Want a better, clearer understanding of what the probiotic drink, kombucha? We’ll delve into how it can benefit your body and if it’s more fiction and fantasy than “superfood”.
Kombucha and Its Benefits
Kombucha (also known as “mushroom tea”) is ultimately a fermented drink made from typically green or black tea; although other herbs are used as well. It’s fermented with bacteria and a fungus.
There are two potential benefits of kombucha. Firstly, just the aspect of it being brewed and fermented from green and black tea means you have the benefits of the polyphenols of green and black tea. These have been associated with weight loss, blood sugar control, and cholesterol control. It helps to reduce risks for certain types of cancer, and also promotes immune heath.
The catechins and epicatechins in green and black tea are helpful for the liver detoxification processes, and of course we know it’s high in antioxidants.
Secondly, the fermentation process of kombucha means that it’s high in probiotics, organic acids, and glucosamine. It helps with digestive health, immune health, and helps with mood and brain health. The organic acids found in kombucha can help the liver to detoxify, and glucosamine can help with joint and skin health. In addition to all the benefits of probiotics, they are also antibacterial to enteropathogenic bacteria.
One study has shown that it may be helpful for fighting against E. coli, shigella, salmonella, and the yeast, candida. Obviously, don’t rely on drinking on kombucha if you have an active, aggressive infection of E. coli, shigella, salmonella, or candida, but it can mitigate and help reduce infection against those enteropathic bacteria.
Another study also showed that kombucha fermented and derived from oak leaves decreases oxidative stress by improving the parameters of highly pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha. If we can decrease those pro-inflammatory cytokines, we’re doing the body a great benefit.
Now, this is the caveat with kombucha. Some people just simply love it so much that they drink too much — and that can be dangerous. It is recommended to limit your intake of kombucha to about 12 ounces per day, and the reason is that it is high in organic acids. In people predisposed with pre-existing conditions to lactic acidosis or liver toxicity, you can cause problems if you drink too much.
If you are home-brewing the kombucha, you need to take extra care. Unless you’re creating a kombucha with the scoby from and within really highly, strictly sterile environments, you can start to grow certain types of fungus and bacteria that are not beneficial and are in fact, harmful for your body. For this reason, it is recommended to buy commercial kombucha because they the products are carefully tested to make sure that the probiotics contained in the kombucha are helpful rather than harmful ones.
Now, if you’ve tried kombucha and you’re not a fan, or you’re intimidated by even trying kombucha, you can get the same benefits by drink a cup or two of green or black tea every day to get the beneficial aspects of polyphenols. We’ve actually created a really high potent probiotic supplement called Probiotic T-50. It contains 50 billion organisms, with eight different strains of probiotics. Give it a try and let us know what you think!
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