There continues to be quite a buzz about the benefits of kombucha these days. While we agree that re-establishing a healthy gut flora is foundational for creating greater health, we believe that taking consideration of what form that microbial inoculation comes in would be wise.
So what’s wrong with kombucha anyway?
Well, any of you who have made kombucha know that the kombucha culture thrives on sugar and… black or green tea. Now, given that our focus generally is on helping folks navigate to greater oral health, I’ll bet that many of you are thinking it’s the sugar that we’re going to demonize. I can hear the, ‘but the culture consumes the sugar’ rebuttals.
However, in this case, we want to bring to light the amount of fluoride in tea. You see, the tea plant naturally uptakes fluoride from the soil more than any other plant known to humans, presumably as a defense mechanism to protect its lush, yummy looking leaves from being eaten by grazing animals in the wild. Animals learned a long time ago that if they ate a belly full of the tea plant, they would get a stomachache, so have learned to avoid that plant.
In fact, the tea plant has very specialized functions to uptake fluoride and then encapsulate it within its plant tissues so that the fluoride doesn’t damage the plant! Then we humans come along and decide that we’re going to dry the leaves of this plant that grazing animals avoid and make it into a tea.
How much fluoride is in tea anyway?
A website by a pro-fluoridation infant medical group states that a cup of black tea contains 7.8 mg of fluoride.(1) However, according to Andreas Schuld in his article titled “Fluoride – What’s Wrong With This Picture?”, “Recent analyses have revealed a fluoride content of 22.2 mg per teabag or cup in Chinese green tea, and 17.25 mg of soluble fluoride ions per teabag or cup in black tea. Aluminum content was also high—over 8 mg. Normal steeping time was five minutes. The longer a tea bag steeped, the more fluoride and aluminum were released. After ten minutes, the measurable amounts of fluoride and aluminum almost doubled.” (2)
That said, for the sake of balance, we also have to quote the Linus Pauling Institute and their figures on the content of fluoride in various teas, which is much lower… They suggest that the amount of fluoride in green and black teas ranges from .3 – .5 mg fluoride per 8 ounces of tea. With such dramatic ranges in the amount of fluoride found in tea, I think it wise to use the highest quality, organic tea you can for kombucha.
So, after a quick look on the net, I found that the average recipe for kombucha uses 4-6 bags of tea for a gallon of kombucha. Steeping times varied from 5 minutes to until the boiling water cooled (yikes). Given that the amount of fluoride released from the tea doubles when the steeping time increased from 5 minutes to 10 minutes, we can do the math.
Taking the average between the fluoride content of black and green tea, I estimate that there is 20mg of fluoride in a tea bag steeping for 5 minutes. For the sake of making a particularly ‘good’ batch of kombucha, I’m going to assume a 10-minute steep time, thus doubling the fluoride released per tea bag. (3)
So, 40mg fluoride per tea bag x 5 bags = 200mg of fluoride per gallon of kombucha
For the sake of simplicity, we’re not going to include the potential fluoride content from the water used to make the kombucha (which would obviously raise these numbers even higher).
The average serving (from the store) of kombucha is 16 ounces. So, 8 servings in a gallon = 25mg of fluoride in a single serving of kombucha (from the tea alone).
That’s all great, but how much fluoride is too much?
Well, here in the US, the standard ‘safety’ level for fluoride in water fluoridation is 1ppm (1 part per million). Even if you buy the idea that 1ppm is safe, a 16-ounce kombucha with an average of 25mg of fluoride has an equivalent amount of fluoride as 25 liters (roughly 6 gallons) of fluoridated water! Now you can see why we’re not big fans of kombucha.
That bears repeating. One 16-ounce serving of kombucha can contain as much fluoride as 6 gallons of fluoridated water.
How do these figures compare with a tube of toothpaste?
According to the ADA (4), an average tube of fluoride toothpaste contains 30mg of fluoride per ounce of paste. So, depending on how strong the brew of kombucha is, one serving may contain as much fluoride as consuming an ounce of toothpaste. (Ugg)
Unfortunately, fluoride isn’t the only thing that tea is rich in. Studies also show that aluminum also ends up in a cup of black or green tea. This is truly adding insult to injury as the combination of aluminum and fluoride has been shown to significantly disrupt cellular communication in the thyroid gland. (5)
Are all teas created equal?
Research suggests that some higher quality teas have less fluoride in the leaves because the tea is made from buds and younger leaves. Also, if you purchase organic tea to make kombucha, you are getting less exposure to fluoride due to the fact that some pesticides are made from fluorinated compounds.
What about the fermentation process?
There is some writing from prestigious organizations that suggests that the fermentation process would remove the fluoride. On one hand, this doesn’t make sense as we can’t change an element. However, perhaps the scoby (mother culture) ‘captures’ the fluoride in the kombucha. We will do our own testing of various kombuchas and let you know what we find.
So, while restoring healthy gut flora is crucial to create an ideal immunological response, we think there are many better ways to reinoculate our bellies with ‘the good guys’ through water kefir, milk kefir, fermented veggies, etc than to potentially expose oneself to an extra dose of fluoride by choosing to drink kombucha. Sorry scoby (kombucha mother culture), we used to cultivate you too! 🙂
In the end, moderation is key here. We simply want to bring to light that kombucha has a dark side amidst its beneficial side too.
Helpful, Related Resources:
How to Drink Kombucha and NOT Destroy Your Teeth
What Causes Tooth Decay (and How to Stop it)
Other Resources:
1. BabyCenter Editorial Team w/ Medical Advisory Board (http://www.babycenter.com/refcap.674.html#3)
2. Schuld, A – “Fluoride – What’s Wrong With This Picture?” http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/picture_i.html
3. Analyses conducted by Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children (PFPC) at Gov’t -approved labs.
4. http://www.ada.org/EPUBS/science/2012/may/page.shtml
5. Strunecka, A; Patocka, J – “Aluminofluoride complexes: new phosphate analogues for laboratory investigations and potential danger for living organisms” Charles University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Physiology and Developmental Physiology, Prague/Department of Toxicology, Purkynì Military Medical Academy, Hradec KrßlovØ, Czech Republic http://www.cadvision.com/fluoride/brain3.htm
Not really accurate article! « 22.2 mg per teabag or cup in Chinese green tea, and 17.25 mg of soluble fluoride ions per teabag or cup in black tea » … No study will confirm that. I checked your source « article Andreas Schuld. Fluoride- what’s wrong in this picture » no link to a study support these figures…
If you have a look on Pubmed or any quality review you will find that fluoride per tea bag or cup are roughly between 0.3mg to 5mg. Tests with different types of tea, water, and stepping time are available.
Aloha Karla,
Thanks for joining the conversation!
You very well may be correct about the lack of references here. The fact still remains that the plant family which black and green tea come from does accumulate fluoride as a fascinating protective function.
We simply wanted to bring attention to the problems associated with drinking large volumes of tea (and therefore kombucha).
However, even though the fluoride content may be a risk, we feel that sipping such an acidic drink throughout the day may prove more problematic on the teeth than the fluoride content.
Please check out our other article, “How To Drink Kombucha And NOT Destroy Your Teeth” for more details.
Thanks again for offering your feedback to this conversation. Aloha! 🙂
Thank you for bringing that up. Kombucha is a great drink but there are some aspects that need to be take in to consideration.
Ha! Who knew this would be such a hot topic?! Respect for how you tactfully handled comments. Another article worth a read if you want to explore this topic more -especially helpful if you think you’re in the clear with herbal, pregnancy, or breastfeeding teas:
http://fluoridealert.org/news/new-studies-reveal-that-drinking-certain-kinds-of-tea-poses-dangerous-health-risks/
hi thanks for the information
A major problem with fluoride, is that it is more active than iodide and will replace it in the thyroid gland. In this case the thyroid makes fluorine, instead of iodine. Fluorine is the most dangerous free radical in existence, and given the thyroid controls many things – including getting LDL’s to their correct destination – the fluorine will mess many things up. In this case, I do not think the thyrocytes care WHERE the fluoride came from, and so fluoride from a ‘natural’ source will be treated just like fluoride from smokestacks etc.
