Most people we talk to about Kombucha initially think it must be a kind of health tonic. They find the idea of Kombucha therapy rather strange. When we looked at the other available books on Kombucha, we quickly saw that there was a need for a more in-depth book. We realised that we would also have to attempt what we felt no other book has done satisfactorily - to make a credible case for why Kombucha is so helpful with diseases like arthritis, eczema, high blood pressure, digestive disorders and cancer, to mention a few. If our modest efforts to explain how Kombucha works encourages more serious research at the holistic microbiological level, we shall be delighted. Our understanding of the causes of disease is going through an enormous change, as we learn more about the inner ecology of the body. This will affect how medicine will be practised in the future, and it is exciting to realise that the way Kombucha works will be part of this new understanding.
The Germ Theory
For the last 150 years medical treatments have been based on the concept that the invasion of a particular pathogenic (disease-causing) micro-organism causes a specific disease. The germ theory, on which it is based, dates only from the mid-nineteenth century, and has led, a hundred years later, to the introduction of antibiotics whose purpose is to kill the offending microbes.
Antibiotic Therapy
The discovery and use of antibiotics has been hailed as the greatest medical breakthrough of the century. Indeed, it has undoubtedly saved many thousands of lives, and still has a valuable place in the control of life-threatening systems. However, an increasing number of problems have arisen from its widespread over-use, both for human treatment and as a standard animal food supplement. One is the increase of diseases caused by the treatments themselves (iatrogenic diseases), which cause a growing number of deaths, as well as complex side-effects. The second is that antibiotics (anti=against; bios=life) can weaken the body's own immune system, which then makes it more difficult to fight off new germs and viruses. The third, and undoubtedly much more serious problem, is the emergence of bacterial strains which are resistant to antibiotics.
This problem has its parallel in the development of pest control and herbicides in industrial agriculture. They were hailed as a great breakthrough in agricultural science, but have not stopped the emergence in crops of new diseases that are much harder to control. These stem from the way in which the chemicals tend to kill both the natural predators and the bacteria in the soil that help to provide the plant with balanced nourishment and which are part of a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Follow Nature
Hippocrates (370-260BC), who lived in ancient Greece and who is usually regarded as the founder of modern medicine, practised a form of medicine which advocated working with the balancing power of Nature. He was an outspoken critic of the administration of drugs and of unnecessary meddling by the physician, believing very strongly that the body has a self-healing mechanism that must be aided in every way possible naturally to heal itself. Hippocrates instructed his students to follow Nature and to do no harm to their patients. All doctors, on graduation, swear to honour the Hippocratic Oath!
The oldest form of medicine, which is still practised successfully today, is herbalism. The use of the whole plant to assist human disorders has been the common denominator of healing for tens of thousands of years. Many modern pharmaceutical drugs are inevitably based on plant constituents, the difference being that individual parts of the plant are extracted and synthesised in the laboratory in order to counter specific symptoms. For example, the common drug aspirin, a pain killer and blood thinner, has the harmful side effect of causing stomach irritation and ulcers if over-used, whereas the whole plant Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria), used in its natural state from which aspirin is derived is, in fact, very beneficial to the stomach, and is its main healing property. Since the pharmaceutical industry has become dependent on synthetic chemicals, their effectiveness in bringing healing to the whole system has been compromised, with side effects that are treated with further drugs, and so on.
Probiotic Therapy
In terms of modern medicine, the naturopathic or holistic approach in which the working of Kombucha can be seen, is called probiotics. *1 This means working with the microbiological life (pro=with; bios=life) rather than destroying the microbes which is the purpose of antibiotic therapy.
The probiotic case for Kombucha is that it encourages much healthier intestinal flora by introducing lactic acid-producing bacteria. These work in a similar way to acidophilus bacteria, the active ingredients in live yoghurt.
An old saying, healthy gut, healthy body, puts it simply. The digestion is the physiological system that uses enzymes to break down complex food into simpler components which can be used by the body cells, its principal organs being the stomach and the small and large intestines. The acidity level of the gut is all-important, as is the health of its microbial flora. There are several hundred different species of bacteria in our intestines and there is abundant evidence that the intestinal flora plays a crucial role in the functioning of the whole body.
