Kombucha: benefits and harms, contraindications and application features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Surely everyone has seen amazing creatures floating in three-liter jars in the kitchens of many people more than once. However, what it is - a fungal formation or a living being - is unlikely to be able to answer. In fact, it is tea jellyfish, also known as kombucha, Japanese mushroom, Japanese uterus, Manchurian mushroom, fango, kombucha kombucha, or sea kvass, formed by a combination of yeast and acetic bacteria. This product has been known to mankind for a very long time: the first mention of it was found in Chinese chronicles dated 250 BC. However, there is still heated debate about the benefits and harms of kombucha.

Tea jellyfish: a symbiosis of fungi and bacteria

A certain substance formed by strains of various microorganisms displays the result of interactionyeast-like fungi and bacteria. This layered body, floating on the surface of the sweet nutrient medium, recycles it. In the process of life, kombucha ferments sugar, resulting in ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Therefore, the drink has a slightly carbonated taste.

Fango: past and present

From time immemorial, people have known about the benefits of kombucha (no harm was found at that time) and for centuries have used its positive properties for medicinal purposes. The earliest references to this amazing product were found in ancient Chinese treatises from 250 BC. Although many scientists claim that it came to China much earlier from Tibet.

In our country, the fango mushroom appeared only about 200 years ago. Initially, the inhabitants of Transbaikalia used it as a healing agent, but soon this product gained fame as a delicious drink and gradually spread throughout the country. People quickly appreciated the unusual taste and benefits of kombucha for the body, while no one noticed any harm.

Kombucha still lives in the kitchens of many people and is successfully used as a kind of homemade lemonade. However, not everyone can calmly perceive the healing infusion: a completely unpresentable appearance causes fear and even disgust in some people.

Panacea for all diseases or placebo

Revealing the benefits and harms of kombucha, scientists have found that drinks prepared on its basis have anti-inflammatoryand antimicrobial properties. In some cases, these products can normalize intestinal activity and relieve the symptoms of hypertension. Many claim the sedative properties of such infusions: regular use of liquid soothes, normalizes sleep and even relieves headaches. However, despite all the doctors' reviews about the benefits and harms of kombucha, it cannot be considered a panacea for all diseases.

Modern Research

People began to think about the possible harm and benefits of homemade kombucha relatively recently, since the true essence of this education began to be carefully studied only in recent years.

It turned out that a drink prepared on the basis of the vital activity of a tea jellyfish really has healing properties. It has a beneficial effect on the body and cleanses it of the appearance of pathogenic microflora. Useful for many diseases, because it contains a whole vitamin complex, essential acids and enzymes.

However, not all people can use it. It is contraindicated in patients suffering from certain diseases of the endocrine system, a number of pathologies of the gallbladder liver and urolithiasis. This product should not be used by persons with individual intolerance to the components of the drink.

Healing properties

The tonic properties of this drink are undeniable. Convincing and its beneficial effect on the work of the digestive tract. Microorganisms whose vital activity causes the process of fermentation in tea kvass, getting intointestinal system, have a beneficial effect on the microflora of the body. They have antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

Another healing component of the drink is gluconic acid. This element increases the efficiency of muscle tissues and normalizes metabolic processes.

Use in traditional medicine

Despite its potential harm, kombucha, whose benefits have been known for thousands of years, is widely used in folk medicine. It is used in the treatment of hypertension and atherosclerosis, tonsillitis and tonsillitis, for the relief of headache, hypertension and idiopathic paroxysmal tachycardia. With its help get rid of colitis, diarrhea and constipation. Kombucha is recommended for physical and psycho-emotional overwork.

Today you can hear a lot of talk and reviews about the benefits and harms of kombucha, the effect of which is sometimes doubtful among supporters of traditional medicine. For example, that the infusion heals festering and rotting wounds, or that small layers of fango are applied to burns and abrasions.

Kombucha drinks are said to be best absorbed when consumed in the morning (on an empty stomach) and in the evening (right before bed).

Drink with pleasure

Many people drink kombucha drink not because it is he althy, but because it is delicious. Indeed, there is nothing more pleasant than drinking a glass of cool sea kvass in hot weather. This tonic liquid is the perfect thirst quencher.

The prepared drink does not heat up in a warm room andcan be stored in the refrigerator for a long time. It should be noted that even with prolonged storage, it does not lose taste. It goes well with honey and lemon, so you can always make tea kvass to your own taste.

Doctors' opinions

However, sometimes these he althy ingredients can be harmful to he alth. According to doctors, the harm from eating kombucha in some cases can be caused by the presence of a large amount of acids. With gastritis with a low ph level, these substances have a healing effect and are necessary for the body. At the same time, in gastritis with an elevated ph level, the presence of acids can exacerbate the disease.