Since iodide and fluoride are in competition, the more idodide in the body, the better. Maybe that is why the Chinese and Japanese can drink relatively large amounts of tea – their diet is iodide rich.
I was eating sea vegetables and fish regularly when living in Japan and Taiwan. Sometimes three times a day. Iodine was aboundant in that case.
We cannot do that anymore since the pollution in the sea.
I’ve recently seen info about borax removing fluoride from water and our bodies. have you researched this at all? could this help? consider looking at the borax miracle/the borax conspiracy.
thanks!
chris
Aloha Chris,
Thanks for stopping by to add your thoughts to this discussion. I haven’t heard that borax will remove fluoride from water and our bodies. That would be great if so. At first blush, I don’t see how this would work, but my knowledge of biochem is rather poor.
Thanks for bringing this potential solution forward here!
3 mg of boron a day will do.
3 mg of boron taken orally will do as I have been told.
Moderation is good for everything. Curious if we are trying to be all scientific in an analysis of Kombucha’s fluorine content, why not just test the Kombucha for fluorine instead of surmising its content based of calculation of ingredients that could range from 0 to 22mg per tea bag? With so many variables, it would be easier to just test the Kombucha for fluorine. For instance if someone uses purified water, loose organic tea and organic sugar, they will get a vastly different result then those who use bagged crap tea, urban swill water and whatever sugar is on sale.
“The tea fungus (or SCOBY) floating around in your kombucha is biosorbent. Like a magnet to iron, it binds to contaminants and heavy metals.
Biosorbents are used to clean up the environment and wastewater.
Indeed, several studies have found that a kombucha tea fungus effectively removes heavy metals like copper, chromium, and arsenic from wastewater. (9)(10)
Other research shows that kombucha itself contains small amounts of lead and chromium. There have even been a few documented cases of lead poisoning from kombucha. (11)(12)”
https://bodyecology.com/articles/4-surprising-reasons-to-ditch-kombucha
Hello,
Thank you for writing this article. I am an avid kombucha drinker and non-fluoride toothpaste user. I am aware of the risks of the fluoridated water coming out of my faucet. Your article doesn’t differentiate between the naturally occuring fluoride (which may or may not be harmful to humans) and the known by-product of the fertilizer industry that is known to be awful for humans. Have you considered researching and updating your article? I would be very interested to read it.!
Cheers 🙂
Aloha Lisa,
Thank you for stopping by to share with us. It’s true that the fluoride used in water fluoridation is even nastier than naturally occurring fluoride. However, even natural fluoride isn’t good for mammalian species. In fact, it’s amazing the ‘hoops’ the plants that intentionally uptake fluoride (as a defense mechanism) go through to protect their own biological systems from being damaged from the (naturally occurring) fluoride.
As we try our best to stay away from subjects that are just downright depressing (like water fluoridation), I’m a bit hesitant to write on this subject. There are many others in the world who have done an excellent job sharing about the risks of fluoridated water. Check out the Fluoride Action Network if you’d like to read more on this from a quality organization.
We hope this helps!
I love the pineapple idea! I use white tea myself (one bag of tea per 2 quarts) and have noticed my SCOBYs are much cleaner looking than when I used green tea. White tea = white/clear SCOBY, Green tea = brown SCOBY, is this just because of the difference in fluoride content?
Thank you for this! I started making my own kombucha several months ago and have been drinking it daily. Then a few weeks ago I noticed some discolored spots on my teeth. My teeth have been very healthy so I was concerned. I heard your talk with Wellness Mama on her podcast and heard you mentioned kombucha. I had a feeling that might be what caused it. I went to the dentist and they said it’s de-mineralization and it will always look like that now. Is that true? I have stopped drinking kombucha now to prevent further issues.
You replied to a poster: While we agree with you that there are other much more heinous drinks we could write about, frankly, we got tired of all the hype on the food blogs about how awesome Kombucha is.
Exactly! Simply label a product health food and soon enough the anti everything crowd will write their apocalyptic opinion regarding said product. Everyone’s got an opinion especially these days. As mentioned already, the fluoride vs fluorine debate isn’t really comparable as they are different chemically. I’m much more concerned about fluoride added to my drinking water then a small amount of fluorine in tea. Seriously, you’re going to debate that the Japanese and Chinese, consummate drinkers of tea for centuries are wrong, that’s fairly insane and quite an impossible task.
Sodium Fluoride is an industrial waste byproduct from aluminum manufacturing. However it is illegal to dump into our waterways but somehow okay to add to our drinking water. The problems caused to humans by this outrageous practice are far too long to list and debate here. However, the ADA still regards amalgams with toxic mercury as safe to use in the mouth and they still think sodium fluoride in the water prevents tooth decay. Just check their web site with statements that support both of these toxic products. Sure a by-product of aluminum manufacture is good for our health and teeth. It’s so true repeat it enough, long enough to enough people and everyone believes it’s true. By the way, sodium fluoride is used as rat and roach poison for over a hundred years, good stuff!
Yeah I would imagine that a little acid in most Americans mouth would degrade their teeth pretty quickly given that they are so weak to begin with. That and a basic acid diet including coffee, soda, sugary sweets, etc, etc. Do some research on what sodium fluoride can do to a body and it’s not just about teeth. Any issue with Kombucha in the mouth can easily be solved one of two ways, drinking with a straw and/or cleaning the mouth post drink. By far and away the number one tooth destroyer in the diet of most adults is coffee, not tea. Anyway I think your angst is somewhat misplaced regarding detrimental effects of Kombucha on teeth vs the assault on our health by people supposedly charged with protecting it.
What an interesting article. Thank you for sharing. Last week I noticed a lot of enamel wear on my teeth and I have been on a search till I found this article today. I have been drinking Komboucha and kefir water for 4 months and I am sure that is where my enamel wear is from. I had beautiful teeth before that. It is very upsetting to me and I wish I had known this info sooner. I wish the online recipes which I have followed on how to make komboucha had a warning on the acidity of it. I should have done more research first.
Is there anyway I can regrow my enamel back…?
I have been using your oil blend and brushing techniques for about 2 weeks. So not very long. I have added bone broth to my diet in an attempt to re mineralize my teeth but that won’t grow back my enamel.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you
Jeannie
Aloha Jeannie,
Thank you for reaching out to us. It sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Perhaps check out our free video tutorial series, the 5 steps to a healthy mouth, for more info regarding how to apply diet to navigate to optimal oral health.
Here’s a link…
http://orawellness.com/answers/5steps-ora/
Thank you and Aloha!
Stop drawning in a glass of flouride watter ppl. This is what my family is been doing for so many years and it has work fantastic and absolutly healthy…
Instead of using black or green tea BUY A WHOLE ORGANIC PINEAPPLE TAKE AWAY THE MIDDLE PART AND CUT IT INTO SLICES AND PUT IT IN A GLASS CONTAINED WITH PURIFIED WATTER WITH THE MUSHROOM OR KAMBUCHA U DONT HAVE TO USE ANY TEA SINCE PINAPPLE DOES ALL U NEED IT TO DO AND IT TASTES GREAT AND IT HAS AMAZING BENEFITS PLUS U LOOSE WEIGHT! Oh and u can use the peels too… Good luck everyone!
This is very interesting… do you have a link to any site that contains this recipe please?
Thank you… : )
wow, I want to know more about this. any way I could get in touch with you, Karla?
Ok, I’m trying this, but sure would like more specific info. I just used purified water, no sugar. Now I’m done with batch one but not sure what to do now.
First, let me thank you for a really interesting post. We live in a modern world where our bodies are constantly bombarded by harmful chemicals in all our food and beverages. Even the healthiest foods are only less tainted. The art of healthy eating in today’s world lies not in merely avoiding potentially harmful foods but deriving maximum benefit from what we do decide is healthy food and applying practices that negate harmful substances that food may contain!
I once read of Macaws in the Amazon that daily consumed toxic fruit for survival. They derived the total benefit from those fruit but also consumed kaolin to counteract the poisons they consumed on a daily basis. This for me is the way to nutrition in the modern world; a holistic approach that derives benefit where it can be obtained while avoiding harmful substances in our food combined with practices like detoxing, etc. Like Kombucha, all foods become harmful when consumed at a certain level over a period of time. It’s always good to be aware of the truth about anything we consume, because then we are able to decide on any possible benefits while avoiding harmful ways inherent in all nutrition. By all means, drink Kombucha, but brew it and drink it in a way that is good for you because it has benefits not easily obtained elsewhere..
