Why You Should Drink Kombucha Every Day

Chinese in origin and used for well over 2,000 years, the “Immortal Health Elixir” is a beverage with many incredible health benefits. Kombucha is an exciting beverage that has been shown to benefit your heart, brain, and gut. Still, while many people drink it, many don’t understand what difference this drink makes for the body. Read on to find out for yourself!

What is Kombucha

Kombucha is made by following a fermentation process that develops many healthy bacteria that serve as probiotics. These probiotics can line your digestive tract and support your immune system by absorbing nutrients and helping to fight developing infections and illnesses. Your gut is responsible for housing 80% of your immune system, which – since this is the second-largest section of your neurological system – understandably awards the gut the title of the “second brain.”

The fermented and gut-benefiting drink, kombucha, is black tea (or some green teas) and various sugars (cane sugar, fruit, or honey). As a probiotic, kombucha contains an interesting collection of bacteria and yeasts that initiate the fermentation process once the sugar is added. The kombucha adopts carbonation containing vinegar, vitamin B, enzymes, probiotics, and certain acids (acetic, gluconic, and lactic). This sugar and tea concoction is properly fermented by the bacteria and yeast, most commonly identified as a “SCOBY,” which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.

Due to kombucha’s growing popularity, it can be found at most natural health food stores and many groceries, generally for $5 or less. Additionally, kombucha can be made at home.

What are the Health Benefits of Drinking Kombucha Daily?

So now that we understand what kombucha is, it’s essential to clarify what it benefits. See the following list for reasons why you should begin introducing kombucha to your daily diet:

1. It Helps Prevent Diseases. Not only does it help your gut health and boost your immune system, but kombucha also contains powerful antioxidants that serve to detoxify your body, which protects you from disease and even cancers, primarily by reducing inflammation. (1)
2. It Supports Your Gut. We’ve already mentioned this, but it’s important to stress that kombucha greatly helps digestion due to its high levels of beneficial acids, probiotics, amino acids, and enzymes. It also helps heal stomach ulcers. (2)
3. It Improves Mental Health. Due to the high level of B vitamins in kombucha, your brain can benefit from increased energy levels and overall mental well-being drinking kombucha (1). Your gut also plays a strong role in mental health, so a healthy gut often leads to a healthy mind (1). Studies have suggested that kombucha could be useful in preventing or minimizing anxiety disorders and depression. (3)

What Are the Side Effects When You Drink Kombucha Every Day?

It Could Upset Your Stomach

Although drinking kombucha regularly may help enhance gut health and relieve constipation and hemorrhoids, too much of anything is still bad. Drinking a lot of kombuchas might induce nausea and diarrhea. Kombucha is acidic, so those sensitive to acidic beverages could develop nausea from drinking it.

Kombucha also contains some sugar. According to research, consuming too much sugar and various sweeteners can cause diarrhea or watery stools. Eating too many of them at once might produce similar effects if you don’t have enough probiotics in your system.

It May Lead to Headaches

One of the possible adverse effects of consuming kombucha regularly is headaches. The exact cause of a headache is unknown, but kombucha contains caffeine and alcohol, which alone or together might generate headaches in sensitive people. Caffeine is an effective headache reliever on rare occasions. However, while an effective treatment, continued exposure to caffeine might lead to headaches later.

It May Contribute to Lactic Acidosis

According to the National Cancer Institute, lactic acid is an organic acid produced in muscles. Swigging kombucha can result from more than lactic acid in the blood, which causes the body’s pH to become too acidic. According to previous studies, this can result in liver and kidney damage and even death.

The incidence of kombucha-induced lactic acidosis has not yet been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported two cases of illness linked to kombucha and elevated levels of lactic acid in women who consumed 4 to 12 oz daily for two months. However, there is no evidence that kombucha was the cause of their lactic acidosis.

Muscle aches, disorientation, nausea, headaches, tiredness, a rapid heart rate, and jaundice are all symptoms of lactic acidosis. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medicines are one of the primary causes of this illness.

Kombucha Could Trigger an Allergic Reaction in Some People

Kombucha tea allergies are another cause of concern. Signs of an allergic reaction can vary from person to person, but they might include difficulty breathing, a constricted throat, nausea, or dizziness after drinking the beverage.

Conclusion

These are the reasons why you should drink kombucha more regularly. There is plenty more science-backed evidence that further praises this drink as beneficial for one’s health, so try introducing it to your diet to see how you improve!

References:

1. 1. Current evidence on physiological activity and expected health effects of kombucha fermented beverage – PubMed (nih.gov)
   2. Understanding Kombucha Tea Fermentation: A Review – PubMed (nih.gov)
   3. Fermented foods, microbiota, and mental health: ancient practice meets nutritional psychiatry – PMC (nih.gov)
   4. Kombucha, the fermented tea: microbiology, composition, and claimed health effects – PubMed (nih.gov)
   5. Kombucha, the fermented tea: microbiology, composition, and claimed health effects – PubMed (nih.gov)
   6. Kombucha Tea-A Double Power of Bioactive Compounds from Tea and Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts (SCOBY) – PubMed (nih.gov)