9 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Kombucha

There is a big chance that you have heard of kombucha. Many health and fitness enthusiasts today recommend drinking it regularly. Some even suggest taking it once or twice a day, a glass early in the morning and one for the night.

The main reason why this drink has become a staple among many people is that kombucha offers several benefits. It has tons of antioxidant properties and probiotics because of the ingredients.

But, before diving deeper into the evidence-based benefits of this beverage, let’s discuss first kombucha, as well as its ingredients.

What Is Kombucha?

Thousands of years have passed since kombucha first emerged. Based on reports, the brewing started in China and eventually spread to Japan and Russia.

Despite this, though, it only became popular in Europe in the early 20th century. In the United States, it is still on the rise in recent years.

Kombucha is a sweet drink that comes in a yellow-orange color. It has a slightly sour taste because of fermentation.

While some may refer to it as “jun kombucha,” jun (xun) is a slightly different drink. As it happens, they differ in ingredients.

To make kombucha, a sweetened green or black tea goes through fermentation. During the process, yeast and bacteria are added to the mixture.

On the other hand, jun goes through the same process. However, the base ingredients are green tea and honey, instead of sugar.

Health Benefits Of Drinking Kombucha

What make kombucha popular are its beneficial properties. Based on research and studies, drinking it regularly can help alleviate several health concerns, leading many individuals to improve the quality of their respective lives.

Here are some of the evidence-based Health benefits of kombucha, and you may want to check them:

1. Provide the Benefits of Green Tea

It is already established that green tea is one of the healthiest drinks on Earth. It has several antioxidant properties and bioactive compounds. Considering that kombucha utilizes green tea as its base ingredient, people who drink it automatically obtain the health benefits of green tea.

2. Promote Liver Health

Kombucha may help improve the condition of one’s liver. The reason being is that this drink can detoxify the body. Accordingly, it helps lessen the strains and stresses that the liver experiences in day-to-day living.

Also, studies on rats show that kombucha decreased the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the liver. As you may know, this is the organic compound that measures cell and tissue damage.

3. Kombucha Can Kill Bacteria

Kombucha is rich in polyphenols and acetic acid. These substances come from the entire fermentation process.

As noted, these things help suppress the growth of unwanted bacteria and yeast. In short, it appears to kill substances that are not helpful for your body.

4. Improve Gut Health

In relation to its ability to kill unwanted bacteria, it only results in improving gut health. Although there is still more study to be done to expand the conclusion and relation between gut health and kombucha, all evidence shows that drinking it regularly helps.

5. Kombucha May Help Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a common condition among millions of people across the globe. It is characterized by insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels.

Based on a study in diabetic rats found that this drink reduced blood sugar levels. Plus, it improved kidney and liver functions. Therefore, the markers became a piece of evidence that kombucha may help manage this type of health condition.

6. Boost Metabolism

While many individuals link weight loss to kombucha, there is no clear evidence that this drink can actually make people lose weight in totality. But, research states that kombucha helps boost metabolism.

If you want to drop those extra pounds, one of the first things that you need to do is to boost and improve your metabolism. You will need an active and much faster metabolism rate to easily digest the foods you eat. As a result, you drop the excess pounds.

7. Kombucha May Reduce Heart Disease Risk

Kombucha is found to improve two significant markers of heart disease, LDL and HDL cholesterol. Based on the study done on rats, the markers showed improvements in less than 30 days.

Also, green tea has benefits to heart health. Being that it is the base ingredient of kombucha, people who drink it regularly also receive the same benefits of drinking green tea.

8. Play a Role in Helping Prevent Cancer

Test-tube studies showed that kombucha may have the ability to suppress cancer cells. While this is not direct proof that it can decrease the risk of cancer to people, the results are still significant.

In addition, kombucha is rich in antioxidants, which are responsible for eliminating free radicals. As most people would know, free radicals are the base of cancer cells.

9. May Promote Positive Mental Health

There is a link between probiotics and depression, according to some scholars and experts. Also, there are studies that relate mental health concerns with inflammation.

Considering that kombucha has anti-inflammatory effects, and is rich in probiotics, there are existing theories suggesting that this drink may promote better and positive mental health.

In Conclusion

Kombucha may not be everyone’s “cup of tea.” But, if you want to reap the benefits of tea, as well as other essential properties, you may want to start drinking this beverage today. While the studies to determine the exact effects of kombucha on the human body remain inconclusive, several experiments, research, and data have already shown that this drink can help improve several health issues and concerns.