How To Reap the Health Benefits of Kombucha ?

What is Kombucha?

We’re sure you’ve heard people talk about kombucha before, but what exactly is it? We’ll lay down the facts, health benefits, and our favorite kombucha brands that pair perfectly with our energy bars. By the end of this post, you’ll be a kombucha expert!

Kombucha is a fermented tea made by combining bacteria and yeast with brewed tea and sugar. The fermentation process results in a fizzy drink that can taste sweet, tangy, or vinegary depending on the length of the fermentation period. 

In order to make a kombucha drink, you need a Scoby. Scoby stands for “Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.” Scobys are often considered “the coral reef of the bacteria and yeast world,” which constantly renews itself and matures the more times you use it to make kombucha, similar to the “mother” used to make sourdough bread.

While you can make your own kombucha at home, there are many options available online, in your local grocery store, or even locally based craft kombucha brewers. It’s important to remember that since kombucha contains live cultures, it must remain refrigerated (unless you find a trusted powdered version!).

Benefits of Drinking Kombucha

For Digestion

Have you heard about the health benefits of kombucha for digestion? Here’s why.

Processed foods, such as packaged snacks and frozen meals, as well as medications such as antibiotics, can take away good bacteria that your body needs to properly digest foods and keep you regular. 

Fermented foods and drinks like kombucha help to give your body the good bacteria it needs. Since kombucha is full of powerful antioxidants and probiotics, drinking kombucha can aid in food digestion, reduce inflammation, and help to prevent diarrhea and constipation. While you could start taking a probiotic supplement, many recommend consuming food that contains live cultures rather than a supplement in order to fully reap the benefits. Many fermented foods, including kombucha, contain prebiotic soluble fibers which can aid digestion and also ensure that the live and active cultures stay, well, live and active. Luckily, kombucha is a delicious way to get your probiotics and aid digestion - it’s a win-win!

Kombucha drinks can aid in digestion especially when paired with powerful ingredients for added flavor and health benefits. If the kombucha you choose is flavored with ginger it can help with any feelings of nausea. 

For Your Liver

Since kombucha contains antioxidants, there are health benefits for your liver. Scientific studies have shown that kombucha, especially kombucha made with green tea, appears to have antioxidant effects on your liver. However, it’s not a perfect science - more studies are needed, so don’t just drink kombucha and expect it to heal everything!

Other Benefits

Kombucha is a really powerful fermented drink. In addition to having health benefits for digestion and your liver, according to Healthline, it may also help protect against cancer, manage Type 2 diabetes, and boost your immune system! However, since many scientific studies were not on humans, more evidence is needed to truly prove the benefits of drinking kombucha every day. It’s also recommended to avoid making it from home to prevent the risk of contamination.

How Often Should You Drink Kombucha for Health Benefits?

There are many health benefits of drinking kombucha everyday, but just like vitamins, you can have too much and not reap the benefits anymore. It’s best to stick to the serving listed on the kombucha packaging, or no more than 8 ounces a day. Since kombucha can contain several strains of yeast, it could possibly cause yeast overgrowth in the mouth and body, and for some, it has been known to irritate IBS symptoms.

Can I Drink Kombucha While Breastfeeding?

Although kombucha is rich in probiotics and comes with many health benefits, it is often not recommended to drink kombucha while breastfeeding, or while pregnant for a few reasons. The small alcohol and caffeine content could be harmful, and since it’s an unpasteurized drink, it could expose you and your little one to harmful bacteria.

Can Children Drink Kombucha?

Although kombucha has a low alcohol content, it’s still not recommended for children to drink. Your kiddo could reap the benefits of probiotics through a supplement, or other foods such as sauerkraut or Greek yogurt that contains live cultures.

Where To Buy Kombucha

If we wrote this seven years ago, we would wish you the best of luck trying to find kombucha at a local store near you. Luckily, with kombucha’s surge in popularity, it is now much more readily available -- you might even find it at your local convenience store! Many brands are available at health food stores and grocery stores as well.

One drawback of kombucha is how it must always be refrigerated, so keep that in mind when going to purchase kombucha. If you decide to order it online, make sure it will be safely transferred during the shipping process.

Our Favorite Kombucha Brand

Like our energy bars, we have been searching for a kombucha brand that can easily be taken on all of our adventures, and we finally found it!

Based in the USA, EssenzeFruits has an Instant Kombucha Powder that contains all of the benefits of kombucha in a convenient and portable powder form. EssenzeFruits’ instant kombucha powder features premium green tea, ginger, and fermented apple sugar and is enhanced with 13 strains of probiotics plus 47% prebiotic fibers. This Instant Kombucha Superdrink Powder is a great source of Acetic Acid and Glucuronic Acid and helps support healthy gut bacteria and overall energy.

You may be wondering, how can they preserve all of the benefits of kombucha in a nonrefrigerated powder form? EssenzeFruits uses a proprietary Cool Dry System™ to maintain all of those beneficial live cultures until the last sip. All you have to do is add with cold sparkling water, blend, and drink!