Health trends come and go. The latest, raw organic Kombucha Tea. The tea is produced by adding yeast and bacteria, along with sugar, to black tea and allowing it to ferment over a week. So is it safe to assume that anything worthy of being sold at Whole Foods must be good for you? And what exactly is so healthy about drinking ‘raw’ tea with live cultures?

Claim:“Kombucha contains active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols, which create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality”.

What is interesting is that on the Kombucha website under the category “What are the health benefits?”, I find the information to be very ambiguous. Instead of listing scientifically proven, or research-based evidence on the health benefits of drinking this miracle tea, they want you to know who has been drinking it; Russians, Germans, Japanese. They boast that NBC’s Dateline recently reported that millions drink Kombucha. For further information on health benefits, the Kombucha website refers readers to search “google.com” or “yahoo.com”. Haven’t we all learned that you can’t believe everything you read on the web? When a company won’t promote their product on their own website, but refers you to do a search on it’s health benefits, that raises questions of concern for me.

Google search I did, and what I found was interesting. Kombucha Tea has not been FDA approved. It is classified as a dietary supplement and therefore, unlike drugs, does not have to be proven as safe or effective before being put on the market so long as they don’t claim to prevent, treat, or cure specific illnesses.  (For more information on the safety of dietary supplements read Beware of Contaminated Dietary Supplements). According to the American Cancer Society there is zero scientific evidence supporting health claims by Kombucha Tea. However there have been reports of serious side-effects, and even several deaths linked to Kombucha tea.

Now that we know health/nutrition beverages can be classified as dietary supplements and therefore bypass FDA approval, never take product labeling as the ultimate truth. Drinking raw, unpasteurized bacterial cultures is not advised, especially for the young, elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised. It’s important to do your homework on products claiming health benefits, or seek advice of a medical professional. Still thirsty? Drink water!

For more information visit:
American Cancer Society