Aloha Sel,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your wisdom here.
We completely agree with your points. Here’s a link to another article we wrote, titled “How to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth”. We hope you find benefit from it as well.
Aloha!
Aloha Will,
Thanks for that link – I found it most informative and posted a comment.
Cheers,
Sel.
been reading the whole topic
and i will use the info to make my kombucha healthier
already was using the organic tea ,i like green and black because of the different taste
also experimenting to lower the rest sugars ,,so first i used cane Sugar and honey ,,both 100 grams for a 3 quarter jar
then i found that rice sirup is a great sweetener ,the kombucha goes well on it
and NO restsugar ,,so you make a non sweet drink ,need 230 grams for 3 quart jar
the effect kombucha has on me is that i no longer suffer from cramps ,,as long as i keep using it
its supposed to strengten the immune system of our body ,,so it can fight off most illnes itself
im on an age i rather choose for my physical wellbeing and if the ph is bad for my teeth ,so be it
its good for my liver to detox,helps to prevent cramps,toilet visits feel much better,and im more energetic and clear in my mind
have done waterkefir ,but hated that taste although brewing it is easier and faster,,but it has a specific taste i cant stand
so for me kombucha all the way
funny is im allergic to tea,,if i take a zip ,i slowly turn white in my face and 5 minutes later i have to throw up
i abused this once by taking a zip ,so i turned sick during a meeting i wanted to leave from ,,and i turned white and threw up as expected 😉
considering the nasty foods my body can process ,,TEA must be really bad poison
but my scoby turns it into kombucha wich feels great and nurtures the body processes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us!
Let’s be sure if we ever have the chance to have lunch together that we steer clear from having tea! 🙂
Thank you and Aloha!
I find this article quite biased and deceiving. As some pointed out combuchas is being absolutely destoyed as a health benefit without offering any alternatives. Combucha can be made not only with green black white brown teas, as a matter fact it can be made with other herbal teas as well. Loose teas that are not in packets. Teas like chamomile mint jasmine and so on… Seems that author either isn’t aware of all the options or was waid to stay biased without giving any solution to combucha users. I do love kefir as well but there’s just something about kombucha that kefir doesn’t. Real problem to our teeth is not kombucha tea but our water air diet and lifestyle. Kombucha has to be left out of this… upsetting thst many will give up kombucha because of this supposebly legit looking article
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Aloha Arden,
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Aloha!
What about lead? Japanese tea has far less lead AND flouride (as of the Consumerlab sudy). See what WHO says, about halfway down this page: “Fluoride Content in Chinese Green Tea vs Japanese Green Tea” http://ybertaud9.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/fluoride-content-in-black-tea-white-tea-green-tea-and-oolong-tea-loose-leaf-tea-health-benefits-and-tea-dangers/
Aloha Fran,
We hadn’t seen this post. Thanks for sharing. It makes sense to us that organic white tea is the safest around. Not sure about the lead factor. Definitely worth reading more on for sure! 🙂
I read that wild yeast ferments, like kombucha, aren’t nearly as beneficial as the non-wild ones such as kefir and yogurt. I’m never going to drink kombucha again. My teeth need all the help they can get!
I’ve never heard this distinction that non wild fermentations are better for us. Do you recall where that info came from? I’d be curious to read that as in a previous life 🙂 I was very into fermenting foods and drinks, particularly kefirs.
Thanks for posting!
I just read this and am concerned because I have been drinking two Kombucha’s from Gt Dave’s each day and am breastfeeding. Does anyone know about his source for tea?
Sheila,
Thank you for your post. If you are drinking two kombuchas a day, I strongly encourage you to read our new article titled How to drink kombucha and NOT destroy your teeth.
Here’s the link: http://orawellness.com/how-to-drink-kombucha-and-not-destroy-your-teeth/
Aloha!
Would be curious if the author might explore the other route of this scenario…. As opposed to inducing skepticism, at the least, and fear, at the most, could the author look into what our bodies might be missing?
I would be curious to see how our bodies might handle these “harmful” minerals if we weren’t so lacking in our good ones. Sort of like the arguments on vaccinations where we have scientists, virologists, and the like pointing the finger at individual bugs that could exploit our immune system, when they usually disregard buffering our immune system with quality food, sleep, and breathing among other things.
So in relationship to this post, as opposed to worrying about the individual components of said food that might hurt us, we could look at the aspects of what these weakness are taking advantage of in us and build up those missing links, iodine deficiency for example.
Would like to see if someone in good stature(I know that might be a toughie considering how much civilization has taken over) would be harmed in the same way….
Great points Rob! Thanks for posting!
The basis of our thinking in this article stemmed from the fact that fluoride serves no beneficial function in mammalian species. It’s a toxin plain and simple. What fluoride does is causes oxidative stress to whatever cells it comes in contact with. In an attempt to ‘quarantine’ the fluoride from floating around the system causing damage, the body squirrels fluoride away in the bones. This obviously causes plenty of damage as seen in an increased risk of bone fracture due to skeletal fluorosis.
Can our bodies endure lots of stress? Sure. Why not avoid sources if known however? Your thoughts?
Thank you and Aloha!
come on now, compared to all things that the public drinks, how could a traditional naturally fermented product be bad for you – too much fluoride – is that all you got it…..why dont you write about kool aid, pepsi, yohoo, coke or even UHT Milk
Haha Dave,
Thanks for offering your perspective here. While we agree with you that there are other much more heinous drinks we could write about, frankly, we got tired of all the hype on the food blogs about how awesome kombucha is. Bottom line, it’s high in fluoride and is very acidic, neither of which are any good for our oral health. We know so many dentists who have told us that folks who drink a lot of kombucha end up destroying their teeth with decay.
It’s ok to agree to disagree here. 🙂
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There’s always the option of making your kombucha with herbal tea. It is possible, though I hear that occasionally you should brew a batch with black tea, or mix herbal with a bit of black, to keep your scoby healthy. We love fermented fizzy drinks in the summer, it’s just nice to have something stronger than water when your hot and sweaty from working outside. Homemade ginger ale is amazing by the way 🙂 Right now I’m making a batch of kombucha with Tulsi tea, can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ohh, we want some tulsi kombucha!!! 🙂
I do not know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing issues with your site. It seems like some of the written text in your posts are running off the screen. Can someone else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them as well? This may be a problem with my web browser because I’ve had this happen before.
Appreciate it
Hmm, not sure. Maybe it’s the device you are using as well? We have heard of issues around viewing our site on a mobile device. I hope this helps!
wow..lots of food for thought…I consume lots of kombucha tea…as I have lyme and lots of co infections..didn’t know the fluoride was a problem…might change to roobis tea instead….haven’t been able to master making water kefir…may need to…but I will say since drinking it the last 6 months + my gut feels better then it has in over 30 years…
Is all fluoride bad for you? Definitely not. In small quantities and in the proper format, fluoride is actually a requirement of our bodies. The few truthful studies used by the fluoride industry to confuse the people were done with naturally occurring cal fl in the drinking water in towns in the Western Rocky Mountains. The fluoride used to pollute municipal drinking water systems is an industrial by-product that doesn’t occur in nature in any measurable amounts. It may exist but it’s so trace it’s not even relevant.
We all know about the hazards of fluoride by now but is all fluoride bad for you? Definitely not. In small quantities and the proper format, fluoride is actually a requirement of your bodies. The fluoride used to pollute municipal drinking water systems is and industrial by-product that doesn’t occur in nature in any measurable amounts. It may exist but it’s so trace it’s not even relevant.
So when the synthetic substance is used, it has very detrimental effects as you know. Teas that have been sprayed with agri-chemicals do indeed have significant levels of “franken-fluoride.” If organic teas are extracting fluoride from the soils, these compounds would be natural and safe.
