Hotline!

Almost every week on the show, we make phone calls to people all over the country and ask them their opinions on the burning issues of the day--sort of. Now's your chance to speak up. Peruse our archive of Hotline calls, and then head on over to the NotMuch message boards to let us know what you think about the current hot topic.

November 7, 1998 -- Kambucha Fungus
(rebroadcast from March 25, 1995)

She may look like a tortilla and smell like vinegar, but really her name is Frieda and she's a fungus from California.

Listen in as Michael talks with other Kambucha "friends" to find out if he'll really grow more hair, lose some weight and have more energy if he drinks the Kambucha tea.

Special Note: It's just like the Whad'Ya Know? Quiz where the questions are researched but the answers are not. We researched the guest, but not the potentially life-threatening implications of ingesting the guest (it doesn't come up to often). So, here's a word of warning about Frieda the Kambucha from a concerned listener in California.

11/10/1998

Dear Mr. Feldman:

I am the Assistant Director of the California Poison Control System - San Diego Division.

I enjoy listening to your program, however, I was concerned with the information you recently provided regarding Kombucha mushrooms. Kombucha is not really a mushroom but yeast and bacteria. There have been reports of severe toxicity associated with Kombucha. I have included the references from the Journal of the American Medical Association and from the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

1. Unexplained severe illness possibly associated with consumption of Kombucha tea--Iowa, 1995. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Journal: Jama, 1996 Jan 10, 275(2):96-8.

2. Kombucha "mushroom" hepatotoxicity [letter]. Journal: Annals of Emergency Medicine, 1995 Nov, 26(5):660-1.

Your program should provide this additional information and possible health risks. This illustrates the problem of obtaining medical information from the Internet, which has much misinformation on it. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sean Nordt
Assistant Director,
California Poison Control System
San Diego Division
University of California, San Diego