Kombucha is a kind of fermented beverage that is made by the combination of fermented sweetened tea and a specific symbiotic association of certain yeast cultures and acetic acid bacteria. The beverage was originated from northeast China a long time ago then spread to European countries and has been highly appreciated for the unique and refreshing taste that is similar to both apple cider and champagne. The flavor of Kombucha varies under the different choices of green or black tea.
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Besides a unique taste, there are also some impressive medicinal benefits of Kombucha that have been recognized. Kombucha can help the consumers facilitate detoxification, lower cholesterol levels, reduce arthritis pain, maintain the bowel movements, relieve gastric ulcers, and deal with other digestive problems. With the richness of anti-microbial properties, the beverage also helps improve the immune system, cure various conditions like diabetes and cancer, and maintain the cellular health.
Today, we introduce you 16 noticeable health benefits of Kombucha tea and added cautions. All the mentioned benefits of Kombucha tea has been investigated also explain how helpful this tea is and why it deserves to be regularly consumed. For those who don’t know or wonder what the benefits of Kombucha are, read the article to have more information!
Here are 15 Noticeable Health Benefits of Kombucha Tea
1. Facilitate Detoxification
Facilitating detoxification for the human body is known as the first one of the benefits of Kombucha. In other words, kombucha owns a special ability to detoxify the body, which depends on the presence of a powerful detoxifier in the beverage called glucuronic acid that prevents the toxins from attacking the liver as well as removing them from the body through the kidneys. Moreover, the fermented beverage also helps decrease the stress on the pancreas and maintain a healthy liver. And when people are facing harmful effects of pollution such as plastics, heavy metals, pesticides, and resins, the consumption of Kombucha can help them prevent or reduce this risk indeed.
2. Restrain Cancer
Another of the benefits of Kombucha is restraining cancer. This fermented beverage has been indicated to be effective in dealing with the growth of cancer, which depends on the presence of glucaric acid that plays a role in preventing various types of cancer such as breast and pancreatic cancer. The mentioned detoxifying ability of Kombucha also contributes to the efficiency of the beverage on the prevention and treatment of cancers.
3. Maintain Cellular Health
Not only does kombucha help prevent cancer but it also aids in maintaining the cellular health, which in turns improves the overall health indeed. It has been indicated that Kombucha could give protective effects on the induced cytotoxicity and possibly reduce cellular toxins, which support the cellular health and the overall health moreover.
4. Relieve Inflammation
With the antioxidant power, Kombucha can help the human body relieve inflammation. As mentioned above, the fermented beverage contains a lot of glucuronic acids and it, moreover, owns many other natural acids and powerful antioxidants that effectively help the body reduce oxidative damage. The antioxidants found in Kombucha play the main role in neutralizing oxygen free radicals in the body thereby repairing and protecting against associated diseases like cancer and inflammations.
5. Deal With Arthritis
Preventing and treating arthritis are other benefits of Kombucha for health. In fact, the fermented beverage contains glucosamines that can aid in dealing with arthritis. More clearly, glucosamine found in Kombucha can encourage the production of hyaluronic acid in the body, which in turn helps maintain cartilage structure and relieve the pain related to arthritis as well. Moreover, hyaluronic acid also helps reduce the free radical damage and empower the connective tissue keeping associated moisture thereby preserving lubrication and joint elasticity.
6. Regulate Cholesterol Level
Regulating cholesterol levels is also one of the benefits of Kombucha for health. According to the study before, the antilipidemic properties found in Kombucha can help reduce the absorption of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and stimulate the levels of HDL cholesterol, good cholesterol for the health. It is the reason why Kombucha tea is considered powerful in maintaining the healthy levels of cholesterol.
7. Cure Diabetes
Kombucha can be consumed as one of the natural and effective remedies for diabetes. The beverage is considered a natural therapeutic agent that helps suppress the factors associated with the diabetic conditions. According to a study conducted on black tea and kombucha to compare their efficiency on curing diabetes, Kombucha was indicated to own better- inhibiting properties than black tea, so it can help restrict the elevated blood glucose levels in the body. Moreover, it was also shown that Kombucha tea could give healing effects on the pancreas of those with diabetes and could reduce the concentration of urea and unexpected activities in the plasma membrane thereby maintaining proper functioning of the liver and kidney.
While type II diabetes caused by insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels occurs in more than 300 million people around the world, a study showed that kombucha could delay the digestion of carbohydrates, which, in turns, decreases the blood sugar levels as well as improves the functioning of the liver and kidney. Especially, kombucha extracted from green tea has been considered more beneficial because green tea is effective in reducing blood sugar levels by itself. The evidence is that 18% of people who consume green tea experienced a lower risk of developing diabetes among 300.000 participants in a study.
8. Hepatic-Protective Qualities
The hepatic-protective qualities make the healing action as one of the benefits of Kombucha for health. According to a study before, the fermented beverage can help restore the levels of glutathione and moreover reduce possible hepatotoxicity. In comparison with black tea, kombucha tea has been indicated to be more effective in giving hepatic protection against toxicity due to the antioxidant power found in the beverage.
9. Antimicrobial Effects
Besides the hepatic-protective qualities, Kombucha tea also contains anti-microbial properties that have been considered effective in fighting against many types of pathogens. More clearly, this beverage contains not only acetic acid but also other anti-microbial components that can protect against series of microorganisms known as Escherichia Coli, Helicobacter pylori, Staphylococcus epidermis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogens, and Salmonella enteriditis at their neutral values of pH level. In brief, Kombucha can help you prevent the risks of many diseases caused by minor organisms.
