Important tips for consuming kombucha to avoid candida flare-ups and why some people who drink it experience worsened symptoms.
I’ve been asked more than once recently if kombucha is beneficial for those who are battling candida overgrowth.
There is a school of thought that candida sufferers best avoid this healthful, traditionally fermented beverage.
Is avoidance truly a good course of action?
Or, can this probiotic-rich beverage actually help gut healing for those with yeast overgrowth?
What Exactly Is Kombucha?
For those new to this delicious beverage, kombucha is a traditional Russian drink that is made from fermenting plain black tea and cane sugar.
Sometimes raw honey and green tea are used (especially in China), with the resulting beverage called Jun tea.
This delightful fermented tea beverage has been consumed for hundreds of years.
Extensive testing in Russia has proven it to be an effective detoxifier.
Once toxins are tightly bound to the organic acids in kombucha, they are rushed to the kidneys for excretion.
The popularity of kombucha in North America has been steadily growing for the past 30 years or so.
I’ve brewed kombucha in our home since 2001, long before any commercial brands were available.
More on the difference between the two below.
Does Kombucha Flare Candida?
We’ve established that kombucha is a healthy, traditional beverage. But, what if a person has candida overgrowth?
Will the fact that kombucha contains beneficial yeasts and bacteria in the final brew aggravate the situation?
The key is that kombucha contains beneficial yeasts, not pathogenic strains like candida.
Therefore, when someone with candida starts drinking kombucha for the first time, there may indeed be a flare-up of symptoms.
This can be confusing at first. Is the kombucha making the problem worse?
The good news is that these symptoms (commonly skin-related) are likely only temporary!
The beneficial yeasts and probiotics trigger this reaction as they begin to rebalance the gut environment.
How Fermented Tea Discourages Yeast
This short-term aggravation of symptoms is sometimes referred to as “a healing crisis”.
It is also referred to as “herxing”, which is short for a Herxheimer reaction.
This is the natural response of the body to the destruction of harmful bacteria in the gut that release toxins into the bloodstream.
This type of process is actually necessary if improvement in the gut environment is to occur over the long term.
A healing crisis can occur not only with kombucha, but with other fermented beverages such as raw kefir or even 24-hour yogurt.
In fact, simply taking a probiotic supplement or eating a serving of homemade sauerkraut can cause a herx reaction.
Can You Drink Kombucha if You Are Healing Your Gut?
In summary, even though kombucha can be enjoyed by candida sufferers, it is certainly possible for some folks to not react well initially.
Symptoms after drinking kombucha are nearly always the result of herxing, aka “a healing crisis”.
This uncomfortable situation is temporary and stems from the die-off of pathogens in the gut from the probiotics in kombucha.
Another option is to drink Jun tea instead of kombucha. Jun is the same thing as kombucha, just using raw honey and green tea instead of cane sugar and black tea.
So drink up and enjoy your kombucha even if candida is something you are working to resolve.
Going slow with small amounts at first is a good rule of thumb to minimize or even completely avoid issues with herxing.
Beware of Commercial Brands!
Please note that while kombucha is safe to drink if you have candida, it is only plain kombucha that is acceptable that is ideally brewed yourself.
This is the kombucha recipe I suggest.
Be sure to watch out for commercial kombucha brands, especially flavored ones!
Store kombucha presents a very real candida flare-up risk as well as an addictive response.
Many commercial brands contain added sugar or fruit juice (added post-fermentation). Worse, they may not even be cultured properly.
If you must buy your kombucha instead of making it yourself, I suggest relying on local brewers that don’t mass produce and distribute their products.
More Information
Want to know more about kombucha and candida? These articles provide more detail for your research.
Fluoride in Kombucha
Does Kombucha Prevent Grey Hair?
Batch vs Continuous Brew Kombucha
Safe Traveling with Kombucha
Biofilms: Overlooked Step in Treating Candida
Kombucha seems to aggravate what I think is a connective tissue disorder. I drank home brew and GTs for years and was very addicted to it. I don’t know if I drank too much (a bottle a day) or if it is the alcohol or CO2 that ultimately made it intolerable. Either way, I have to avoid it now or suffer.
Is it okay to use black tea for kombucha if I have Candida or is an herbal tea recommended? I read something about black tea and mold. Also, I let my kombucha sit a month usually. It never tastes too strong/vinegar-y. Is that okay? Thanks!
Black tea or a 50-50 combination of black and green tea is best. You won’t have any mold issues if you use the proper amount of starter.
Sarah, thanks for the article. How long can a “only temporary” flare up last? Obviously it’ll vary for every person, but I’m wondering to know how long your eczema friend’s kefir flare up lasted and a rough idea if a flare up could mean days, weeks, months, or years?
I don’t know how long her flare-up lasted. I believe that she backed off from using so much until the symptoms subsided, and then gradually increased as her digestive system slowly adjusted in a positive manner.
I’d just like to add my experience with Kombucha (in particular Brew dr.) I loved kombucha. I drank one bottle each day. I began to notice that after a few weeks I would be bloated and develop constipation, which I’ve never had any problems with before. I stopped drinking it, got back to normal, and thought maybe it was something else so I went back to drinking it. All the symptoms started up again only it was worse than before. I believe I have either a histamine intolerance or candida, which is exasperated by drinking Kombucha.
I recently started brewing kombucha, and after two weeks, my kombucha gets cloudy during it’s brewing season. Is this unhealthy to drink?
Sometimes the kombucha will brew up a bit cloudy. There is quite a bit of variation season to season.
I thought Kombucha comes from Eastern Asia
I have FATTY LIVER, Biliary cirrhosis, and chronic pancreatitis along with diabetes and a history of Candida. I enjoyed kombucha daily for about 2-3 weeks. Then I developed a pancreatic inflammation flare up and realized I had to stop kombacha because of the alcohol content. Alas. I know this is a unique reaction.
For the record, my ENT diagnosed me with Candida overgrowth in my throat and esophagus. Not sure how far it’s gotten, gut-wise… I read your early blog post about the Lady Soma Candida Cleanse- and within an hour of the first dose — my stomach started churning and it was off to the restroom. All I can say is, YEAH, THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. Granted, it gave me a fit of diarrhea for a few hours but I’ll take it if it means expelling these toxins from my body.
Thank you so much for the Lady Soma recommendation! I took 2 pills, popped a probiotic, and now have finally have that horrible thing out of my throat. . .