Is there any evidence that people in Asia are badly affected by fluoride due to the consumption of tea they consume? Black tea is green tea that’s been fermented. So if the black tea has it, the green tea must. Centuries and centuries of copious consumption of tea have not resulted in a noticeable heavy-metal/fluoride problem.
Then there are the Europeans that drink a lot of tea – the Brits setting aside a special time to drink tea. The Russians drink black tea that is beyond robust – very strong and concentrated. Many people in Russia drink a large quantity of this type of tea every day, starting at a very young age, all through their life. If there was a fluoride problem, we’d know about it. The Russians are very scientific and analytical, and in some areas have better health sciences than we do.
Kombucha has little or no effect on bowel flora. People who are drinking it for that reason are mistaken.
To prove that kombucha has significant health benefits and detoxifies, here is a historical reference as to how kombucha has been proven to overcome environmental toxicity.
After the great national war in mid 1900’s, the Soviet Untion witnessed a remarkable increase in cancer cases from one year to the next. A conspicuous difference between 2 regions in the western Ural Mountains was noticed. There were hardly any cancer cases at all, and when there were, they were of people who just recently moved there. The environmental conditions were no better than in other industrial areas. The primary industry was processing potassium, lead, mercury and asbestos from the nearby mines. The trees were dying from the pollution and so were the fish and Kama river. Scientists set out to explore and find how these people could be so healthy in such a polluted environment, only to find that the people consumed a comparatively high level of nicotine and alcohol compared to the rest of the USSR. So lifestyle clearly wasn’t the answer. While doing surveys door to door, one of the scientists interviewed an old lady doing her housework. In the course of the conversation she offered the scientist what we know as kombucha. Considerable scientific investigation proved that this beverage that was consumed in large quantities by basically everyone in the region, was the single factor that caused them to be as healthy as they were under such harsh conditions.
This led to more studies in Germany and other European countries. The now-famous dissident, Alexander N. Solzhenitsyn, contracted stomach cancer while being incarcerated in a prison camp in Siberia. In his autobiographical book “Cancer Ward,” he reveals how kombucha was a very simple and effective treatment that brought about a complete cure of his cancer. As it turns out, kombucha contains some organic acids that are made in significant quantities in very healthy human livers. These organic acids play a key role in detoxification of the blood. Unfortunately in the western world currently, the production of these organic acids in the liver abates to an insignificant amount – typically before children are of school age!
Cancer patients and people with a significant toxic overload have significant benefits from drinking kombucha. Heavy metals and other environmental toxins suppress the immune system and only make toxic overloads worse. But kombucha seems to do quite the opposite.
As for the sugar in kombucha, it is consumed by the culture. When making kombucha, if you taste it and it’s still sweet, it’s not ready. When it tastes just right, it has achieved a balance between too much sugar and more good stuff than you can choke down. If left to culture too long, kombucha always turns in to a tart, vinegary highly acidic brew. The acidity is hard on the digestive tract, and is unpleasant tasting. But you don’t have to be concerned about consuming white sugar because kombucha does it for you.
One of the 1st accounts of kombucha – http://w3.gorge.net/chriss/kombucha.htm
Will, I hope by now (over a year and a half later) you have learned the difference between naturally occurring and synthetic fluoride. Your article is uninformed, outdated and a disgrace to the perfectly natural healthy and safe kombucha tea. The only usefulness for your article is to teach people about the difference between natural and synthetic fluoride and show how drawing swift conclusions on limited sources of information is unskillful and unfair to your subject. You could have focused on tea in general but your motive was to “expose kombucha’s dark side”. Sharpen your pencil and try to find the good in things for goodness sake.
http://consciouslifenews.com/fluoride-toxic-poison-learn-differences-between-natural-synthetic-fluoride/
Aloha Nathan,
Thank you for stopping by to offer your input here. I agree with you that since publishing that article I have had a turn of mind on this subject. Guilty as charged. I intentionally targeted kombucha rather than tea for the ‘glamour impact’ that kombucha would have.
While I agree with you that natural fluoride and silico-fluoride (what is used in water ‘treatment’ around the world) are very different, I still stand that naturally occurring fluoride should also be avoided. There is simply no known benefit to mammalian species. It’s a toxin plain and simple. Sure, water treatment fluoride has traces of arsenic and other nasties in it too which adds insult to injury.
I appreciate your feedback here Nathan and am working on ‘sharpening my pencil’. Thanks for sharing your constructive criticism.
Wouldn’t a tea grown hydroponically with filtered water avoid this problem altogether? Any teas out there grown this way?
Ok so did a bit of googling. Please read this article
http://www.fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/tea/
In short, use a high quality tea
So this article really should have been called, “Why you should always use a high quality tea.” Better yet, “Want to lower the floride in your tea? Turn it into Kombucha!” But like you said, that wouldn’t have gotten as many hits…lol. Good water? Good tea? Organic cane sugar? Great booch.
kudos bro. Brilliant marketing here. You wrote an anti-tea article that would have gotten a few hits but slaughtered a sacred cow (kombucha) and I bet as a result this has gotten 10x the traffic it would have.
Grass roots marketers please take note! Regardless of that I am going to have to start looking into reducing my ice tea consumption. Maybe switch it out w/ an herbal tea every other time?? hmmmmmmm
I used to make kombucha with 2 green tea and 3 rooibos tea bags. It worked fine. My research showed that it lessened the fluoride over using all green tea, though rooibos still contains some fluoride.
Do you have a lab that you use for testing? Does it have to be local, or can a sample be shipped? Any ideas? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would love to test kombucha we drink at home. Thanks so much! 🙂
We started with kefir, had food sensitivity testing done, so no dairy for at least a year + until retesting to see if it was ok or not, and switched to kombucha, homemade and organic for our probiotic.
Well, after a few months our teeth became stained and gross looking. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. We eat and live organic, our water from a well, no processed foods at all… I read your article a week ago. Just WOW. I had researched and Nothing fit us for an issue, even though it looked like fluoride staining.
Well, I ordered kefir grains for water, and the jar for fermenting cabbage as better sources of probiotics.
After less than a week off, our teeth are already much improved in appearance, so I’m real sure we are back on track for white, beautiful teeth.
Thank you for the article, and I hope this example gives someone the heads up if they have this problem as well.
There is always more to learn. Good health to you.
I thank you for bringing this to light. I wonder about cold brewing the tea? I just learned about it for coffee and will be doing it for tea as well next time around. love you guys.
Great question! Not sure about cold brewing. It seems that it would be much lower as the reports I read spoke about increased brewing time increasing fluoride released into the tea.
Thanks for the supportive words Nicole! 🙂
This is a very flawed article. Why don’t you hire a FACT CHECKER before you publish drivel?
It assumes that only black tea is used to make kombucha. You can make kombucha WITHOUT any tea – just purified water (I never drink tap water since it is fluoridated by the municipal govt) so that disputes the fluoride concerns of this poorly researched article. Tea is only used as a flavoring agent – you don’t need to use black tea or ANY tea – you can make kombucha with purified water, honey or organic sucanat and a scobie. Flavor it with fruit juice or lemon after the fermentation is completed.
You can make kombucha with herbal tea that has zero fluoride.
Where do I begin to express my annoyance and poorly researched articles? This just creates misinformation – a fear based article that stirs up a bunch of nonsense.
There is also an urban legend myth that drinking kombucha will get kids drunk. There is less than 1/2 of 1% alcohol in kombucha – I’ve given kids 2 or 3 pints a day of kombucha in hot weather and they didn’t even get tipsy.
If you let kombucha keep fermenting for 2-3 months it will turn into alcohol, but the normal fermentation time does not create much alcohol
Thanks for posting Colleen. We do aspire to research well prior to writing articles. I’m sorry if this one was irritating for you. Our understanding is the kombucha scoby needs the caffeine and tannins in tea. Since I’ve never tested this idea of making kombucha without tea, I don’t know how it does. Please share with us your successes to doing so! 🙂
Thank you and Aloha!
I’m no chemist, botanist or any of that…but having given this some consideration I think I’ll feel okay about what nature chooses to do and trust that the forms of aluminum and fluoride in teas might possibly bind to sites otherwise claimed by the known harmful versions from manmade influences. I’ve read too much about the benefits of kombucha to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
in continuation to Julie’s last question –
regardless of kombucha, what about yerba mate in general, as a drink by itself? does it contain the same amounts of fluride as tea?
