Comments on: Health claims behind Carpe Diem’s Kombucha don’t stand up http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/ Kicking ass in the name of science! Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:23:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Aaron http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/comment-page-1/#comment-45752 Aaron Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:21:19 +0000 http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/#comment-45752 You are a little shallow on your research. There is American lab research supporting both sides of the argument. Also, Kombucha has long been part of Asia and and Europe so naturally that is where most of the research would be. The most active research is mostly still in German. Feel free to translate. Of that vast numbers of people who drink commercial or home brews they have been less than 30 documented cases of negative effect. Twenty are from an anthrax case in Iran. According to the Journal of the American Medical association it was most likely the anthrax came from an infected group of cows whose milk was stored in the same area rather than the Kombucha itself. All but two of these 30 cases can be traced to such outside contamination or specific allergic reactions. The CDC and FDA's findings on those two cases do not implicate the Kombucha as more than a hundred other people who had Kombucha from the same batch were tested and found to have none of the symptoms exhibited by the two women. And in terms of medical research not sponsored by pharmaceutical companies we are behind most of the first world including Switzerland. And PubMed is the National Library of Medicine's project. It's a resource on U.S. research and medical information. If they don't have information on research done in Switzerland or Germany or anywhere else in the world it only means that research hasn't been used by U.S. Professionals yet. You got the punk part down. Try to get the science. Context matters. You are a little shallow on your research. There is American lab research supporting both sides of the argument. Also, Kombucha has long been part of Asia and and Europe so naturally that is where most of the research would be. The most active research is mostly still in German. Feel free to translate. Of that vast numbers of people who drink commercial or home brews they have been less than 30 documented cases of negative effect. Twenty are from an anthrax case in Iran. According to the Journal of the American Medical association it was most likely the anthrax came from an infected group of cows whose milk was stored in the same area rather than the Kombucha itself. All but two of these 30 cases can be traced to such outside contamination or specific allergic reactions. The CDC and FDA’s findings on those two cases do not implicate the Kombucha as more than a hundred other people who had Kombucha from the same batch were tested and found to have none of the symptoms exhibited by the two women. And in terms of medical research not sponsored by pharmaceutical companies we are behind most of the first world including Switzerland. And PubMed is the National Library of Medicine’s project. It’s a resource on U.S. research and medical information. If they don’t have information on research done in Switzerland or Germany or anywhere else in the world it only means that research hasn’t been used by U.S. Professionals yet. You got the punk part down. Try to get the science. Context matters.

]]> By: Carpe diem con Kombucha — Trashfood http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/comment-page-1/#comment-40668 Carpe diem con Kombucha — Trashfood Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:21:34 +0000 http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/#comment-40668 [...] scientifiche hanno i messaggi? Cercando in rete ho trovato le perplessità del curatore del blog Science Punk che si interroga come me sugli studi alla base dei messaggi riportati sulla confezione. Seguendo [...] [...] scientifiche hanno i messaggi? Cercando in rete ho trovato le perplessità del curatore del blog Science Punk che si interroga come me sugli studi alla base dei messaggi riportati sulla confezione. Seguendo [...]

]]> By: Klaus http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/comment-page-1/#comment-4026 Klaus Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:27:14 +0000 http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/#comment-4026 I want to thank you for doing the research. I visited a Whole Foods grocery store and discovered the Carpe Diem brand there (they were handing out samples). I bought one with Ginko Biloba. The taste is good. So while checking on-line to see if I could get a better price for a quantity purchase, I stumbled onto your web site. I'll give the store manager a copy of your discovery...and I won't bother ordering any. Truth about the product and a subsequent loss of sales is what might get the attention of Austrian HQ. Thanks a bunch! I want to thank you for doing the research. I visited a Whole Foods grocery store and discovered the Carpe Diem brand there (they were handing out samples). I bought one with Ginko Biloba. The taste is good. So while checking on-line to see if I could get a better price for a quantity purchase, I stumbled onto your web site. I’ll give the store manager a copy of your discovery…and I won’t bother ordering any. Truth about the product and a subsequent loss of sales is what might get the attention of Austrian HQ. Thanks a bunch!

]]> By: Frank the SciencePunk http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/comment-page-1/#comment-4025 Frank the SciencePunk Wed, 21 Nov 2007 21:21:27 +0000 http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/#comment-4025 Rob, that's an excellent criticism and one worth addressing. I didn't ask the important question of whether there was someone more knowledgable / suitable I could speak to. But in my defence, Rachael #1 did say that company scientists were working on my queries. On your second point - a relentless harrying of unusual pseudoscientists is what sets SciencePunk apart from other similar blogs - if I did weekly one-offs on household-name quackery my site would simply be a second-rate imitation of Ben Goldacre's excellent <a href="http://www.badscience.net" rel="nofollow">Bad Science</a>. Everyone has their own style, and this is mine. :-) Rob, that’s an excellent criticism and one worth addressing. I didn’t ask the important question of whether there was someone more knowledgable / suitable I could speak to. But in my defence, Rachael #1 did say that company scientists were working on my queries.

On your second point – a relentless harrying of unusual pseudoscientists is what sets SciencePunk apart from other similar blogs – if I did weekly one-offs on household-name quackery my site would simply be a second-rate imitation of Ben Goldacre’s excellent Bad Science. Everyone has their own style, and this is mine. :-)

]]> By: User http://www.sciencepunk.com/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/comment-page-1/#comment-4020 User Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:38:28 +0000 http://www.sciencepunk.com/v5/2006/11/carpe-diems-kombucha/#comment-4020 Erm.....? Am't most drinks on shelves in supermarkets these days full of claims regarding health giving properties??? Wouldn't your time have been better spent researching something that people may actually be interested in, instead of relentlessly contacting someone that probably didn't promise you anything in the first place. I doubt someone in a marketing dept would have had any power to provide you with such information, and if you want to blame anyone - it has to be Austria HQ in my opinion not Rachel No.1!! Erm…..? Am’t most drinks on shelves in supermarkets these days full of claims regarding health giving properties??? Wouldn’t your time have been better spent researching something that people may actually be interested in, instead of relentlessly contacting someone that probably didn’t promise you anything in the first place. I doubt someone in a marketing dept would have had any power to provide you with such information, and if you want to blame anyone – it has to be Austria HQ in my opinion not Rachel No.1!!

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