Kombucha: A Debatable Drink

Thank you for shedding light on another “health” drink I’ve never heard about (“True Believer,” by Mayrav Saar, Jan. 6). I am curious to try kombucha tea now, especially since Whole Foods carries it. As for G.T. Dave, who markets this concoction, I admire his passion for such an idea.

Gina Villacis

Norwalk

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I cannot imagine why you gave publicity to a slimy concoction purveyed by a high school dropout. G.T. Dave is smart enough to know that there’s a ready market for snake oil if it is pitched the right way. But his customers are not smart enough to know they are buying bottles of a vastly overpriced nostrum.

Here’s what the Mayo Clinic’s website says: “In short, there’s no proof that kombucha tea is effective for any of its myriad health claims. At the same time, several cases of harm or injury have been reported. Unless definitive studies are reported that can quantify more accurately the potential risks and benefits of kombucha tea, it’s best to avoid it.”

John M. Freter

Yucca Valley