Kombucha, the fermented tonic that's flying off the shelves of health food stores, has generated much hype of late. Whether it's being touted as a skin enhancer, candida-killer, general detoxifier, and more recently, the
hangover cure of the century, it certainly seems to have much to offer. It's offered at Whole Food, the mecca of sickies and health junkies alike, so I thought, "at worst it couldn't hurt..."
The practitioner that first told me to try it said it "wipes out candida on contact," and that I only needed to take 1-2 ounces, about 2 gulps, a day. That claim was too hard to resist, and I actually think she might be right based on my experience with it. However, she failed to mention that killing fungus with a remedy containing a different fungus still means you have fungus. Which is fine for healthy folks, but doesn't bode well for mold-sensitive folks (if you think you may have mold sensitivity, get your HLA-DR genotype checked).
The first time I drank it, I bypassed the 2 ounce mousey gulps and went in for the kill. It reminded me too much of beer (sad, given the only similarity in taste is fermentation) for me not to stop until I finished the whole bottle. Then I drank another bottle a few hours later. In retrospect, I remember not only not being able to sleep, but feeling like my heart switched from a Prius engine to a "so much muscle it drowns out all the childhood bullies" Ferrari engine. I didn't feel ill but I definitely felt borderline anaphylactic. At the time I thought it was just due to taking too much iodine.
Fast forward 2 weeks: lowered the iodine, sleeping well, tested positive for Candida (been eating a lot more sugar lately), and decided to try to Kombucha again--this time just a few gulps--and the feeling of my body aggressively trying to fight off some sorta poison came back. I talked to my doc the next day, and after she energetically tested me, she asked "Did you eat any raw nuts?" "No....But I did have Kombucha. " "Well then, of course. You have mold poisoning. Don't you know how it's made? It's fermented in a vat for 30 days! Some patients react well to it, and others don't. That's why i never recommend it."
Did more research, came upon
this. No, don't be alarmed by the title--Kombucha hasn't been proven to cause cancer (Carcinogens are really undergoing the McCarthy treatment huh) But it does say that aspergillus niger and penicillium notatum are two of the most common mold species found in Kombucha...two molds that, although pretty harmless to healthies, can be some of the most problematic to CFS/lyme patients.
I hope GT Synergy will soon consider putting a warming on their labels for the mold-sensitive, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Mold poisoning is confused for Munchausen syndrome just as much as lyme is. But at least the naturopaths should know better.
The practitioner that first told me to try it said it "wipes out candida on contact," and that I only needed to take 1-2 ounces, about 2 gulps, a day. That claim was too hard to resist, and I actually think she might be right based on my experience with it. However, she failed to mention that killing fungus with a remedy containing a different fungus still means you have fungus. Which is fine for healthy folks, but doesn't bode well for mold-sensitive folks (if you think you may have mold sensitivity, get your HLA-DR genotype checked).
The first time I drank it, I bypassed the 2 ounce mousey gulps and went in for the kill. It reminded me too much of beer (sad, given the only similarity in taste is fermentation) for me not to stop until I finished the whole bottle. Then I drank another bottle a few hours later. In retrospect, I remember not only not being able to sleep, but feeling like my heart switched from a Prius engine to a "so much muscle it drowns out all the childhood bullies" Ferrari engine. I didn't feel ill but I definitely felt borderline anaphylactic. At the time I thought it was just due to taking too much iodine.
Fast forward 2 weeks: lowered the iodine, sleeping well, tested positive for Candida (been eating a lot more sugar lately), and decided to try to Kombucha again--this time just a few gulps--and the feeling of my body aggressively trying to fight off some sorta poison came back. I talked to my doc the next day, and after she energetically tested me, she asked "Did you eat any raw nuts?" "No....But I did have Kombucha. " "Well then, of course. You have mold poisoning. Don't you know how it's made? It's fermented in a vat for 30 days! Some patients react well to it, and others don't. That's why i never recommend it."
Did more research, came upon this. No, don't be alarmed by the title--Kombucha hasn't been proven to cause cancer (Carcinogens are really undergoing the McCarthy treatment huh) But it does say that aspergillus niger and penicillium notatum are two of the most common mold species found in Kombucha...two molds that, although pretty harmless to healthies, can be some of the most problematic to CFS/lyme patients.
I hope GT Synergy will soon consider putting a warming on their labels for the mold-sensitive, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Mold poisoning is confused for Munchausen syndrome just as much as lyme is. But at least the naturopaths should know better.