10. Improve Digestion
One of the most important benefits of Kombucha is improving digestion. Being a fermented beverage with the live colony of yeast and bacteria, Kombucha can help sustain the healthy gut and relieve various abdominal disorders such as chronic constipation and diarrhea as a probiotic potion indeed. Moreover, the digestive enzymes found in the beverage can also enhance the break of proteins and saccharides and stimulate the effects of glucuronic acid, which in turn makes the digestive process more efficient. For these reasons, kombucha is considered effective as some drugs such as Prilosec that is often used for those with Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), heartburn, and ulcers.
About Kombucha tea, it contains a high content of natural antioxidants that play the main role in counteracting free radicals causing some severe diseases like cancer and also causing chaos in the digestive system.
The benefits of Kombucha on the digestive system also include the ability to restore the balance in this system. That means the beverage can prevent candida yeast from overpopulating in the gut. With live probiotic culture, Kombucha is effective in fighting against candida and enhancing the repopulation of good bacteria in the digestive system. Fortunately, the beverage contains bacteria but not any harmful pathogen bacteria. Indeed, so it can also fight against bad pathogen bacteria in the digestive tract and the gut.
11. Relieve Gastric Ulcers
Relieving the discomfort from gastric ulcerations is another of the benefits of Kombucha. According to the study before, this beverage has been indicated to possess antioxidants and phenols that help protect the mucin content and restrict the excess secretion of gastric acids in the gastric tissues. Moreover, kombucha tea is also proved effective in healing gastric ulcers as another commercial drug called omeprazole.
12. Supply Energy
The benefits of kombucha also include the ability to supply energy. The reason makes Kombucha able to invigorate the human body is the formation of iron after the fermentation process. Moreover, the beverage also contains B-vitamins and some caffeine that can all energize the body indeed.
As you know, iron is an important mineral for the blood flow and the whole health in common. Through a specific process called chelation, the released iron aids in boosting blood hemoglobin, which actually improves oxygen that is supplied to all the organs and partly stimulates the production of energy at the cellular level. As a result, Kombucha tea can be consumed as a regular drink to keep the body energized, so you should add the drink to your diet if possible.
13. Boost Immune System
Boosting the immune system is also one of the benefits of Kombucha. As mentioned above, Kombucha is rich in antioxidants that are essential for strengthening the immune defense as well as boosting energy for the body. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory properties found in the beverage can also help fight against various viral and bacterial infections. Another study on this beverage also showed that the consumption of Kombucha tea is also beneficial in the compromised immune system recovery, which in turn improves the protective mechanism in the body.
14. Aid in Weight Loss
As many other herb tea or natural beverage, Kombucha can also aid in weight loss. According to a study conducted in 2005, Kombucha was indicated to improve metabolism and restrict the fat accumulation, which makes it beneficial for those who want to reduce the intake of fat in the body. The clearer evidence is that kombucha is high in acetic acid that effectively supports the weight loss process indeed. Therefore, people who are seeking some natural ways to lose weight should consume Kombucha on a regular basis.
15. Alternative to Soda
One of the common benefits of Kombucha is that it is consumed as a healthy beverage alternative to sugar-laden drinks including soda. In fact, Kombucha is naturally carbonated, which means the fermenting process can also produce bubbles and carbonation. On the other hand, sodas are artificially carbonated through a process forcing carbonation into its liquid.
Not only does Kombucha be consumed as a refreshing beverage alternative to soda but it is also more nutritious than other kinds of drink. More clearly, this fizzy fermented tea contains nutrients and probiotics that are not found in soda. Moreover, it contains less sugar than other soft drinks while the natural sugar in the beverage is simply beneficial bacteria that may be consumed through the fermentation process.
Some More Cautions
Besides various benefits of Kombucha for health, you should also be careful when consuming this beverage because of some possible side effects. It can cause allergic reactions such as inflammations and upset stomach. Moreover, kombucha tea can cause spoilage and contamination if it is brewed under non-sterile conditions. There are some points you should notice as follows:
Sugar Content:
Kombucha contains a certain amount of sugar because sugar is compulsory during the fermentation process. More clearly, it is the food for bacteria, which means some alternatives to sugar like stevia and xylitol are not available.
Caffeine Content:
Many people are concerned about the caffeine content in kombucha because its base is black tea. However, this caffeine content varies depending on the type of used tea and the steeping time. It may decrease during the fermentation process so that a longer process will make this content lower. In general, the caffeine content in kombucha is less than that in coffee and soda.
Alcohol Content:
Kombucha also contains a certain amount of alcohol, which is estimated 0.5% to 1.0% alcohol. It is imbalanced to 12 oz of beer and comparable to the alcohol content of over-ripe banana. In fact, the alcohol content in Kombucha available in the stores is less than that in homemade kombucha indeed, but it is commonly not much.
Gastrointestinal Toxicity:
Gastrointestinal discomfort is a side effect of consuming Kombucha. This can cause some symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, headaches, and jaundice.
Lactic Acidosis:
the consumption of kombucha can also cause lactic acidosis more severe circumstances in some individuals. In the case of medical emergency or any adverse symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention to prevent any grave conditions.
Avoid Using Ceramic Pots for Brewing:
Ceramic pots should be not used for brewing kombucha tea as it can raise the risk of poisoning. The reason is that brewing Kombucha tea can remove the glaze coating of the ceramic pots.
After reading the article on 16 noticeable health benefits of Kombucha tea and added cautions, hope that you can know how beneficial this tea is so that consuming it properly. Please let us know if you have any question by leaving them below and share with us other health benefits of kombucha if you know more.
Author Bio:
This guest post is by Emily Pham, a blogger with many years of experience in searching the best natural home remedies for health and beauty issues.
