What on earth is kombucha?

"Kombucha has been promoted with claims that it can treat a wide variety of human illnesses, including AIDS, cancer, and diabetes, and that it provides other beneficial effects such as stimulation of the immune system, boosting the libido, and reversal of gray hair. Many people use it for medicinal purposes. However, evidence of kombucha's beneficial effects in humans is absent." Wikipedia

The bottle above is the cause of this post. I just happened to notice it in the supermarket. Actually in my head I was going to do something on kale - and I will - and so I began looking at things with kale in them, and this particular product caught my eye. I didn't note the price, but I think it would be $4.00-$5.00, judging from the Parker's website. It's not a very big bottle - so you'd really want to buy it wouldn't you? You can buy a pack of 12 from them for $55.00. 12 days supply. I think you're supposed to have one a day. And then you are probably supposed to have one of their Nourish products as well. I think you need to be rich to be a health food freak - well a commercial health food freak. Doing it yourself is somewhat different of course.

Anyway the first ingredient, kombucha caught my eye (I'll do spirulina, the last item, another time). I had never heard of this and it seems to me that every time I go into the supermarket - and I'm not talking health food shops, just ordinary supermarkets - there is some new and very strange ingredient there somewhere.

So I looked it up and found a whole lot of stuff about it and also about Parker's. This picture here is of kombucha. What is this revolting looking stuff? Well it's fermented sweetened tea - black or green. Which is also a bit coincidental because Michael Mosley was talking up the benefits of fermented foods yesterday on Trust Me I'm a Doctor. The thesis was that they helped the production of all those good bacteria you should have in your gut. So go eat sauerkraut and kimchi.

But with respect to kombucha the evidence for its benefits is entirely lacking and there is some, admittedly not conclusive, evidence that it can be harmful in certain conditions. Though it's possible that this may have been due to people making it themselves in an unhygienic manner. Which is an odd word to use when you are talking about bacteria isn't it?

There are several articles out there saying beware of kombucha - it can be alcoholic for one thing, and there is sugar in it - never a good thing, and those cold-pressed organic juices basically remove the fibre in the vegetables, fibre being what makes them good - well one of their benefits. So if you must make your own - but carefully.

Parker's is not, of course, the only company to use it, but it's the one I saw. It's a proudly Australian company founded by Alicia Parker - daughter of Mr. Juice - John Parker, who wanted to give her children organic fruit drinks. Their base is in Sydney and they proudly say they only use fruit and vegetables that are certified organic, and that these are cold-pressed. It's made and shipped out daily. Because this is the other thing - you should drink it fresh. Indeed most of the comments I saw said that you should never drink bottled kombucha. You should make your own. And your own green smoothies too - for this is what they are really isn't it? And really it's not so hard to do - you just need a liquidiser.

Well that was what I learnt today.