Bacteroides and Bifidobacteria
The bacteria in the intestines can be divided into two main types:*2 the less acid-forming bacteroides are responsible for the decaying matter in the colon; elderly people tend to have more gastric disorders; these stem from a low hydrochloric acid production in the stomach, creating more room for fungi and parasites to take hold; bacteroides are encouraged by a diet high in fats and proteins.
The more acidic ones, called bifidobacteria, are more beneficial because they produce essential organic acids, such as acetic, lactic and folic acids, which raise the acidity of the intestines, preventing invading pathogens from taking hold. In addition, by keeping down the bacteroides population, they discourage the putrefaction from becoming toxic. The bifidobacteria are favoured by a diet high in carbohydrate, fibre and lacto-vegetarian food and are more common in individuals who were breast-fed as babies.
Kombucha - a Nutritious Food
The Kombucha beverage should be regarded principally as a food unusually rich in nutritive properties, rather than just a health drink. As in yoghurt, the bacteria are a great source of nutrition, but in addition Kombucha has a wide range of organic acids, vitamins and enzymes that give it its extraordinary value. It contains the range of B vitamins, particularly B1, B2, B6 and B12, that provide the body with energy, help to process fats and proteins, and which are vital for the normal functioning of the nervous system. There is also vitamin C which is a potent detoxifier, immune booster and enhancer of vitality.
Probiotic Organic Acids
There are two organic acids produced by Kombucha which encourage the activity of the resident bifidobacteria, thus restoring a healthy balance with the bacteroides:
Lactic acid
Essential for healthy digestive action (through its derivative lactobacilli) and for energy production by the liver, and is not found in the tissues of people with cancer.
Acetic acid
An antiseptic and inhibitor of pathogenic (harmful) bacteria.*3
Kombucha's Vital Organic Acids
Besides the lactic and acetic acids mentioned above, there are also other valuable organic acids produced by the Kombucha culture, some of which have a more direct effect on other organs:*4
Glucuronic acid
Normally produced by a healthy liver, is a powerful detoxifier and can readily be converted into glucosamines, the foundations of our skeletal system. A product of the oxidation process of glucose, glucuronic acid is undoubtedly one of the more significant constituents of Kombucha. As a detoxifying agent, it has come into its own today, for it is one of the few agents that can cope with pollution from the products of the petroleum industry, including all the plastics, herbicides, pesticides and resins. It kidnaps the phenols in the liver which are then eliminated easily by the kidneys. Another by-product of glucuronic acid are the glucosamines, the structures associated with cartilage, collagen and the fluids which lubricate the joints. Collagen reduces wrinkles, while arthritis sufferers have their deficient cartilage and joint fluids replenished.
Usnic acid
Has selective antibiotic qualities which can partly deactivate viruses.
Citric acid
An anti-ascorbic.
Oxalic acid
Encourages the intercellular production of energy, and is a preservative.
Malic acid
Also helps the liver to detoxify.
Gluconic acid
A sugar product which can break down to caprylic acid to work symbiotically with...
Butyric acid
Produced by the yeast, protects human cellular membranes, and combined with Gluconic acid which is produced by the bacteria, strengthens the walls of the gut in order to combat yeast infections such as candida.
Nucleic acids
Such as RNA and DNA, transmit information to the cells on how to perform correctly and regenerate.
Amino acids
Constituents of proteins, produce important enzymes, such as glutathione a powerful antioxidant which provides protection from alcohol and pollution, and which is depleted by drug regimes.
Similarities & Differences
All Kombucha cultures differ, but produce similar effects! The specific organic acids that are found in the Kombucha beverage will vary according to the proportion of bacteria to yeast cells, and to the particular species of each. It is undoubtedly true that, despite the variation of species of yeasts and bacteria found in Kombucha cultures all over the world and over time, amounting to different species types, the effect on the human body seems to be similar. This does not help the microbiologist whose discipline requires constituents to be identical in order to come to deductive conclusions about the efficacy of Kombucha for certain diseases or physical conditions. Medical herbalists are familiar with the idea that a whole family of plants provide a particular message or a specific healing property, no matter what individual type it is within the species, eg; a lemon thyme will have the same therapeutic properties as a common thyme, etc.*5
Tea and Sugar's Role in Kombucha
Tea (camillia sinesis) is very nutritious (especially in its unfermented green form, see p. PAGEREF 51). It is high in fluorides and has anti-carcinogenic properties; it provides nitrogen, minerals, vitamins, and other substances essential for nutrition, and promotes the growth of the micro-organisms and the cellular construction of the Kombucha culture. Green tea is also high in vitamin C.