Experts do not recommend using such products in large quantities, since the effect of the so-called sea kvass has not been fully studied. In addition, we must not forget that this remedy has only an auxiliary effect and is unlikely to replace medications in the treatment of serious diseases. Therefore, it, like any other method of traditional medicine, must be used wisely.

Use in cosmetology

Kombucha is in demand in home cosmetology. Its infusion helps in the fight against various skin defects, in the presence of inflammatory processes, from dry skin. It is believed that the regular use of such a product makes the skin smooth and supple.

Compresses made on the basis of this drink allow you to narrow the large pores of the face. Cellulite wraps - another benefitJapanese kombucha. Harm in the form of unwanted peeling or rashes can only be due to individual intolerance to the product. However, such manifestations are extremely rare. Many women note the effect of using such an infusion as the basis for homemade masks. The beneficial properties of kombucha are used even in the treatment of psoriasis.

Contraindications and precautions

Despite the huge list of healing properties, it has kombucha and contraindications. The benefits and harms of this product often cause controversy between the patient and the doctor. It has been proven that the use of fango is completely contraindicated in:

• diseases accompanied by increased production of gastric juice - this is gastritis with high acidity and duodenal ulcer;
• exacerbations of diseases of the gallbladder, as well as after its removal;
• diabetes type 1;
• diseases caused by fungal infections;
• Urolithiasis.

The benefits and harms of kombucha during pregnancy have not been fully studied, so kombucha infusions should be used with caution during this period. Do not give this drink to children under 5 years of age. The presence of alcohol in this product can adversely affect the condition of the baby. Adolescents can use it only in the absence of allergic manifestations.

You should not abuse this drink for people suffering from symptoms of tachycardia and manifestations of hypotension. Before driving,it is also better to refuse the use of fango.

Kombucha in diets

In the old days, Japanese geisha used kombucha to keep their slimness and youth for a long time. Such benefits of Kombucha Kombucha (no harm or other undesirable consequences were mentioned in any source) were used in Ancient Japan many centuries ago.

But how can kombucha help? It turns out that thanks to the unique composition in combination with a properly balanced diet, sea kvass helps to lose weight. The enzymes in kombucha help break down proteins and fats.

The presence of gluconic acid in the drink improves the metabolic processes in the body, which speeds up the process of losing weight. Kombucha allows muscles and tissues to remain elastic. Regular consumption of tea kvass ensures the preservation of a slender body and youthful skin.

Special herbal preparations added to the drink will help to enhance the effect. To do this, take 1 tablespoon of peppermint, medicinal dandelion roots, fennel and parsley seeds, brew with boiling water and insist for 30-40 minutes. The broth is filtered and diluted with tea kvass in equal proportions. If you use this mixture daily in the mornings and evenings, then very soon a positive result will be obvious. The beneficial effect will affect not only the harmony of the body, but also the condition of the skin.

How to prepare a drink

To cook really tasty, he althy and healingdrink, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for growing the fungus. This will require a large glass jar, for example, three-liter, clean boiled water at room temperature, sugar (100 grams per liter of water) and tea (3 tablespoons). Tea can be absolutely anything - black, white, red or green.

In the process of cooking, we must not forget that there is a living organism in a glass container, which requires careful treatment. Any mechanical influences, high water temperature, direct sunlight or lack of oxygen are detrimental to the tea jellyfish. When draining the infusion, we must not forget that the fungus needs a fresh nutrient medium, otherwise it will dry out.

Kombucha care

The mushroom is unpretentious and does not require any special care. It is only important to consider that it will not develop in opaque dishes, because it needs sunlight, but at the same time does not tolerate direct sunlight. The jar cannot be closed with a lid, it is enough to cover the neck with gauze folded in several layers. Without air, the fungus will simply suffocate and die.

In the warm season, the infusion is drained every three to four days and placed in the refrigerator. In winter, the vital activity of the fungus slows down a little, so in the cold season the drink will be ready only for 5-6 days.

Once a month, the mushroom must be removed from the jar and washed under running warm water. If the top layer has become dark or brown, then the care was wrong. Color change can also occur due to overripeness of the infusion. In thatcase, the liquid is completely replaced.

In order for the mushroom to grow well and develop fully, it is necessary to regularly add the required amount of cold sweet tea. You can not pour sugar directly into a jar of kombucha - such mechanical effects lead to a burn of the mucous membrane of the jellyfish and its subsequent death.

The optimum ambient temperature for the normal existence of tea jellyfish is from 17 to 25˚С. If fango is placed in cooler conditions, then algae will grow in its body, which makes the infusion toxic and consuming such a mushroom and a tea drink (the benefits and harms of which lose their value) is dangerous to he alth. The amazing thing is that kombucha can live and develop for years, taking up more and more space in the container, but parasites never start in it.