I haven’t heard any data on the fluoride content in mate. I think moderation is really key here. Anything can be damaging for the health if not in moderation…
I tried finding where I read it so I could post a link, and I couldn’t find it, but I remember reading that if you water plants at the soil (base of the plant) instead of raining the water over the leaves, the plants won’t get as much (or maybe none) of the fluoride from the municipal, fluoridated water supply. Do you know anything bout this? I believe it was something about the leaves absorbing more than the roots.
Thanks!
Aloha Wendy,
Yes, we also shared this information about how to water plants to lower fluoride uptake by the plant (if you’re watering with fluoridated water). Dr David Kennedy discussed this in our fairly recent free online event, the Healthy Mouth World Summit. If you water a plant at the soil (as opposed to onto the leaf surface), you’ll lower exposure as most plants don’t uptake fluoride through their root system. However, the plant will uptake fluoride from water if sprayed on the leaves.
However, some plants naturally uptake fluoride as a defense mechanism to protect themselves from being eaten. Tea uptakes fluoride more than any other plant known to humans. Some folks have come on arguing that naturally occurring fluoride is different than silicofluoride (the waste product from phosphate production) and that’s true. However, fluoride in any form isn’t good for any mammalian species (again according to Dr David Kennedy). Fluoride in any form destroys every enzyme system in the human body so we feel it helpful to avoid any exposure.
I hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks for posting!
Thank you. What if a different herb is used for the “tea”?
Great question! I asked the same thing of a few bigger blogger friends of ours. They are working on experimenting on other alternatives. I’m to understand that kombucha needs the caffeine and tannins from tea. One blogger friend of ours, Katie, the Wellness Mama, said she is working on being able to replace true tea with other combinations.
We’ll let you know when we hear what her experimentation finds! 🙂
I follow Katie/Wellness Mama… What ever happened with the experimentation?
All ears : ) …
Aloha Ange,
Thank you for the reminder. Hehe, experimentation on this project took the backseat. I do still have it on my ‘to do’ list however! 🙂
I have just started making kombucha regulary, I use only quality organic loose green & white teas of different varieties. I came across an article on Essiac tea and its many health and preventative benefits and decided to experiment by using the formula which I bought already put together…. Success, looks and tastes great, my point is you don’t need to use just green or black teas. I only drink a small glassful daily as I subscribe to moderation especially when there is so much discussion in both directions for and against, but I do have more energy and I am in better health in my 50’s than in my 30’&40’s.
Aloha Hazel!
I think making Essiac tea into a home-made kombucha is a brilliant idea provided the scoby can flourish under those conditions. I would drink your ‘bucha’! 🙂
Examples of “no-tea” kombucha:
http://store.organic-cultures.com/inseariorgrr.html
http://www.organic-kombucha.com/kombucha_brewing_recipes.html
zo green tea z nt good for uz after all !!!
I think there are lots of studies showing the benefits of green tea. That’s not to be disputed really. In the end, it’s up to each of us to weigh the relative risks and benefits of anything, including green tea and decide if it’s going to help us move forward with our immune response.
Thanks for posting!
Thank you for your eye opening article! I have been a tea drinker for about 1 1/2 years now. Drinking 2 to 5 cups a day. Plus a little kombucha here and there. I have been having joint and ligament problems along with degeneration in my spine and discovery of calcification of my styloid ligaments. Perhaps my problems are not related to fluoride?! Though just to be on the safe side….I’m giving up tea 🙁 I do make kefir, water kefir, and yogurt. So I’m set in the gut health I think. But I love a warm cup of tea! Any suggestions you may have to replace my afternoon tea drinking addiction, would be much appreciated!
Aloha Kimberly,
Thanks for posting! It seems to me that moderation is key here like so often. The trick to a warm cup of something for us is to steer around true teas (camellia sinensis). So, try rooibos ‘tea’ maybe? It’s the green and black teas that are higher in fluoride. However, if you go organic and higher quality ‘white’ teas, you’ll avoid lots of the risks of the cheaper brands.
We hope that helps!
You are also safe (to my knowledge) with good quality herbal teas. So experiment with some, see how you like them, and while you’re at it, check out the health benefits of various herbs and you could be enjoying your warm cup of something for its medicinal properties as well!
Really, all directions for making kombucha call for the highest quality organic tea. Not doing so does not grow the scoby very well and can in fact stunt it’s growth or kill it altogether. To me this article, while informative and eye opening, evades the most common form of making Kombucha using organic tea. I also think there is a stark difference between flouride in it’s natural form versus that which is found in toothpaste and our water supply. You simply can’t compare nature made to man made – it’s like apples and oranges and is processed and used by our bodies completely differently.
We agree about the organic factor! However, as much as I like to agree with others, regarding the use of fluoride (for mammalian species) no fluoride is ‘good’ for humans. It’s true that the junk used in water ‘treatment’ is trouble because it not only has fluoride but arsenic and other nasties. But the fact remains that fluoride isn’t good for us, naturally occurring or as a waste product from phosphate production.
I hope this helps!
There is a problem here between stannous fluoride and flourine found naturally in nature. The first is a byproduct of tin and other metal mining. The second exists in nature at 600 to 700 ppm and is usually encased in rocks. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorine
Here is a quote from Comprehensive Cancer Care by Dr. James Gordon regarding green tea and its benefits. “In the early 80’s researchers in the United States and Japan had begun to wonder why heavy smokers in Japan had only one third the rate of lung cancer as those in the United States. Eventually they realized one important difference was the amount of green tea that the Japanese consumed . In time they isolated an active factor in green tea, a polyphenol call epigallocatechin, which, they believed, engendered this chemopreventive (use of a specific substance to prevent a particular disease) effect.
Research shows that these polyphenols:
* Act as antioxidants, both by scavenging damaging free radicals and by enhancing enzyme activities that contribute to DNA repair.
* Protect the skin from carcinogenic damage from solar radiation and exposure to chemicals (in animal models).
* Exert a significant protective effect on both the development and severity of tumors induced in the stomachs and esophagi of mice.
* Act (in animal testing) to decrease the carcinogenic effect of heterocyclic animes (HCAs) formed by grilling or frying meat. (HCAs are thought to be associated with cancers of the breast, colon and pancreas in meat eating populations.)
* Help maintain stable white blood cells counts (WBCs) in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
* Exercise a chemoprotective effect on women with breast cancer manifested by decreasing recurrence rates and numbers of positive lymph nodes and increasing disease free survival.
Green tea, with glowing reports of chemoprevention and treatment activity, and few toxic side effects, is as close to a perfect phytonutrient as we’ve seen. … ”
He states much more and studies with green tea can be found in numerous areas.
“Fluorine once safely bound with aluminum, copper and iron in the earth’s crust was reintroduced into the environment in its ionic state. The fluorides were not only being buried in the ground and put into the water, they were also being released into the air by industrial processes. Fluoride pollution was a major industrial problem.” Wade Frazier author of Fluoridation: A Horror Story.
Which fluoride are you talking about in your article? My kombucha is made with heavily filtered water. If it is Fluorine that is natural in the earth, the ppm are so low that I do not see it as a concern. If making tea with fluoride water, plus the natural fluorines in nature then you have a point but does your point outweigh the benefits considering the pandemic of cancer being found in the United States and most industrial countries? Heart disease and cancer are now the number one killers. Based upon all of my studies in this area I will continue to consume kombucha made with green and black tea as the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Please feel free correct me if you feel I am wrong. I would find it interesting to hear what you have to say.
One last point. The amount of research I did during my daughter’s cancer treatment was staggering. In this I found many conflicting studies. My rule of thumb became this: only accept studies if there were several validating a specific claim or if there were no conflicts from more than one source. These then were taken to our oncologists for verification of data. As I could have missed the latest and greatest data coming out. Then I would move forward and feel safe doing so.
Thank you,
deb witter
Thanks for the awesome, thorough post Deb!
I think we would agree on most points. In the end, it’s really a personal decision whether to consume whatever based on the relative risks and benefits. Our main point here with the article is to bring to light that kombucha isn’t a wonder with no dark side. That’s all really.
