Drinking Kombucha has woken up addictive thoughts in me that have been dormant for 265 days now. I couldn’t believe it.
My new non-alcoholic drink had been Kombucha, the fermented tea drink. There is a TINY amount of alcoholic (0.5%) listed even though it is sold as a health food probiotic drink in grocery stores. It had a “bite” to it like my drink of choice, chardonnay, so if I went to a concert with friends drinking wine, I"d bring kombucha. I bought a big bottle of it for my kitchen and would have a glass or maybe two when cooking dinner. The other day it crossed my mind to run out and get another bottle since I was out. (what I used to do about chardonnay). ANother time I was driving home around 5 pm thinking I needed to stop for a kombucha first. Then it hit me that that was the same behavior I used to do, albeit more desperately, but about wine.
I never thought that this tiny amount of alcohol would do anything. The side of the kombucha bottle says do not drink if pregnant or sensitive to alcohol. I guess I am "sensitive: to alcohol. I never thought a microscopic amount would matter.
So, sadly, I’m done with kombucha now.
Did anyone else experience this?
Am I crazy for buying it in the first place? - Well lesson learned!
You aren’t crazy, but I thank you for posting this. It can be a controversial topic, but I’m glad that you described your experience with it. That being said I hope you don’t reset your counter as a result.
Why should it be controversial? I don’t think there is a single secular medical recovery center or 12-step program that would sanction drinking low-alcohol anything. The Kombucha I bought said “up to 2%” alcohol!! Thankfully I read the label before trying it.
I’m surprised this isn’t known across the board. Some places you need to be over 21 or older to buy it (US). For me it doesn’t cause any cravings and it has health benefits that work for me-digestion mostly. However it isn’t recommend to be consumed daily, so I’ve read. I think like anything, if it’s not a “healthy” addiction for you, then it’s best to steer clear.
I personally don’t think it needs to be looked down on, but to each their own.
No, I didn’t try it. I gave it to my normie wife. We don’t usually keep alcohol in the house but made an exception this one time. She drinks it for the supposed benefits but doesn’t like it much.
Be careful though. Kombucha is what led me to my last relapse. I was having a bad day and thought I’d have a kombucha and pretend to be shocked that it contained alcohol (lol). I decided not to reset but a week later I drank beer. I’m not saying the slippery slope will happen to you but please be cautious.
Fanny packs are often worn by WW2 and Korean War veterans and will often contain a Colt model 1911A1, few of which would know what Kobmucha is, let alone drink it, and therefore is an unlikely side-effect of consumption thereof.
I drank Scope straight. Literally big gulps. Kept a bottle in my glove compartment. It was my pre-work ritual. I thought it was a genius way to get alcohol and disguise the smell. Course I also went out to my my car a few times during work to ‘retrieve’ various things I forgot
So, put me down in the ‘no’ column for Kombucha. Actually I never heard of it. But, I could definitely see myself get carried away with anything in the gray area.
I don’t mean to pick on anybody in particular here but I think I need to push back on some of the easy-going attitudes toward “low alcohol” drinks.
The science is unequivocal: even trace amounts of any substance to which one has been addicted can take a brain even 20 years sober and reset it to cravings mode. Cavalier attitudes towards alcohol in cooking (a lot may remain), near beer, alcohol-based mouthwash and things like Kombucha DOES lead some addict somewhere to relapse ever day of the year. Doctors and long-time sober folks know better.
