Candida and Kombucha

[Betsy]

Does Kombucha feed Candida, or is it good to drink to kill the candida?

Since it's made with sugar, it seems to me that it still has sugar in it and would feed the yeast?
Anyone, please?:)
thanx

[bornagnhippy]

Does Kombucha feed Candida, or is it good to drink to kill the candida?

Since it's made with sugar, it seems to me that it still has sugar in it and would feed the yeast?
Anyone, please?:)
thanx
Certain brands (if you're buying it) have less sugar than some. From what I've read most of the sugar is "eaten" by the mushroom which is why candida sufferers can drink it. The longer it's fermented, the less the sugar content. There is one brand that has a really high sugar content and I have to wonder if they've added sugar to make it more appealling. I've been battling candida for several months and drink kombucha daily without nasty side effects. I think the probiotics outweigh the sugar effects...kind of like eating yogurt.

[Clare]

You can make your own easily and cheaply and let the kombucha eat up more sugar. I make a strong black tea with 1 cup sugar in 3 quarts of tea. Then I add all this to my big glass jar (2gal) with the "mushroom" and the remaining gallon of kombucha. After about a week, there is no sweetness and it tastes very cider/vinegary and wonderful. Then I take about half of it, leaving a gallon, and bottle it in glass mason jars to refrigerate, and start again making tea. This way there is continuous fermentation and you always get the really good stuff which takes 21 days.

You don't need a mushroom to start, just a bottle of good kombucha from the store, like GT Dave's, which I used because I love it and now mine tastes like it (before I used a mail-order mushroom and it wasn't as tasty). Take the whole bottle and dump it into your sweet tea, once it has cooled. Make sure to make your tea in stainless steel and store in glass only. Cover your fermentation jar with a tea towel and rubber band to keep out dust, etc and allow air flow.

[Betsy]

I bought GT's Grape, and it's higher in sugar then the plain, which is only 2 as apposed to 7 g. sugar. Just wonder what makes the difference? I mean, they are both by the same manufacturer and fermented, ect, right?
thankx.

[Clare]

I think they add grape juice after fermentation...anyway, if you like the stuff you'd be crazy not to grow your own mushroom! Use the plain kind as starter...when you bottle it, you can add flavors like ginger, etc.

[Skay]

Hi Clare,

Which black tea brand do you buy or use?

I'm interested as I heard the kind of tea one buys is important. I've heard to use regular Lipton black tea is recommended and not to use organic tea which might have dirt particles in it (it might interefere with the fermenting process??).

I've never made kombucha tea. I really love the taste of Dave's GT brand.

Thanks!

[Betsy]

I know, but if it feeds Candida? Does anybody know for sure if it's good or bad for that?:rolleyes:

[belleadonna]

Mushroom is fungus. Fungus feeds candida.

[Betsy]

Yes, but I thought that the "mushroom" really isn't a real mushroom??

[belleadonna]

I dunno. :confused:

[Blazin'Jane]

I've just started reading douglas grahams book The 80-10-10 diet. he says that it's not the fruit (sugar) that is the problem with candida, rather having too much fat with the fruit. ;)

[Clare]

Yes, it's not a mushroom but a symbiotic colony of yeasts and bacteria (hence the name S.C.O.B.Y. that you'll see). The yeasts are not the candida variety and many people believe they can help crowd out candida, especially in combo with the good bacteria in kombucha. But who really knows for sure...

I have used everything from Lipton to organic green. My favorite is probably Oolong which is sort of halfway between green and black. I get a huge box pretty cheap from Iherb.com. I don't think it particularly matters but I'm not an expert. I just know it works and it tastes good and the scoby seems to be happy :-)

[Skay]

Clare, thanks for the tea tips. I agree with the SCOBY being happy and the taste - sounds good to me.