Again, thank you for taking the time to post! We love to hear from folks who have done their homework! 🙂
I drink Prince of Peace 100% Organic Green Tea How good is that tea? Does that have floride in it. the water I drink at home has a filer on it to take floride out
What I have read many years ago, is that black and green tea have naturally occuring flourine. Floride is the synthetic form of flourine. Yes floride is VERY bad. Are the teas maybe rinsed in crappy water that is contaminated with floride before they are dried? Aluminum is added to some city water also. Although I know some plants such as soy pull it out of the ground like crazy.
Hi Will!
Thanks for writing the post. I’m new to all this stuff and it makes me think more about fluoride and aluminum in the natural things we eat. One thought I had about teas. I’m half Asian and it is known that Asian’s drink a lot of tea. However, Asians live longer than most. My Mom, who is Japanese, drinks black (lipton) and Japanese green tea daily. She is 82 and has most of her teeth. She is much healthier than I am. She eats mostly Asian food. Maybe, it’s the combination of foods and other things we do. Just a thought!
Judy
Are there any studies showing any correlation between incidence of skeletal fluorosis and habitual tea-drinking rather than coffee-drinking? I’m thinking of the centuries-old British custom amongst most of the population of drinking several cups of strong tea every day. Are there studies showing a higher prevalence of skeletal fluorosis in the UK than, say, the US where habitual and widespread tea drinking was somewhat curtailed after a certain famous tea-party.
I don’t drink kombucha, but I do drink a fair amount of organic green tea. What about herbal teas? Do you have the same concern about flouride in herbal teas like you do for green tea?
Sorry to get off the subject of Kombucha, which I drink and love, but speaking of gut flora, does anyone know if sauerkraut bought in plastic bags is pasturized? I know it is pasturized if it is in jars or cans.
I can’t speak for every brand but generally if the sauerkraut is in the refrigerated section and not just on a store shelf, it is not pasteurized. If you want to be sure, make it yourself. Then you can make it organic too for pennies. If you can chop up cabbage you can make sauerkraut, so easy!
It’s pasteurized if its not being chilled. Still some question marks on Bubby’s kraut though….
I was concerned about the acid in Kombucha and found I prefer it plain or flavored with ginger, not fruit, then I have no problems. Too much acid makes my tongue sore. I think the key with it as with anything is moderation, I drink it, as well as tea in moderation.
I’ve heard plants can uptake Iodine as well..which is something we need that would counter the effects of Fluoride. If we have enough Iodine…either through other sources or perhaps growing our own tea would that mitigate the issue?
I’m thinking less Fluoride would end up in the plant if you grew with plenty of Iodine rich soil. Alternatively you could add Iodine to the tea after preparation.
I don’t use tea, ive been making Kombucha for about 6 mon, using Rooibos, and can tell a HUGE difference in my digestive system
Maria can you share specifically what the huge difference is in your digestive system?
Can you explain more about Rooibos? Isn’t it still tea?
I am very interested in this for clarity’s sake… What difference did you note in your digestive system? This post is nearly 2 years old. Do you still feel this way? thank you.
Aloha again Ange,
Another great question! Rooibos is an herbal tea that isn’t of the same family as true tea. So, rooibos doesn’t uptake fluoride the same as true teas.
We go back and forth on the tea/kombucha issue. In hindsight, I really consider kombucha as having 3 issues: sipping an acidic drink is not great for the teeth, the potential of fluoride in the drink and the obvious sugars still intact (even though kombucha enthusiasts will argue that all the sugars are consumed by the fermentation process).
So, if I don’t make it with green tea and use yerba mate’ instead, would you offer the same conclusion?
I want to be careful here to not throw the baby out with the bath water. If you want to drink bucha, use the highest quality tea grown organically and you will be lowering your exposure for sure…
The fluoride found in food is not the same as the radioactive by product fluoride found in water. It has been said that the reason the radioactive by product was introduced as a “good” thing was to find a way to get rid of a large quantity of toxic waste thus disguising it as a “good” thing.
I agree that the fluoride found in soil isn’t the same as fluorosilicitic acid (used in water ‘treatment’ programs). However, in my book, fluoride is fluoride. My understanding is fluoride has no beneficial function in mammalian species on the planet. It’s a violent protoplasmic toxin and as such, we should avoid any unnecessary exposure.
And, all that said, we can agree to disagree here if you like. 🙂
Thank you for commenting!
Respect
I agree. Fluoride is fluoride and I don’t want it anywhere near me. I was a very athletic and healthy young person until moving into the city (mountain spring water to city water) and adopting a processed food diet. I developed systemic lupus and have to be very careful. This post about fluoride in tea is very informative for me. I drink organic green tea and an occasional kombucha as I like the taste. Thank you
Thanks for the article. I did a quick search and the first article I found was from WAPF. here’s an excerpt:
“Researchers looking at the toxic effects of fluoride have recently raised concerns about kombucha because most commercial tea is very high in fluoride. Fortunately, kombucha made with organic tea contains very little fluoride. We had fluoride levels tested in organic black tea and in the kombucha made with the tea. The levels in the tea were only slightly higher than those in the filtered water from which it was made and actually slightly lower in the kombucha than in the black tea. These results suggest that the process of fermentation actually removes some of the fluoride from the tea and may explain why the kombucha “mushroom” eventually gets black. These older, darkened “mushrooms” can be replaced with the newer, cleaner “babies” that grow on top of the original “mushroom” during the fermentation process.”
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/kvass-and-kombucha
What do you think of organic tea & fluoride?
Agreed Claire. If one is going to make kombucha, using the highest quality organic tea would lower the exposure for sure.
Thanks for posting!
Does this mean we should avoid all tea then, not just kombucha? Is the fluoride released because of the hot water? I’ve always made a cold brew of tea(put my tea in cool water for 24hr in the fridge) and was wondering if that meant even more fluoride or less?!
What is your opinion about using organic tea to make Kombucha?
Organic is definitely better than conventional tea due to the fact that conventional teas are grown with pesticides and many pesticides are fluorinated compounds.
Thanks for posting!
Excellent article. Thank you for the well-researched infor. that was shared.
Why not use coconut water kombucha? http://kevita.com/about/faq/
Try it….quite refreshing!!!
Sounds good! I want some! 🙂
Interesting. But I have a question about the tea plant– are tea plants absorbing excess fluoride and aluminum because they are being artificially fertilized, making the soil they grow in contaminated (and therefore the plant contaminated)? I was under the impression that organic tea did not have fluoride in it. If the plants are grown in healthy, balanced soil then it seems they wouldn’t absorb fluoride/aluminum because they aren’t there to be absorbed. If this is the case than it seems one could consume kombucha (and tea) without fear. I would love to know if you have any information on this.
I’m on the fence with this due to conflicting facts. On one hand, the tea plant uptakes fluoride naturally occurring in the soil. On the other hand, research shows that organic, high quality tea has less fluoride. I don’t know if this is due to the fact that the higher quality teas have less fluoride in them because they use younger leaves or because some pesticides are fluorinated compounds or both perhaps.
We plan to test kombuchas and give our own data and share it with you when we do!
What about chemtrails and their known effect on soil health? Aluminum is one of the chemicals used in this method of weather control.
So much fooling with mother nature, it’s difficult to study anything these days.
Agreed Kate. We each really need to turn within and see what speaks to us.
We use oolong tea and Berkey filtered water(no fluoride) for our kombucha, I wonder if that helps?
So what of regular Matcha Green Tea and Black Tea drinkers? I would drink 3-4 16oz cups of a tea per week. It is usually made with my RO water system but am I getting nailed with a big load of Fluoride and Aluminum due to my weekly tea consumption??
I have never heard of any deleterious effects of drinking Green Tea??
Thanks and any shared wisdom is appreciated!
Dg
i feel like there is a lot of wild guessing involved in this post…unfortunately. and there is no distinction made between organic and non-organic tea, when organic teas have been proven to have much lower levels of flouride. and what about the effect of fermentation on flouride? kombucha could very well have more benefit to the digestive tract than detriment regardless of flouride. many plants, including foodcrops, can have really high levels of flouride, depending on the water used and soil grown in…maybe we should stop eating plants lol.
