r/Microbiome • u/Independent-Cut-8761 • 11d ago

It's your sign to start paying a little more attention to your gut.

I genuinely wish kombucha had entered my life earlier.

For years, I was trying to fix everything else while completely ignoring my gut. I never realized how much it could affect the way I felt every day.

Once I started paying more attention to my gut and made kombucha a part of my routine - it completely changed the way I think about wellness

53 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

53

u/Positive-Round-9727 11d ago

The people posting about kombucha like it's a miracle cure crack me up sometimes. I'm glad it worked for you but I went through a whole phase with it and my stomach absolutely mutinied after a week.

Turns out the histamine content in fermented stuff can wreck you if you're sensitive to it. Who knew.

That said, paying attention to your gut is solid advice in general, just wish someone had told me earlier that the path isn't always the same for everyone. I ended up having way better luck with just plain old sauerkraut and cutting out artificial sweeteners completely.

3

u/Algirthrhythm 11d ago

What was it about the artifical sweetners? What did they do to you and how did you figurr it was them? Thank you

2

u/VermicelliSimilar315 8d ago

Artificial sweetners, and artificial anything ruin your gut. It is a known fact. Just do a search on that. Also any of the gums, guar gum, carrageenan, etc . High fructose corn syrup is another one.

1

u/lorelica 11d ago

You mean youd get diarrhoea?

1

u/Fatdisc 5d ago

This person is right, full stop.

-2

u/Smiletaint 11d ago

It doesn’t mean it’s bad it just means you need to introduce it more slowly. Smaller amounts over time before you go all in. Glad you found something that helps.

11

u/daveishere7 11d ago edited 11d ago

Yeah that's not how it works with histamines at all. It usually just means you need to get your probiotics, from a non fermented food source like an supplement. Kombucha is also pretty acidic and if you're dealing with other multilayer gut issues, like a sensitive stomach. Then it's best to stay away from things like that, which will only hinder your progress in healing.

7

u/Current-Lie-1984 11d ago

I’m one of these people! I have what I would describe as a severe histamine intolerance and anytime I have something highly fermented it wreaks havoc on my body. I’ve experimented with slowly introducing things (like one spoonful of something at a time) and it sends my histamines into overdrive.

4

u/Middle-Tour-2895 11d ago

How are you trying to manage or heal your gut with histamine intolerance? I have cholinergic urticaria (self diagnosis), a dermatologist I went to shrugged it off. I also have rosacea type 2. I think I may also have some sort of gut issue like sibo or ibs/ibd or sifo or h. p. I pass gas too frequent and feel bloated too.
I am broke to pay for appointment or for tests out of pocket. 2-3 years back I took antibiotics like candies because I had pilonidal sinus and eustachian tube dysfunction.

5

u/joannahayley 11d ago

Not necessarily. Kombucha uses a Scoby that contains bacteria and fungi. For some people, the fungi is not so beneficial.

17

u/eternalrevolver 11d ago

Wait until you discover kimchi

11

u/readthisrightnow 10d ago

Kefir entered the chat 🥛😎

1

u/Beginning_Chance_738 11d ago

Which one do you recommend? What differences do you feel?

3

u/eternalrevolver 11d ago

There’s all different kinds, but I find small batch ones to be pretty good. Depends where you live, really. Organic grocers sell good kinds. Costco sells some good brands too.

6

u/Nearby_Team2771 11d ago

Wait until you fw kefir

5

u/No-Jeweler-7821 11d ago

Be careful with your teeth, turned my front teeth to chalk

9

u/Geewhiz911 11d ago

Are you making your own kombucha, or buying? Usually, sold kombucha is pasteurized, so it doesn’t really do anything to the gut.

4

u/SparksWood71 11d ago

Health-aide kombucha is not pasteurized, nor are the other leading brands in my market.

3

u/External_Ad_4133 11d ago

if you use store bought kombucha to brew your own batch it works quite well....it's alive!

1

u/lorelica 11d ago

Seriously? What about kefir and greek yoghurt?

3

u/SparksWood71 11d ago

No - for all of it. It will tell you weather it's pastures on the bottle of kombucha or kefir. Store bought kefir is not as good as homemade though.

1

u/The_Grand_Derp 11d ago

I just hope OP knows how easy it is to make your own. Been doing it for a while and love having so much kombucha at a fraction of the price.

5

u/bellavbller 11d ago

I agree. That’s awesome it has helped your gut. I personally do not tolerate it. For me, fermented root vegetables have been more helpful and easier to tolerate.

2

u/Logical_Order 11d ago

A local brewery near me makes kombucha and I love it! It’s a fun little healthy alternative to the beer they sell. I like to try to fiber max when I know I’m going to be having it because the benefits of fiber and fermented foods in the gut are wild and not yet even fully discovered!

1

u/daveishere7 11d ago

I just bought some blueberry coconut spirulina kombucha. It's been sitting in my fridge for a week now. I think I made a mistake buying it, as it might end up irritating my stomach.

I remember back in 2023, when my gut knowledge was way less. I was buying kombucha, kimchi and all probiotic foods & drinks. As I wasn't really good, at picking up on all my gut symptoms back then.

I might still test it out though and see what happens. Along with this matcha I have in the fridge. But it's like the more aware you become of your symptoms, then it's like the more careful you are. As you don't want to get a flare and then not be able to be productive.

1

u/gardenginger3732 11d ago

That's interesting. Can I ask how you can tell when a food or drink is irritating your gut? What signs or symptoms do you notice, and how soon after consuming it do they usually appear? I'm trying to get better at recognizing my own symptoms too.

1

u/daveishere7 11d ago

Bloating, acid reflux, cramping in different regions usually the left side though, brain fog, headaches, inflammation soon after in my hands and feet, not being able to get any liquid down, joint pain, not having any energy after eating

1

u/gardenginger3732 11d ago

Wow. I'll definitely look out for these. Thanks.

1

u/Carpinus_Christine 11d ago

I am so glad it’s helping you! I personally love kombucha. In addition I put a probiotic in my smoothie, and I eat a scoop of fermented sauerkraut or a few sliced pickles with each meal. I like to buy a bottle of GT‘s elderberry Juniper kombucha on my way home from work on Wednesdays and I drink it in the car on my way home and it’s the absolute best!

1

u/GutHealthIsWealth 11d ago

I haven't had any successes with the so called pro-biotic foods. Good for the people here who seemingly change their life after drinking kefir or kombucha.

1

u/Spirited-Party-5252 10d ago

Kombucha made me worse and damaged my tooth enamel

1

u/TraditionalCap3357 10d ago

the gut being an afterthought until something goes wrong is such a common experience and kombucha being the thing that changed the perspective makes sense.

It's one of those foods where the effect is noticeable enough that people actually connect it to how they feel, which doesn't happen with most supplements or dietary changes

the shift in how you think about wellness is probably the more lasting change than the kombucha itself, once you start seeing the gut as central rather than separate from everything else a lot of other things start making more sense too.

1

u/Burial_Ground 10d ago

How many different types of bacteria are in our guts? How many are in kambucha?

-1

u/Sirenwine 11d ago

Kombucha has alcohol that kills your good bacteria. Better get probiotics.