the func­tion­ing of the gas­troin­testi­nal tract, cleanse the body, espe­cial­ly when treat­ed with antibi­otics.

The harm of kombucha

In 2003, the Amer­i­can Can­cer Insti­tute said that sour­dough can cause neg­a­tive con­se­quences. Among them were:

1. Increased acid­i­ty of the stom­ach.

2. Destruc­tion of ery­thro­cytes.

3. The appear­ance of acute nephro­sis due to hemo­glo­bin­uria, in sim­ple words — kid­ney dam­age.

4. Patho­log­i­cal changes in the liv­er.

5. Vio­la­tion of blood clot­ting.

6. A large amount of sug­ar in the com­po­si­tion can con­tribute to weight gain.

7. Abun­dant con­tent of var­i­ous acids, among which acetic acid is of great dan­ger. With an increase in acid­i­ty for the stom­ach, there can be neg­a­tive con­se­quences, up to an ulcer or gas­tri­tis.

8. There is a pos­si­bil­i­ty of lead poi­son­ing if you do not fol­low the rules for prepar­ing the drink. Dur­ing brew­ing, con­tain­ers and tools must be ster­ile. In con­tact with ceram­ics, a reac­tion occurs that caus­es lead poi­son­ing.

It is not rec­om­mend­ed to use the drink along with antipyret­ic drugs, cer­tain antibi­otics or painkillers. This can affect the func­tion­ing of the ner­vous sys­tem, liv­er and bone mar­row. It was revealed that the use of kom­bucha can be the cause of the devel­op­ment of path­o­gen­ic flo­ra in the body.

Impor­tant! Kom­bucha does not affect weight loss, since the calo­rie con­tent is about 30 kcal per 1 cup of kvass. This is more than tea with 3 table­spoons of sug­ar.

Contraindications

Before using kom­bucha, you should always con­sult with your doc­tor. In the com­po­si­tion, espe­cial­ly with pro­longed expo­sure of the mush­room, a lot of ethanol appears, so any­one who dri­ves a car should refuse the drink. There are oth­er con­traindi­ca­tions:

1. Dia­betes.

2. Increased acid­i­ty of the stom­ach.

3. Fun­gal dis­eases.

4. Gas­tri­tis, ulcers and oth­er dis­eases of the stom­ach (for recipes based on green tea).

5. Hypoten­sion.

When using kvass, always pause so as not to pro­voke gas­tric irri­ta­tion. Dilute the fer­ment­ed infu­sion with water, and in its pure form drink only sour­dough 3–4 years old. The norm for an adult is not more than 1 liter per day.

Rules for preparing a drink from kombucha

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To pre­pare the right and tasty drink, you will need to per­form the fol­low­ing pro­ce­dures:

1. Buy kom­bucha, be sure to be free of rot and mold.

2. Put it in a jar of sweet tea (green, black or oth­er). Use the solu­tion at room tem­per­a­ture.

3. Close the neck with gauze and leave for 7 days.

4. Remove the mush­room from the jar, put in a new one. It is rec­om­mend­ed to put the mush­room in water every week and divide into parts if growth is fast.

5. Drink drink 1 glass a day, but not more than 1 liter.

This drink is used in many areas. For exam­ple, in med­i­cine, the rem­e­dy is suit­able as an antibac­te­r­i­al and treats not only the gas­troin­testi­nal tract, but also exter­nal dis­or­ders (fun­gus on the legs, skin or mucous mem­branes). The infu­sion will relieve dan­druff, hair loss. Indi­an sci­en­tists have proven that tea helps to remove tox­ins and has a pos­i­tive effect on liv­er func­tion.

In cos­me­tol­ogy, the prod­uct is used to improve blood cir­cu­la­tion, ton­ing and smooth­ing the skin, pro­vid­ing a cos­met­ic and ther­a­peu­tic effect. For the skin, an infu­sion is need­ed for a peri­od of 1 month or more. Wipe your face with a cold drink, add to the bath.

Rules for the selection and storage of kombucha

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On sale you can find a ready-made bot­tled drink or cook it your­self. Over time, the fun­gus increas­es in size, grows in a liq­uid medi­um. When choos­ing, pay atten­tion to the out­er part. There should be no mold, rot and algae, the smell is pleas­ant.

There should be no sug­ar crys­tals or tea leaves in the tea solu­tion. Immerse the mush­room in a drink at room tem­per­a­ture. It is rec­om­mend­ed to wash it once every 2–4 weeks.

Kom­bucha does not tol­er­ate direct expo­sure to UV, and it also needs to be kept from get­ting air inside. You can drink the fin­ished prod­uct for up to 7 days, if the vol­ume remains, pour it out.

If you do not reg­u­lar­ly pre­pare a drink, the mush­room can be saved and not thrown away by sim­ply putting it in a jar and leav­ing it in the refrig­er­a­tor. Keep at room tem­per­a­ture overnight before new use. You can also place it on a plate, cov­er with gauze and dry, turn­ing dai­ly. It takes 2 weeks to dry the mush­room, then it is wrapped in paper and left in a dry place for up to 2 years. Fresh tea solu­tion helps to start the main process­es.