Agreed Kasia. I did write this a bit inflammatory style. However, I still believe that the levels of fluoride inherent in tea should be considered. After all, aren’t there many ways to benefit gut health?
I have been reading this about tea. Thank you for helping me relate this to kombucha. While tea takes up a lot of fluoride, the fluoride has to already be in the water or soil, and there are bound to be places where tea is grown that fluoride is sparse and thus the tea would have very low readings. I have not researched what teas these might be yet.
Check out this link to the various fluoride levels in tea. I think it will help…
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/tea/
I’m not worried about it, and I will continue to make kombucha with organic, loose-leaf black tea. Here’s what the Weston A. Price Foundation has to say about fluoride in kombucha: “Researchers looking at the toxic effects of fluoride have recently raised concerns about kombucha because most commercial tea is very high in fluoride. Fortunately, kombucha made with organic tea contains very little fluoride. We had fluoride levels tested in organic black tea and in the kombucha made with the tea. The levels in the tea were only slightly higher than those in the filtered water from which it was made and actually slightly lower in the kombucha than in the black tea. These results suggest that the process of fermentation actually removes some of the fluoride from the tea and may explain why the kombucha “mushroom” eventually gets black. These older, darkened “mushrooms” can be replaced with the newer, cleaner “babies” that grow on top of the original “mushroom” during the fermentation process.”
You can read the original article here:http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/kvass-and-kombucha?qh=YToxMDp7aTowO3M6ODoia29tYnVjaGEiO2k6MTtzOjg6ImZsdW9yaWRlIjtpOjI7czo5OiJmbHVvcmlkZXMiO2k6MztzOjExOiJmbHVvcmlkYXRlZCI7aTo0O3M6MTI6ImZsdW9yaWRhdGlvbiI7aTo1O3M6NzoiZmx1b3JpZCI7aTo2O3M6MTA6ImZsdW9yaWRhdGUiO2k6NztzOjEwOiJmbHVvcmlkZSdzIjtpOjg7czoxMjoiZmx1b3JpZGF0aW5nIjtpOjk7czoxNDoiZmx1b3JpZGF0aW9uJ3MiO30%3D
Agreed Angie. We referenced this post from WAPF in the article as well.
Thanks for posting!
what about organic tea? does it have any less fluoride?
thanks!
Aloha Melanie,
Yes, organic tea has less fluoride. So, if I were going to make it, I would definitely use organic, high quality tea for it.
Thanks for posting!
This was a really interesting article! I’ve been trying to decide whether to make kombucha or water kefir and it definitely sounds like water kefir is the safer route. I mainly drink nettle tea or rooibos tea…do you know if this same fluoridation issue occurs with rooibos plants as well? I assume so since it’s a tea plant but am crossing my fingers! Thank you!
Great question on the rooibos plant! I don’t know about this. Is it a true tea plant (camellia sinensis)?
I pick water kefir for sure!!!
Thanks for posting!
Nope. It is not a true tea. I’ve heard you can’t make kombucha with herbal infusions. Too bad :/
Rooibos is completely different than green, black or white tea. These teas are all derived from Camellia sinensis and have different flavors due to different fermenting times. Rooibos is it’s own tea, a red tea from a bush – African Red Bush. It does not have caffeine.
Rooibos is a completely different plant than camillia sinensis , but it does have a lot of fluoride in it. Also my understanding is that by adding milk to tea, the impact on your body of the fluoride exposure is significantly minimized. Fluoride desperately wants to attach itself to calcium and this is why it is so bad for your body, but by putting milk (with calcium) into the tea it will bind up most of the fluoride in the tea. This won’t help wih kombucha, but for drinking tea in other ways.
Wiki says that rooibos is a member of the legume family. It is not a camellia sinensis. I do not know if it has an issue w/fluoride uptake – but it is an entirely different plant.
here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos
Please consider that flouride from the earth is organic flouride. NOT the by product of Aluminum production that is in our water, tooth paste, mouth washes etc.
Do…correct me if I”m wrong…but only after you’ve considered this statement.
Aloha Doug,
You are totally correct that fluoride from the earth is different than sodium fluoride, the byproduct from the fertilizer industry. And yes, sodium fluoride is super nasty stuff. However, naturally occurring fluorine still disrupts every enzyme in the human body. It’s still bad news in our book.
We hope that helps!
Shouldn’t this article be about tea consumption, and not just specifically kombucha?
Yeah, probably! 🙂 I guess I did write it with an inflammatory slant. I’ve just been seeing so many posts about how great kombucha is and wanted to be sure that folks were aware of the potential downside as well…
I also know that kombucha can help your body to detox. So, now I’m curious to know if drinking the kombucha can actually help your body to remove the fluoride and flush it out at the same time. Perhaps a better study would be to test fluoride levels in people who drink it regularly – compared to those who drink regular tea.
I’ve seen patients destroy their teeth drinking kombucha. The high acid content demineralizes the teeth and along with some residual sugar it causes cavities. I’ve seen patients who did not have problems with cavities before drinking kombucha come in with a mouthful after starting.
Thanks for posting! We have heard of this as well. The acidity really plays a role, doesn’t it?
So true. Kombucha has a ph of 2.4-3.8 depending on the fermentation time. You might as well drink vinegar. Or soda. I wish I had known this 3 years ago. I think beverages should be required to come with a PH on the label and a warning that anything below 5.5 will dissolve your teeth.
I now ph test everything that goes into my mouth on a regular basis. Lemon water is another offender disguised as a health food. And people tend to sip these kinds of beverages.
Totally agree Athena!!! Acidic drinks in any form are trouble according to what is called the acid-dissolution theory of tooth decay. Especially if one combines it with sugars. Double trouble. 🙂
Thanks for posting!
Darn! I was feeling superior because I rarely drink kombucha, but I drink lemon water (sometimes with green tea) everyday. I wonder if drinking through a straw will help preserve your teeth? I drink it hot, but I could start waiting for it to cool down.
How do you ph test?
Thanks for your time.
Actually drinking vinegar can be rather medicinal if it is done correctly. Aside from having a similar pH, the practice has absolutely nothing in common with drinking soda. Many traditional beneficial foods and drinks are in fact acidic. The metabolic processes in our body change the pH of the foods to further benefit our health. As a matter of fact, drinking water with lemon has an alkalizing effect on the body. Watermelon, an acidic fruit, is also one of the most alkalizing foods we eat. Pineapple is very acidic and it is full of amazing digestive enzymes too! Dental health is likely to be maintained by balancing the pH in your mouth after enjoying beneficial acidic foods and drinks, not by avoiding beneficial acidic foods and drinks all together. The solution can be as simple as eating a few granules of pure birch tree xylitol after you eat or drink something acidic. Give it a try. The key is to test the pH of your mouth (saliva primarily), not the foods you take in. Good luck exploring 🙂
In a research I came across some time ago, tea drinkers are some of the longest-living people in the world, staying independent and productive in their old age, but many of them with stained or missing teeth. In contrast, majority of people dying from cancer, both old and young, have excellent oral health, many without even a single filling. I have three friends who died from cancer in their early 40s with perfect teeth, and I also have a tea-drinking 87-year-old grandma with most of her teeth missing but is very sharp, strong, and mobile, and has never been hospitalized in her life.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have poor oral health and live strong till old age than die of cancer at 39 with perfect pearly whites.
I really like and agree with your comments, Lily
Isn’t the fluoride that is added to city water and toothpaste a ‘manufactured’ fluoride? I believe that even though there is fluoride in the tea naturally, it is in a form that our bodies are made to handle and use. Where as the fluoride that is a by-product is called by the name “fluoride”, it is actually different just as many medicines were started as plants but are chemically and synthetically made. Am I totally wrong? I’d love to see you do some research into this!
You’ve asked if the ‘natural’ forms of fluoride is in a form that our bodies can handle and ‘use’.
Well, in my own reading on this subject it was stated implicitly that our bodies have no need for this element, in any form and that we are unable to ‘use’ it at all.
Please prove me wrong, for then I will be enlightened.
