With the sudden rise in kombucha products hitting the market, more and more health conscious individuals are beginning to consume these fizzy probiotic rich drinks.

Many believe that kombucha can help maintain proper gut health and is a great source of beneficial probiotics which can help to repopulate the gut.

However, should those suffering from candida consume kombucha? 

The answer seems simple; kombucha is a rich source of probiotics which can help repopulate the gut and can help heal the digestive system.  How could something so intestinal friendly not be good for candida?

Unfortunately, there is more to the story that is not being told.  In fact, there is a possibility that the frequent consumption of kombucha is actually making your candida overgrowth much worse!

In this post we hope to clear up some of the confusion surrounding kombucha and why it might not be the best thing if you’re suffering from a candida overgrowth.

What is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a fizzy probiotic drink that is made through a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria called a “scoby.”  It’s unclear where this beneficial culture of yeast and bacteria originated from, but kombucha making can be observed in several different ancient texts.  Its first recorded use is thought to have come from China during the Tsin Dynasty; 200 years BC.

In short, the scoby feeds on sugar which in return produces small amounts of B-vitamins and probiotics.  Typically, the scoby is placed in a large container containing brewed tea and sugar.  The tea helps in the fermentation process and it’s believed that the majority of the caffeine is reduced significantly during fermentation.

Why Take Kombucha?

As mentioned before, kombucha can be great for improving the health of the gut.  Many with a candida overgrowth often times suffer from poor intestinal health and a gut dysbiosis.  Since kombucha naturally contains high amounts of living probiotics, it can be useful for rebalancing the ratio of good bacteria to bad bacteria in the gut.

Many find that kombucha naturally improves energy levels and helps to enhance overall mood.  This is most likely because of the B-vitamins that are produced during the fermentation process of making kombucha.

Also, due to its energizing effects, kombucha can be a great coffee alternative and can help individuals ween off coffee drinking.  It’s also full of beneficial raw enzymes which can help in numerous biological functions in the body.

Is Kombucha OK for those with Candida?

Here is where things can get a bit tricky; kombucha is made through the use of sugar.  For those unaware, sugar is the primary fuel source of candida and is what allows this pathogenic fungal overgrowth to thrive and multiply.

To be fair, the scoby naturally consumes the sugar during the fermentation process.  However, there is always a chance that some excess sugar could be left over after the fermentation process.  As a rule of thumb, if the kombucha tastes sweet, there is most likely sugar present.

Unfortunately, most store bough kombucha is extremely sweet and contains large amounts of sugar.  This is because most of the general public would be put off by the vinegar taste that results from properly brewing out all sugar from the kombucha.

It’s for this reason that we’ve included a kombucha recipe in our Crush Candida Recipe Cookbook so that you can make your own properly brewed kombucha at home!

As a result, kombucha can be OK for candida, but it most be properly brewed.  If tastes sweet, chances are it will feed candida due to the excess amount of sugar.

Histamine and Kombucha

Another issue to consider when deciding if you should consume kombucha is the high amount of histamine produced during the fermentation process.  Any food or beverage that undergoes a fermentation process will naturally contain high amounts of histamine.

Unfortunately, in our experience, those suffering with a candida overgrowth are almost always sensitive histamines.  We’ve covered this topic before and we highly recommend you read our post on histamine and candida.

However, to put it simply, the overgrowth of candida causes the release of histamine in the body.  Overtime, this histamine builds up in the body and causes the individual to become extremely hypersensitive to this natural compound.

In particular, candida has been shown to stimulate the release of histamine in mast cells that are present in the gut (1).

As a result, when individuals suffering from candida overgrowth eat or drink fermented beverages such as kombucha, negative reactions can occur in the body.

The most common types of symptoms that result from a histamine intolerance in the body is itchiness, small red bumps, acne, hyper activity, unexplained nervousness, and fatigue.

Wild Fermentation vs. Controlled Fermentation

If you don’t brew your own kombucha at home, chances are you will be limited to only store bought kombucha.  As well as containing high amounts of sugar, store bought kombucha also will most likely only contain selected strains of bacteria.

This is because most store bought kombucha is fermented in a controlled environment.  This simply means that only certain strains of bacteria are allowed to be present in the kombucha.  This helps to deliver the same taste time and time again and stops the chances of loosing batches to bad bacteria.

Unfortunately, kombucha fermented in a controlled environment will lack in diversity when it comes to good bacteria.  It’s not uncommon for wild fermented kombucha to contain over 100 different species of good bacteria.  However, store bought kombucha typically contains between 3-5 strains.

This becomes problematic because the gut does best with diversity.  The more beneficial and different bacteria you can introduce into your gut, the better.  In fact, consuming too much of a particular strain of beneficial bacteria can actually cause imbalances within the gut microbiome.

It’s for this reason that we highly recommend you brew your own kombucha at home if you plan on consuming it.

Don’t Be Fooled by “The Healing Crisis”

Many who promote fermented foods and beverages as a health food often make the claim that the body might feel worse before feeling better.  Although this may true in some cases, we haven’t found it to be the case with kombucha.

If you notice that kombucha is making you feel worse, you should stop consuming it immediately.  Only until recently have we ignored the warning signs the body gives us and have written them off as “detox” or “healing crisis.”

As mentioned before, kombucha is rich in histamine which can be problematic for some sensitive individuals.  It could also contain a particular strain of bacteria that does not agree with your gut.

That being said, although kombucha can be great for some, this isn’t always true for everyone.  When in doubt, always listen to your body!

Could be Beneficial for Athletes?

Although not entirely related to candida, kombucha has been shown to be a promising supplement for those who train regularly or workout.  It has been shown that kombucha helps prevent lactic acid from accumulating in the muscles.  For those unaware, lactic acid accumulation is what causes sore muscles.

As a result, it can be a useful tool for preventing delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in those who work out frequently.  Those who suffer with candida and enjoy working out may be able to reap the benefits of both better digestive health and less muscle soreness by consuming kombucha regularly.