[beckx]

You can make your own easily and cheaply and let the kombucha eat up more sugar. I make a strong black tea with 1 cup sugar in 3 quarts of tea. Then I add all this to my big glass jar (2gal) with the "mushroom" and the remaining gallon of kombucha. After about a week, there is no sweetness and it tastes very cider/vinegary and wonderful. Then I take about half of it, leaving a gallon, and bottle it in glass mason jars to refrigerate, and start again making tea. This way there is continuous fermentation and you always get the really good stuff which takes 21 days.

You don't need a mushroom to start, just a bottle of good kombucha from the store, like GT Dave's, which I used because I love it and now mine tastes like it (before I used a mail-order mushroom and it wasn't as tasty). Take the whole bottle and dump it into your sweet tea, once it has cooled. Make sure to make your tea in stainless steel and store in glass only. Cover your fermentation jar with a tea towel and rubber band to keep out dust, etc and allow air flow.

Clare, when you do this using just gt's as a starter does a mother eventually form on it?

[Clare]

Yes, that's exactly what happens. It will make its own mushroom because the living stuff is in the kombucha itself. Sometimes the GT bottles even have a tiny little piece of slippery "mother" that they have started to form...either way though it has worked for me all three times I started fresh.

[rawstrength]

I just had my first bottle of G.T's kombucha yesterday. It was SO yummy! I tried the strawberry flavor. Mmmmmmmm.

Now I'm going to have to start making my own! Can you use honey instead of sugar? I'd prefer not to buy white sugar for a combination of healthy, ethical, and economical reasons. Honey or blended dates are my sweeteners of choice. One would think that bacteria/yeast would prefer natural sugar, so it might work?

[goodbeets]

As far as I have been told (by a very reputable source) Kombucha is made with sugar and is definately NOT good for candida.

[Rawkinlocs]

Yes, kombucha is made with sugar however, the sugar feeds the scoby...the whole process that it undergoes converts the sugar over to a form that does not have the same effect on us as when we consume it otherwise.

Kombucha is and has been touted to have a very favorable effect on candida. I was a candida sufferer for many years prior to going raw and the times I've yielded to cooked food and had sugar, my candida would flair up. But when I drink kombucha, it does not flair up at all.

[Rawkinlocs]

I just had my first bottle of G.T's kombucha yesterday. It was SO yummy! I tried the strawberry flavor. Mmmmmmmm.

Now I'm going to have to start making my own! Can you use honey instead of sugar? I'd prefer not to buy white sugar for a combination of healthy, ethical, and economical reasons. Honey or blended dates are my sweeteners of choice. One would think that bacteria/yeast would prefer natural sugar, so it might work?

Rawstrength,

I would not recommend honey as from what I've read during my kombucha research is that, honey has natural antibacterial properties...the scoby is a colony of (beneficial) bacteria and (beneficial) yeast and honey would weaken or perhaps even kill the scoby.

So, you can use what I've been using when making mine and that's the Fair Trade organic evaporated cane juice. Costco's sells the HUGE bag of it for like $6-7. It has worked very well for me and I've noticed that my baby scobys are nice and fat as opposed to when I was making it with white sugar and they turned out thin and flimsy. I also use organic black and green teas (a combo of the two).

[Rawkinlocs]

Mushroom is fungus. Fungus feeds candida.

The kombucha "mushroom" is not actually a mushroom...it's just called that. It's a scoby, which is an acronym for Symobiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast (and before it's said that yeast is bad for candida...it's beneficial and very much balanced out as to not cause issues with candida).

[Rawkinlocs]

Sorry for so many back-to-back posts! I guess I'm just passionate about my 'bucha-bucha! :o :p

Here is something on Kombucha and Candida: http://www.kombu.de/candida.htm

There is much more information out there too...this was the first site I came across and I felt it conveyed the message well enough to not search any further...but feel free to do so!

[Clare]

Wow, thanks for the Costco sugar tip...I need to look there as I've been getting it in bulk at Whole Foods and my scoby eats at about a cup per week. Yes, i agree it needs to be sugar and not honey for sure. I wouldn't mess with dates either, which would require boiling to prevent molds and straining, as well as being expensive! They could make a tasty post-ferment addition if you wanted it sweeter at the end (like some people add ginger or raisins in their glass).