You stated exactly what I was thinking. Not all fluorides are created equal. Like natural occurring nitrates vs synthetic nitrates. Not to mention that ALL plants have some sort of protective mechanism in them, that doesn’t mean we don’t eat or use them in some way. There is mentioned of how tests were done which always needs to be taken into consideration. There lies so many variables.
My thoughts!
I’d love to see more about this as well! That wouldn’t solve the aluminum problem though, aluminum is natural, but not good inside the human body at all!
that’s EXACTLY what I was thinking!!
I have never been a tea drinker, but I’ve heard everyone talk about how good it is for you. Just for clarification, are you recommending that we avoid ALL green and black teas, not just kombucha itself? Also, are herbal teas ok as long as they don’t contain green and black tea leaves? For instance, there’s chamomile, peppermint essiac, hibiscus, nettle, roibos, pine needle, etc.
Thanks for your help
Does it make a difference if the tea is organic or is it mainly about the fact that the ground water is full of fluoride and this fluoride is being taken up by the tea plant as a protective mechanism?
I think both play a role. Research shows that organic teas, particularly high quality tea, has less fluoride in the leaves. That said, the tea plant does uptake fluoride really well.
Thanks for posting!
What about organic tea?
Definitely better than conventional in this case!
Thanks for posting!
So, you’re not against Kombucha, you’re against tea, regardless of whether it’s fermented.
We are aware of a woman who crippled herself by drinking iced tea everyday. It only took her 10 years to do so. Skeletal fluorosis is bad news. There is some suggestion that fermenting the tea can diminish the fluoride (as stated in the post).
Thanks for posting!
fluoride is also very bad for the thyroid. I used to have black tea every day – 2-3 cups, steeped for like 30 mins (I just let the tea bag stay in the cup while I drank it). I ended up at the doctors with Hashimoto’s thyroid – I had overdosed on fluoride – and it is not a fun thing. So, be careful not to let it steep past the 3 mins per the instructions!!
Wow Margaret,
Thank you for sharing your story here! Doing so will help so many others avoid what you have gone through.
You’re an inspiration!
Aloha,
Will and Susan
What? I am 58 yes old and have been drinking at least a gallon of iced tea per day all my life. I even had ice tea in my baby bottles instead of juice. I’m still alive and well. Thanks, kris
I have some questions:
This article makes a point of avoiding kombucha because of the fluoride absorbed from the soil of the tea leaf – wouldn’t it be a more accurate statement to avoid all tea, rather than kombucha?
Does the fermentation process have any effect of the levels of fluoride?
Rather than simply claiming ALL tea, I simply wonder if it is a quality of source issue. Now, while I agree with the problems with fluoride and think it’s inhumane to add to our food supply, I’m curious as to what the source/quality of the tea tested during the studies Andreas Schuld cited. Since I can’t read German or Swedish, it’s difficult for me to investigate further (though I probably could copy/paste into Google Translate).
My thought here is the same thought when I hear vegans claim that “*ALL animal protein causes cancer”. I ask myself, “does that include octopus? How about ladybugs? Or gazelle? No doubt CAFO cows, chicken, and pigs are just awful in so many ways, including the effects on the body from consuming the meat from these animals, but it’s not fair to make an absolute blanket statement based on findings in a specific area. Of course, I won’t be using Lipton brand tea or GMO sugar or tap water when making kombucha.
Of course, further research leads me to find other articles* on the “accumulation of significant amount of excess nonessential trace elements in tea leaves”, which include aluminum, arsenic, and fluoride. Being one of the most popular beverages in the world, I wonder how difficult it is to get a clean source (if at all possible). But then again, there’s the issue with grains in the Paleo community. Does the source, variety, method of cultivation, and preparation make a difference in nutritional value and health impact of grains, or are all grains to be avoided?
In an effort to be healthy, one can have have poor mental health (see Orthorexia nervosa in deciding what to accept and what to avoid.
I appreciate your articles and enjoy getting your newsletters, thank you.
*https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996910002917
Wow Paul!
I want you to write for us! 🙂
Thanks for posting here. I agree that we can benefit from being more mellow about being healthy! 🙂 Great stuff… I completely agree that I threw the baby out with the bathwater here a bit. I simply wanted to make more aware that kombucha had a dark side to it as well…
Thanks for posting!
By the way, there are a lot of natural elements in our foods that can be dangerous when you eat large quantities. Natural nitrates in vegetables are higher than in hotdogs for example. Okinawans live in a blue zone, living the longest and healthiest, they drink vast amounts of tea, so do Chinese for thousands of years. As much as I love data, the question is: how complete is the picture? From what angle are we looking? Moderation is key with EVERYTHING…
I live in Okinawa and while the Okinawans drink vast amounts of tea and live long lives, their teeth aren’t pearly white. Actually it quite bad.
Good point! I have heard the tea bags are actually the source and thats why eastern countries have never had an issue, they don’t use bleached chemical laden tea bags.
Strange article 🙂
(1) Kombucha can be made with plenty of other sweet liquid.
(2) Level of fluoride can be adjust to whatever you want if you use tea and other things, so the fluoride could be good for the teeth!!!
(3) Sour and sweet this is a problem, I just drunk a glass and could feel a sour teeth !!!
F… What am I going to do with my kombucha, in fact I would like to remoce the acid and the sugar …
I am not crazy about kombucha just because it is anyone’s guess what culture is actually in there. That being said you can make your own fermented teas which would be a kind of locally-sourced kombucha, perhaps more likely to contain the bacteria and yeasts compatible with you in your personal environment (lots of room for debate there too). You can make kombucha with juices and honey-water also, avoiding the concern about Camellia sinensis. Another way to lessen the concern about highly reactive ions like fluouride might be to use white tea, the least processed form of the tea leaf. I tend to use white tea for any recommended tea uses. There are a lot of ways to take cultured drinks..good to look at things a bit from different angles.
Just read this:
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, “Researchers looking at the toxic effects of fluoride have recently raised concerns about kombucha because most commercial tea is very high in fluoride. Fortunately, kombucha made with organic tea contains very little fluoride. We had fluoride levels tested in organic black tea and in the kombucha made with the tea. The levels in the tea were only slightly higher than those in the filtered water from which it was made and actually slightly lower in the kombucha than in the black tea. These results suggest that the process of fermentation actually removes some of the fluoride from the tea and may explain why the kombucha “mushroom” eventually gets black. These older, darkened “mushrooms” can be replaced with the newer, cleaner “babies” that grow on top of the original “mushroom” during the fermentation process.”
what about the aluminum. Cancer patients can not have anything with aluminum. And some believe it causes cancer as well as Alzsheimers.
As a horticulturalist I believe that so long as the tea leaves are being grown from a source that is deficient in fluoride, then no fluoride will be present in the tea leaves. Such as hydroponically in a controlled environment with the tea plants only taking in minerals and nutrients that allow it to grow, such as H2O, calcium magnesium iron nitrogen blah blah blah. Then presto ! No fluoride. Also considering Reverse Osmosis water is used.
You must be kidding. Hydroponic tea trees …
AMEN!
Like!
The issue with fluoride and other minerals is that ALL minerals are poisonous if not consumed from an organic source.
Cataracts, arthritis, nerve problems, etc. have been around since the dawn of time. This is because people were drinking non-organic raw minerals from water! Aristotle noted that the only way to avoid being poisoned is to drink distilled water.
Tea, However, is an organic plant source that filters the floride transforming it into a nutrient which allows the body to absorb it and be NOURISHED by it.
All fluoride ‘tests’ are done with the isolated raw mineral. They do not represent accurate fluoride side effects when consumed from a plant. It’s the same with all minerals.
I make all my kombucha with my homemade distilled water. I like lavender, roselle, and red date kombucha. But I do enjoy a good earl grey batch here and there.
Fluoride poisoning (and chlorine) is REAL! Avoid all municipal water sources. Distill your water!!!!
Is kombucha tea acidic, so, therefore, it can damage the tooth enamel?
I always flavour my Kombucha with ginger, which is a great anti inflammatory food. And it is my understanding is that it’s Ph is basic. Therefore I believe my Kombucha is likely more neutral. I always use organic tea, have no fluoride in my toothpaste so I think 🤔 I’m happy with drinking it for the many benefits.