Sugar plays an essential part in Kombucha's brewing process, providing a nutrient solution for the culture, assisting in the feeding and respiration of the micro-organisms, and activating the yeasts. It also gets the fermentation process going. The yeast cells make certain organic acids, vitamins and supplementary yeasts, while the bacteria produce carbonation, ethanol and other organic acids. The bacteria break down the sugars into acetic acid and carbon dioxide.
The Importance of Polysaccharides in Cancer and Digestive Disorders
Sugars also play a part as polysaccharides, which form the fundamental connective tissue of all human organs. Their ability to cope with metabolic waste products is a crucial part of a healthy body. The Japanese have conducted interesting research with these substances within the area of immuno-therapeutics, very much the domain of Kombucha therapy. These tests focus on the role of polysaccharides which are found in Kombucha and their positive effect on macrophages and T-cells. One trial showed that the survival rate in cancer sufferers given polysaccharides was twice that of patients undergoing conventional treatment. A German naturopathic clinic in Gaggenau, Germany, did trials which showed the curative effects of polysaccharides on gastro-intestinal ailments as well as cancers.*6
Symbiosis - Working Together and Restoring Balance in the Body
The German microbiologist and cancer researcher*7 Prof. Günther Enderlein (1872-1968), developed the theory of pleomorphism (many-formedness) which is now becoming established worldwide. This is based on the idea that microbiological life goes through cycles from very primitive forms of virus through bacteria to fungi. They exist in all these forms throughout the human body, their balance depending on environmental factors both inside and outside the body. When they are symbiotic or mutually dependent, there is health, and when in disharmony disease is likely to result. Enderlein was particularly interested in how groups of microbes interacted with one another.*8
Just as Nature requires a balanced diversity of life forms in the natural environment, so it does in the microbial ecology of our bodies. So, as long as we dont ingest manufactured chemicals and pollutants or expose our bodies to stressful conditions which might disturb this diversity, there will be a healthful balance in the microbial life. Few of us are able to live a purist lifestyle, no matter how aware we are of the negative effects in this modern world. This is why we need to take a course of action, like Kombucha therapy, that detoxifies our system, in order to keep our internal microbial ecology healthy.
The Question of Candida
The opposite of symbiosis is dysbiosis, working against each other as in dis-ease. Enderlein was the earliest contributor to a better under-standing of the vexed question concerning Candida (candida albicans), a yeast fungus in our bodies that has since got out of hand through the widespread use of antibiotics. [While antibiotics are used to destroy the pathogenic (harmful) bacteria in the body, they also destroy, or severely damage, the friendly bacteria as well.] It is now widely recognised that the common fungus Candida is found in two forms; one that can live symbiotically with the body microflora and which is beneficial, and the other better- known pathological form, which is often the result of a self-defensive mutation caused by antibiotics, and is harmful.*9 The latter is usually treated by an anti-fungal antibiotic with limited effectiveness, because its action is usually short-lived, allowing the pathogenic form to return. Candida is thought by many naturopaths to be one of the most invasive forms of fungal pathogens, responsible for, or contributing largely to, many serious illnesses today, including Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis) and cancer.*10 The gut is usually the primary site of pathogenic candida, and we have many reports from candida sufferers that Kombucha tea has helped to control it. (See Candida, p.76)
A typical yeast in Kombucha, saccharomycodes, does not have spores and is not in the candida family. It is therefore antagonistic to the troublesome yeast that infects so many people. Whereas most ascomycetes such as those found in penicillin, ergot, bread mould, mildew, thrush and others reproduce by means of spores, most yeasts reproduce vegetatively by budding. The Fission yeasts reproduce by means of fission-like bacteria, they dont bud or have spores. The pombe fission yeast of the Kombucha culture belongs to this type and is beneficial to Candia sufferers.