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 love kombucha tea
Hi there,
Great article, so interesting. I recently purchased kombucha from my local farmer’s market and fell in love immediately. Drinking about a glass a day I noticed far less bloating and generally more energy 🙂 However within a week, boom, my eczema completely flared up, more than it had in a long time. All around my eyes, bright red, itchy and really inflamed as well as on the palms of my hands. I thought this may have been a healing crisis as I have had a history of bacterial parasites in my gut, however I was far too stressed at uni to continue. I stopped drinking it and in a matter of days my eczema completely subsided.
The only thing is I miss the kombucha, and know how wonderful the health benefits are. How long would a healthy crisis go for? I would like to give it another go. It seems there isn’t a condition kombucha isn’t go.
Thanks again 🙂
Mary Ann, I’m not an expert by any means, but could it be that your kombucha was not brewed long enough and still had a decent amount of sugar left? As the kombucha brews, the sugar should turn into alcohol, and then the bacteria convert the alcohol into vinegar, at least according to books I have read. So once brewed long enough, there should be very little sugar (or alcohol) left. But at the same time, if you don’t brew it long enough, and there is significant amount of sugars still left, to me it would seem that it could feed an already-existing overgrowth of fungi/yeast (say in your mouth/throat area or something). But I’m not an expert by any means, just sharing my thoughts here. This stuff does get confusing.
Hi! Question about the candida…I just fasted all day yesterday and only drank kombucha. I woke up this morning to a very white tongue. Can you explain if the white tongue is not a flare up of candida, what else causes this to occur?
I love kombucha! It is filling and satisfying and I have felt better while drinking it. However, the fact that kombucha is FULL of sugar does concern me. I know you will not be giving me medical advice, but I am wondering what your take is on the white tongue experience. Thank you.
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If you love Kombucha, I recommend drinking coconut water kefir instead. Coconut water kefir is very easy to brew and provides high levels of antifungal probiotics. It is a much better option than Kombucha. 5 tips to Cure yeast infection
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I was just wondering where you found kombucha that contained only helpful yeasts. As a project for my microbiology class, we tested several over the shelf and one from my local health food store that sells it in the deli, and we found that all of them had several pathogenic yeasts in them. I would be interested in isolating the good yeasts so that a safer kombucha can be made, but I can’t seem to find any clean cultures or drinks over the counter or from hippie types I know that make their own. I find it odd that this hasn’t been more regulated considering how many bad things we found floating around in the concoctions, but I thoroughly enjoy the flavor so I would really like to see progress in the kombucha brewing.
I had problems with constipation with Kombucha. Has anyone had problems like that??