Kombucha is tasty beverage made by combining the bacteria culture (called the scoby) with tea and sugar. The scoby is responsible for creating the probiotics and enzymes while fermenting the tea into an effervescent brew.
There are some clear benefits to drinking kombucha. Besides having medicinal properties, kombucha has become a valued energy tonic and all-around refreshing drink for health-conscious consumers. Here are nine healthy reasons to start adding kombucha to your daily diet.
1. Kombucha Benefits Digestion and Boosts Energy
Because it’s a fermented drink, kombucha has plenty of live enzymes that can aid digestion, helping it operate more efficiently while converting food to energy.
You will need more enzymes in your diet if you over-eat cooked and processed foods. If you eat too many foods that are devoid of healthy enzymes, this lack can reduce your body’s reserves of digestive enzymes. Eating raw living foods like kombucha and sauerkraut can be valuable aids that boost your overall health.
2. Kombucha is Rich in Healthy Bacteria Known as Probiotics
When you drink a glass of kombucha, you are ingesting billions of probiotic microbes that are beneficial to your intestine’s ecosystem. Probiotic microorganisms are a byproduct of the kombucha culturing process. The kombucha that you drink may include many different probiotic organisms:
• S. Boulardi
• Lactobacillus Bacterium
• Bacillus coagulans
The probiotic bacteria, as well as enzymes in kombucha naturally, promote better digestion, leading to improved immunity and overall health.
3. Kombucha Helps Maintain Your Body’s PH Balance
Kombucha is an alkaline-forming drink that helps the body fight over-acidity. Kombucha helps to keep an acid-alkaline balance within your body’s tissue as well as in the blood. Even the acid that is contained with kombucha can be helpful to the body.Lactic acid is found in many fermented vegetables and fermented drinks like kombucha. Lactic acid helps your stomach maintain its acidity. Stomach acidity wanes with age, so a friendly boost from fermented foods and beverages may be very beneficial for older adults.
Lactic acid is found in many fermented vegetables and fermented drinks like kombucha. Lactic acid helps your stomach maintain its acidity. Stomach acidity wanes with age, so a friendly boost from fermented foods and beverages may be very beneficial for older adults.
4. Kombucha Contains B Vitamins.
When made with decaffeinated tea, kombucha is a wonderful non-caffeinated energy drink that can be a healthy alternative to mass-market packaged drinks that are filled with sugar.Kombucha contains many
Kombucha contains many nutritious elements including polyphenols, amino acids and is also packed with B vitamins. B vitamins function as a natural energy tonic for both the body and mind. The typical kombucha brew contains a full spectrum of the major B vitamins in readily-assimilable liquid form. Getting enough B vitamins is instrumental in improving mood as well as helping cognition and learning.
5. The Immune System Benefits From Kombucha
Your immune health can improve with regular servings of kombucha. Kombucha’s ability to help the immune system stems from its enzymes and microbes, as well as the naturally occurring antioxidants which aid immune system health. Kombucha is a great source of natural antioxidants. Kombucha is usually made with green or black tea which is high in flavonoids. Flavonoids help promote anti-oxidant production, immune support and digestion. Other antioxidants prevalent in kombucha include EGCG and anti-microbial acids like glucuronic acid and lactic acid. When you drink a beverage that is high in enzymes, this can help counteract the side effects of eating mass-market food that is also chemically processed.
Flavonoids help promote anti-oxidant production, immune support and digestion. Other antioxidants prevalent in kombucha include EGCG and anti-microbial acids like glucuronic acid and lactic acid. When you drink a beverage that is high in enzymes, this can help counteract the side effects of eating mass-market food that is also chemically processed.
6. Kombucha Can Help With Pain and Inflammation
Kombucha also has a lot of glucosamine (an amino acid that is instrumental in cartilage repair), which means that it’s a great tonic for arthritis. Glucosamine is popularly used as a supplement which benefits overall joint health. Even if you don’t have arthritis, you may still have inflammation in your body that isn’t yet causing you pain. Almost everyone has inflammation to some degree because of eating too much processed foods or too much sugar. Some people may have taxing occupations that take a toll on the body, while others are genetically prone to having inflammation. Inflammation also happens when your digestive system is not working properly.
Almost everyone has inflammation to some degree because of eating too much processed foods or too much sugar. Some people may have taxing occupations that take a toll on the body, while others are genetically prone to having inflammation. Inflammation also happens when your digestive system is not working properly.
7. Kombucha Helps With Detoxification
Kombucha benefits your body with both its cleansing and detoxification properties. The kombucha drink is prized as a detoxification aid for both weight loss and cleansing. It detoxifies the digestive system while simultaneously releasing the burden on the liver. The cultured kombucha contains glucuronic acid, an organic acid that
The cultured kombucha contains glucuronic acid, an organic acid that binds with toxins in the body and safely eliminates them. In this way, it helps promote detoxification and cleansing within the body. Many health practitioners utilize the detox components of kombucha for conditions like arthritis, joint ailments and gout. Glucuronic acid has also been shown in studies to help prevent cancer.
8. Kombucha Can Replace Soda, Tea, and Fruit Juices
Kombucha can contain a varying amount of caffeine dependent upon the type of tea that is used in the culturing process. As mentioned previously, kombucha contains B vitamins that support healthy energy levels and mental functioning.
Kombucha can be a great substitute for soda, tea, coffee, fruit drinks and some alcoholic beverages. And though it may be brewed such that it has an alcohol concentration comparable to beer, kombucha typically only has a small (less than 1%) quantity of alcohol that accumulates during the fermentation process. Kombucha can be counted on as a great alternative to sugary drinks that don’t support your health goals.
9. Kombucha Can Help You Sleep
It’s hard to sleep when you’ve got a stomach full of food that isn’t digesting. The enzymes in kombucha help process undigested material left over from eating cooked foods that lack raw enzymes. If you have a healthy digestion, you are going to feel healthy.
If you have an imbalance of bad bacteria in your gut, then you’re going to be more susceptible to ailments like poor sleep. People who have impacted digestion don’t process the food they eat efficiently, leading to poor sleep. If you have too many nights of poor sleep, it’s going to lead to chronic fatigue and low energy.
By making homemade kombucha, you could be drinking your own probiotic beverage within a week of starting the culture. Kombucha contains probiotics, friendly bacteria, beneficial enzymes and B vitamins. Drinking kombucha is a healthy habit that’s perfect for detoxification of the liver. It’s a refreshing drink that people report actually makes them feel good, clears up brain fog and gives them lots of energy.
Looking to make your own kombucha? Check out our list of 13 books for making kombucha at home.