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
I recently read an article that talked about the myths surrounding kombucha. One myth, that the SCOBY eats all the sugar in the tea, is not true. When analyzed, the brew still had significant amounts of sugar left by the time it was ready to drink. I am in the process of overcoming candida and once I eliminated kombucha from my diet, I saw results right away.
Here is the link to the article I referenced above:
http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2013/03/25/kombucha-myths-vs-truths/
Same for me. I just started thinking about what feeds cancer and what feeds kombucha and it is the same thing – sugar and acidic envornment. I have had neglected in the kitchen for 7 months and it is so happy – thriving in it’s own acids. Creepy. Anyway, when I stopped taking it (for cancer reasons) the itchy area on my neck just went away. Nice. That ichy spot had been there on and off for a year or more. Bye bye kombucha. Never to return to my life.
We started drinking homemade kombucha about 5 months ago. One month ago both my husband and I started to have muscles that did not want to work at all. We went off of the kombucha and immediately the next day the muscles no longer ached and felt lifeless. Recently my husband went back on kombucha and is now having the same effects. Could we have been drinking too much? Say 20 oz a day each?
Nice post and very good and informative discussion, i wish anyone could tell me if using Kombucha has some effects on pregnancy? Can we use it during pregnancy?
You’re so cool! I don’t think I’ve truly read anything like this before.
So great to find somebody with genuine thoughts on this subject matter.
Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This web site is
one thing that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!
First off I want to say that I love your website and your youtube videos : ) So much info, and the video on bone broth simmering helped me to perfect my own.
My question: I recently had skin scratch allergy testing done and I was positive for yeast. I’m wondering if fermented foods like kombucha, knifer and fermented veggies still ok to eat? I gave up bread and wine quite awhile ago.
Thanks again for all you do.
I didn’t know fruits were bad for you with candida until my DR told me. This is the program he recommended, and it got rid of my y infection in 2 days.
Lady Soma Advance Candida Supplement
with Distilled watter (with added minerals)
organic beans
garlic
onions
ginger
avacado
olive oil
Now that I have my diet straight, I take the lady soma candida supplement, and going to the gym every day I am yeast free!
Thank you so much for this! I have another question: I have A LOT of metal fillings (currently researching what to do about that). Could that be why I got HORRIBLLY sick from drinking bucha everyday for a month? My symptoms went away when I stopped drinking it. I did test positive for candidia toxins in my blood work, too. So maybe that’s why? I plan on taking the meds then starting up the bucha again. Maybe drink a smaller amount at first.
I have been drinking Kombucha for two weeks now. I started drinking it because my heartburn was not responding to my regular treatment (e.g., Zegrid and Robunol). I don’t usually take medication (only as needed), but I was having a lot of pain. I went to my GI and he did nothing, so I went to my naturopath and she recommended Kombucha. I felt amazing the first week on Kombucha and was able to cut down on my medication from twice a day to once a day. I also suffer from IBS-C and it really helped with my symptoms of constipation and bloating. Week two I started to exhibit the following side effects:
– Sinus congestion
– Acne
– Nighttime urination (I woke up four times during the night to pee)
– Cold sore
I chickened out and stopped drinking the Kombucha. That was yesterday, and today I am feeling the IBS-C symptoms returning. Nonetheless, I decided I did not want to deal with the die-off issues and said no more Kombucha. Now, I’m thinking I should just be patient and wait it out and I drank my 2 oz. after my coffee ( I know that I suppose to take it on an empty stomach). Will it work if I did not take it on empty stomach? Do I give Kombucha another chance? I loved how it helped with my IBS-C and heartburn, but hate the die-off. I now I am vacillating a bit, but I’m sick and confused.
From what I understand Kombcha’s are a powerful candida killer. As they kill the yeast/Candida they will release tons of toxins and heavy metals(if you have them) and they may be redistributed back into the body. So what you need is to take something that will bind to those toxins and remove them out of the body.
That’s Where Spanish Black Radish comes in. It can do the job,so every time you drink a kombucha take the Spanish Black Radish..
Where do I get Spanish Black radish you may ask? A company called Standard Process sells an organic Spanish Black radish Tablets(they taste good in my opinion but have a slightly bitter after taste).
https://www.standardprocess.com/Products/Standard-Process/Spanish-Black-Radish
Yes exactly.^^ Another easy to take and side-effect free (except for the die off) binder is activated charcoal. For me noticeable improvement immediately in energy & brain fog. The dosage I started with was 2x 280mg capsules (solaray brand) nightly. Then I thought more may be better and doubled the dosage. Die off increased significantl, so dosed back down. In reading this, I’m both drinking kombucha (synergy guava goddess) and re-upping my AC.
Its such as you read my thoughts! You appear to understand so much about this, such as you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you just could do with some p.c. to drive the message house a little bit, but other than that, this is excellent blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.