If you drink kombucha chances are you have heard a bit about the health benefits of this raw, fermented superfood. Here is what Answers Pet Food has to say about including fermented, decaffeinated green tea in their meals.
An old country doctor from the Alexandrov district near Moscow noticed his peasant patients had no cancer. The doctor, curious about this, started investigating… and discovered this: To save money on tea, the muzhiks of that locality brewed not tea, but chaga, otherwise known as the birch-tree mushroom.
Actually, it’s not even a birch-tree mushroom, but a birch-tree cancer, a sort of ugly growth on old birch trees. It is dome-shaped, black on the outside, and dark brown inside. It occurred to doctor Maslennikov that this tea made from the birch tree mushroom could be the magic remedy the Russian peasants, without realizing it, had been using to cure themselves of cancer for hundreds of years.
Many claim the Kombucha fungus was already in use 2000 years ago in China, and also existed for a long time now in Japan and Korea. Particularly in China, the grandmother kept a jar of it on hand and was responsible for the preparation of the tea. When a daughter in the family got married and moved out to live with her husband, the Kombucha culture was passed down to the granddaughter to provide health and longevity to her family. The culture acted as a family heirloom.
Below is a complete breakdown of the ingredients of Kombucha tea and a beneficial function of each. Remember, this describes the final product of the tea, fermented with a Kombucha culture.
LACTIC ACID: Found in Kombucha in its most potent form L-lactic(+). Lactic acid is essential for the digestive system.
ACETIC ACID: Its main function is to inhibit harmful bacteria. Acetic acid performs as a preservative because of this action.
MALIC ACID: Also used in the body’s detoxification process.
OXALIC ACID: A natural preservative that encourages the cellular production of energy.
GLUCONIC ACID: Effective against many yeast infections such as Candida and thrush.
BUTYRIC ACID: Produced by the yeasts and when working with gluconic acid, may help combat yeast infections such as Candida.
NUCLEIC ACID: Works with the body to aid healthy cell regeneration.
AMINO ACID: A group of acids that are the building blocks of protein. Your muscular system is made of proteins.
ENZYMES: Proteins that act as catalysts, speeding the rate at which biochemical reactions proceed.
Kombucha also contains Vitamin Groups B and C, Beneficial Yeasts and LIVING Bacteria (you know like the cultures in yogurt).