THe SCOBY is turning the sugar into fabulous detoxifying compounds - it's not like you're drinking tea and sugar anymore...

[Betsy]

I was doing fine until about a month ago, when I began drinking Kombucha. I ended up with severe candida. That's the only thing I did differt in my 100 percent raw food diet, too. :(

Thank you.

[Clare]

Can I ask you what you mean by "really severe candida"? I am so curious how you knew that. Do you mean you got a yeast infection or what other symptoms? B/C I have always wondered about candida myself and I am thinking that all the time I thought I had it I really didn't...

[Betsy]

My skin broke out with ithcy bumps and I got ecxema really bad.

[Clare]

Could that be some other type of reaction? My two-year-old gets facial excema from wheat "junk" though not from sprouted wheat...
Allergy? I just wonder about candida...

[Nini]

Clare - you stated you made a STRONG black tea. How much longer did you brew it? Or did you mean in flavor??

Could tell me the exact way you do this? I have all the ingredients!

[Betsy]

As far as I have been told (by a very reputable source) Kombucha is made with sugar and is definately NOT good for candida.

Exactly. Since I began this thread, I stopped Kombucha and my Candida has gone. Kombucha is made with sugar and fungus, as I've learned. Thanks for the info.

[Clare]

Nini: I bring 3 quarts of water to a boil with a cup of sugar and 6 tea bags (using oolong from iherb.com at the moment). Make sure to stir a couple times to keep the sugar from making a crust at the bottom. When it comes just to a boil, remove from heat and put a lid on it. It will take hours now to cool and just leave those tea bags in there until you are ready to transfer to your glass brewing jar. Then squeeze them out with tongs and remove. At least that's how I learned to do it...but just start out and you'll learn how easy it is.

I do a sort of continual brew where I bottle half of the brew and then pour the cooled tea right in on top of the scoby. That way I get the benefits of some very long fermentation. Every few times I set all of the kombucha aside to clean the big glass jar. When the scoby gets very thick and ugly I throw it away and let the kombucha make a new one. If you have plenty of starter kombucha it'll make a scoby.

Betsy, I am so sorry about your skin reaction. Kombucha is full of so many different compounds that the bacteria and yeasts produce. My guess is that you are reacting to one of those compounds, since all of us already contain the microbes in kombucha and there should be plenty of lacobacilli to keep the yeasts in check...as far as sugar, I don't drink the kombucha until the sweetness and the tea flavor are gone and it tastes nothing like tea but like a tangy vinegar. There has got to be far more sugar in my green smoothies! I hope you don't have skin reactions to sweet raw foods...

[christofu]

My skin broke out with ithcy bumps and I got ecxema really bad.

Betsy,

If you "break-out" in ecxema from anything else, try using calendula. :) See link;

http://health.howstuffworks.com/calendula-herbal-remedies.htm

[Andrew J. Wallace]

I use green or white teas. Peach-green and blueberry-green tea are excellent choices. Lately, I have been using green anemones, which hold together rather well during steeping for easy removal. If I use black tea, my scoby will not produce as much carbonation, but carbonation is good, so I don't recommend black tea, unless it's a light black tea (greenish). Also, after bottling, it is important to let the bottled kombucha to rest at room temperature to encourage carbonation (then, put it in the refrigerator for at least a week). Before doing this, however, it is fun to experiment with tasty infusions, such as using dried fruits, crystallized ginger, and/or honey (to make oxymel) to enhance flavor. Blueberries and raspberries are good starting points. Just remember, kombucha does not respond well to oils (one reason that herbal teas sometimes don't work), so make certain there is no oil in your dried fruits, since it is often added to cherries and blueberries. And remember... always sterilize your bottles, hands, or anything that will touch the scoby or the kombucha tea, with WHITE vinegar, not apple cider vinegar.

