Kombucha

[Guest guest]

About kombucha, I never understood why it is recommended by the WAP Foundation.

I mean, maybe it contains lactic acid, but it's made with refined sugar and I'm

sure it always contains some residue sugar. I've tried some store-bought

kombucha before and it was disgustingly sweet.

Wouldn't the residue sugar outhweigh any possible health benefits? I should add

that I'm extremely sensitive to sugar, so maybe I'm biased. But still, isn't

refined sugar the health killer #1?

[Guest guest]

The fermentation process converts the sugars to acid, so there shouldn't be

much sugar left in the finished product, according to my understanding. I'm

not concerned about residual sugar. After all, there is sugar in fruit and

honey and maple syrup and all kinds of other stuff. The trace sugar left in

kombucha is not a big deal to me.

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 5:27 AM, doublethink03 <doublethink03@...>wrote:

>

>

> About kombucha, I never understood why it is recommended by the WAP

> Foundation. I mean, maybe it contains lactic acid, but it's made with

> refined sugar and I'm sure it always contains some residue sugar. I've tried

> some store-bought kombucha before and it was disgustingly sweet.

>

> Wouldn't the residue sugar outhweigh any possible health benefits? I should

> add that I'm extremely sensitive to sugar, so maybe I'm biased. But still,

> isn't refined sugar the health killer #1?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am caffeine-sensitive and sugar-sensitive. I have felt that kombucha

helps me keep candida at bay, along with lacto-fermented veggies,

water kefir, yogurt/kefir, etc etc. (If I could only choose one, I'd

keep the lacto-fermented veggies, but that would be a difficult choice!)

The point of kombucha is that it is supposed to have metabolized the

sugar and caffeine and left behind healthful acids and probiotics. If

you don't let it culture sufficiently, there could be small amounts of

sugar left over. The store-bought kombucha (GT's, also a couple of

other brands out now) is often too sweet, especially if you get one of

the flavored ones. Since the culture will further develop, albeit

slowly, after bottling, they probably have to undershoot it a bit to

avoid selling vinegar, You'll see on the GT's label at least what the

sugar content is and it's much higher for some of the flavors. If you

culture it sufficiently and it's not sweet enough, you can add a

couple of drops of stevia.

I think WAPF recommends kombucha simply because it is a traditional

fermented beverage with probiotics. A lot of claims have been made for

kombucha that probably don't stand up to scrutiny, but many people

find it at the very least a refreshing, more healthful alternative to

commercial sodas. It's worth noting that they don't necessarily

recommend drinking it by the gallon, but more like 4-6 ounces a day,

if memory serves. Sally notes in NT that " some individuals may have an

allergic reaction to kombucha. . . If you react badly, use beet kvass

several weeks to detoxify and then try again. " Certainly there's no

need to drink it if you don't like it or react badly and you have

other sources of probiotics.

Jeanmarie

On Oct 2, 2009, at 2:27 AM, doublethink03 wrote:

> About kombucha, I never understood why it is recommended by the WAP

> Foundation. I mean, maybe it contains lactic acid, but it's made

> with refined sugar and I'm sure it always contains some residue

> sugar. I've tried some store-bought kombucha before and it was

> disgustingly sweet.

>

> Wouldn't the residue sugar outhweigh any possible health benefits? I

> should add that I'm extremely sensitive to sugar, so maybe I'm

> biased. But still, isn't refined sugar the health killer #1?

>

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

So that does work? I've read so many times that the kombucha bacteria thrive on

nothing but white sugar.

Hans

[Guest guest]

Jeanmarie,

thank you for the clarification.

Hans