Touted for its beneficial probiotics, polyphenols, and anti-inflammatory properties, kombucha, a so-called super drink, has become a super-seller all over. Let me tell you, once you’ve discover this bubbly beverage and feel it’s working it’s magic on your insides, it doesn’t take much to feel like a kid in a candy shop discovering all of the colorful bottles and fun flavors on the grocery store shelves. Take it from me, a recent kombucha “addict”. A friend brought me a bottle two months ago to help with stomach upset…she said to drink it quickly and it should help by the afternoon….well it did! What a miracle! The taste wasn’t so bad and the initial, positive effects kept me wanting more. Two months of drinking a bottle or two a day and having taste tested just about every flavor in our local stores, I’m having to cut my ties. Seven days of stomach upset, distention, fatigue and headaches left me wondering if I was “glutening” myself (being a diagnosed celiac) but I knew I wasn’t. I thought maybe it was a new allergy of sorts. I thought maybe it was hormone changes….but then I thought about what had changed in my diet recently?…..Kombucha! How could something so healthy be hurting me? Well, here’s the good the bad and the in-between of kombucha:
*Kombucha, a fermented tea, is high in B vitamins, probiotics and antoxidants.
*Kombucha is high in FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) which can cause gastrointestinal distress, especially for those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If you’ve ever experienced stomach discomfort after consuming sugar alcohols (low-calorie sweeteners such as xylitol, mannitol and sorbitol) then you may have a similar reaction to Kombucha.
*Kombucha is a probiotic drink thought to improve the gut flora by increasing the good bacteria which will “fight off” the bad. The problem is that each of us has our own, unique intestinal microbiome (or microbial environment) which can very easily become unbalanced. Too much of any bacteria, coupled with the sugar content of kombucha, can throw off the balance and potentially lead to yeast infections and/or bacterial overgrowth.
*A serving size of kombucha is 4 ounces. Most people can tolerate between 1 and 3 servings per day but most bottles contain 14-16 ounces. You can see why, over time, a person with IBS, drinking 2 bottles per day (about 32 ounces), might find themselves a little uncomfortable.
*Not all kombucha is created equal. Some brands are raw (and contain naturally occurring probiotics), some are pasteurized (healthy probiotic bacteria are killed during this process), some have more caffeine and alcohol than others and some are kombucha flavored drinks which contain no probiotics at all. With kombucha’s major increase in popularity and manufacturing combined with a lack of labeling laws and regulations, consumers are left vulnerable to very clever marketing strategies.
KeVita brand, owned by PepsiCo, is pasteurized, which kills off the good bacteria, so they add probiotics after processing. KeVita Master Brew has extra caffeine added making the caffeine content about 75mg per bottle (this is 4-5 times more caffeine than most other brands). Health-Ade, Brew Dr. and Holy Kombucha are all raw products with probiotics that occur naturally during the fermentation process (although not all brands disclose what the probiotic content is).
*There are actually no conclusive, experimental, human studies to prove any health benefits of drinking kombucha. We can only go by the in vitro studies that have been conducted.
*Children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems should not drink kombucha.
We dietitians love the term “everything in moderation”, and consumption of kombucha is no exception to this “rule”. Kombucha can absolutely be a healthy addition to the diet, just know your body, know what you’re buying (check expiration dates too!) and know when you’re reaching an excessive intake! If my math is correct, I should now be saving about $112 per month by cutting back!