[Stina]

For starter's, we'd need to clarify if we really have candida. We tend to accidentally use this as a blanket term for a whole host of parasitic conditions, various yeast and bacterial overgrowths and more. Which would explain why one "candida" diet works for one person and not the next.
I personally and unfortunately do get some weird reactions to kombucha. For one thing, I get wired then too tired and that mental fog thing going on, regardless of the quality of the product, even homemade. Howevery, I'll still drink it for very special occasions like going out to see live music which I hardly do, 'cause it's fun to get wired once in a while. Mostly, I just don't like how it's habit forming.
Oh, incidentally Victoria Boutenko gives it the thumb down.

[dolphinman]

I was doing fine until about a month ago, when I began drinking Kombucha. I ended up with severe candida. That's the only thing I did differt in my 100 percent raw food diet, too. :(

Thank you.

From last year, I don't know, if your Kombucha, which gave you rashes was pure, like Clare said to make, or was store-bought / made to be tasty with sugar or added flavors. :confused:
I am curious, as I am about to start another attempt at a Candida cleanse, diet. Thanks. -Scott.

Also, the really ripe homemade Kombucha does take longer than a week to make. (I thought, that my three week stuff was great, like a strong cider.)
And, one week old still has some sugar, right?

[Mylia]

The specific probiotic organisms contained in kombucha SCOBYs (symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast) can vary from source to source. Many commercial brands do not provide a listing of their contents, however, Dave's GT Synergy brand guarantees at least 1 billion organisms each of S. Boulardii, L. Fermentum, and L. Plantarum per bottle.

According to Elizabeth Lipsky, author of Digestive Wellness, S. Boulardii is a friendly probiotic yeast which stimulates production of sIgA and IgG, antibodies which provide our first line of defense against pathogens, and can help to protect us from the many toxins Candida produce. Animal studies (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17885943) have shown S. Boulardii to decrease inflammation and intestinal colonization of Candida. Likewise, L. Fermentum (http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/11/1500) has been shown to strongly inhibit Candida and other harmful yeasts. Most Kombucha cultures also contain other strains of Lactobaccilus bacteria, including L. Acidophilus, which can discourage disease causing microbes by acidifying the intestinal tract and by producing hydrogen peroxide, which kills Candida directly.

I have heard some people argue that the sugar in kombucha can feed harmful yeasts, however, the SCOBY digests nearly all of the sugars before the kombucha is bottled. If you take a peek at the nutrition facts, you will find sugar contents as low as 3 grams per bottle. The level of sweeteners can vary though, so if you suffer from Candidiasis, always be careful to read the label. Above all, listen to your body. If something doesn't feel right, it may not be the best treatment for you.

[Bookish Lass]

My husband was convinced that my kombucha was greatly aggravating his candida (and I let it ferment a long time so there was no sugar) so he stopped drinking it.

[Marthamary]

If you have candida or think you have it then DO NOT TAKE KOMBUCHA. It increases and aggravates yeast infections (candida)
I've tried it twice 6 months apart and each time bang I get an increase of my yeast symptoms. ex. discharge, abdominal swelling, gas, cramps. I even get short tempered.

[Marthamary]

If you have candida or think you have it then DO NOT TAKE KOMBUCHA. It increases and aggravates yeast infections (candida)
I've tried it twice 6 months apart and each time bang I get an increase of my yeast symptoms. ex. discharge, abdominal swelling, gas, cramps. I even get short tempered.

[Marthamary]

If you have candida or think you have it then DO NOT TAKE KOMBUCHA. It increases and aggravates yeast infections (candida)
I've tried it twice 6 months apart and each time bang I get an increase of my yeast symptoms. ex. discharge, abdominal swelling, gas, cramps.

[slayer]

I have heard if you take cell food for 3 months then it will cure your candida.

[tloftus]

I thought I'd try making my own kombucha, and was very careful and clean. I thought it might help my excess yeast because of the probiotic claims. Well, needless to say, after two days of consuming my kombucha, things got very bad, and that's what got me to try going 100% raw. I advise those suffering with candida to stay away from all fermentation processes until all is cleared up. A friend of mine told me it could take up to a month to clear up a very bad case, which I think I've got.