You may have heard of an amazing fizzy drink that’s actually good for your health. You may have passed it by in your local health food store but didn’t think twice to pick it up. Well this powerful beneficial drink is the Kombucha! The best healthy natural alternative when you’re craving for a fizzy drink – in our opinion anyway! Not only does this fermented tea beverage taste great, but it also has numerous health benefits that will make you wish you had discovered it earlier!

Kombucha is a fermented drink made of black tea and sugar (from various sources including cane sugar, fruit or honey) that’s used as a functional food for the bacteria. It contains a colony of bacteria and yeast that are responsible for initiating the fermentation process once sugar is added. After being fermented, kombucha becomes carbonated and contains b-vitamins, probiotics, vinegar, enzymes and a high concentration of acid (acetic, gluconic and lactic), which provides numerous health benefits.

The combination of sugar and tea is fermented by bacteria and yeast often known as a “SCOBY” (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). Kombucha can also be made with green tea, although most commonly made with black.

We’ll list the top 3 reasons to grab that Kombucha next time you’re at the shops (or you could even make it yourself).

Digestion & Gut Health

Kombucha is great for digestion due to its high content of probiotics, beneficial acid and enzymes. The living colony of bacteria and yeast (scoby) contains a myriad of health benefits such as mental clarity, improved digestion, mood stability, fights candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth. Kombucha can been shown to prevent and heal leaky gut and stomach ulcers through research. As it helps restore balance to the digestive system, it can assist in healing candida yeast from overpopulating within the gut. Kombucha contains live probiotic cultures that assists the gut to repopulate with good bacteria whilst crowding out the candida yeast. As candida or other digestive problems can be complicated issues to remedy, symptoms may actually get worse before getting better. This does not mean that kombucha is ineffective, just that it takes a bit more time and process for the healing to occur.

Energy

Iron is released from the black tea through the process of fermentation. Iron increases hemoglobin levels through chelation and oxygen molecules are then transported to the tissues and cells. There are also minor traces of caffeine and B vitamins which provides energy from this wonderful fizzy drink.

Detoxification

Kombucha contains a powerful detoxifier called glucuronic acid (GA) which sticks to the toxins entering the liver and removes them out of the body via kidneys. It combines with toxins like pharmaceuticals and environmental pollutants and is then converted into compounds that are soluble, which is then excreted. The burden on the pancreas is reduced and keeps the liver healthy. It also prevents the harmful effects of the pollution caused by petroleum substances along with resins, heavy metals, plastics and pesticides.

Now if you’re worried about the ‘sugar’ content in kombucha, it’s not as much as you may think. As the healthy probiotic bacteria feed on the sugar, most of that sugar gets ‘swallowed’ up by the probiotics during the fermentation process, which allows for more beneficial bacteria to grow. The end result is less sugar content than it originally started with!

Kombucha is becoming more available in mainstream supermarkets these days, so next time you’re thinking about picking up a can of soft drink or just prefer a healthier beverage in general, pick up a bottle (or a carton!) of kombucha at the health food store, your local supermarket or at Vege Rama!

References:

• “7 Reasons To Drink Kombucha Everyday – Draxe.Com.” Dr. Axe. N.p., 2017. Web. 10 July 2017.
• Michaelis, Kristen. “Kombucha Health Benefits.” Food Renegade. N.p., 2017. Web. 10 July 2017.
• “Top 11 Impressive Benefits Of Kombucha | Organic Facts.” Organic Facts. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 July 2017.
• Bright, Sierra. “15 Reasons To Drink Kombucha And How To Make Your Own.” Natural Living Ideas. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 July 2017.