Kombucha: A ‘Growing’ Trend in the Functional Beverage Market
Move over beer, there’s new (well actually not so new) fermented beverage in town. Kombucha! “Booch” as I affectionately call it, is the life of the party…literally. This fizzy, refreshing tea is nutritionally alive.
Kombucha is made by fermenting sweetened tea with a culture of yeast and bacteria, known as a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast). While the thought of drinking a cocktail of microorganisms that sits on your counter for a week might not initially sound savory, the sweet tasting brew might just take you by surprise.
Anyone that’s new to the Kombucha market usually starts with commercially bottled brews in the grocery stores. A few popular brands include GT’s, Health-Ade, and KeVita. Each brand has a slightly different flavor twist, but all tend to be pretty good.
While the commercially bottled varieties are delicious, the habit of drinking a daily booch tea can get quite expensive as a bottle can ring in at over $4. Most avid Kombucha lovers usually turn to home brewing due to the cost, but what you might find is that the home brewed is even more delicious than the store bought variety.
You can brew a whole gallon of booch at home for just pennies. All you need to do is score yourself a SCOBY from a friend and you are in business!
WHY KOMBUCHA IS POPULAR
Not all bacteria is bad. The gastrointestinal tract is home to hundreds of bacterial species, and research is starting to reveal the essential role gut microbes play in the immune system. Diseases such as depression, obesity, and autoimmune disease may be linked to imbalances in bacteria in our GI tract.
In addition to immune function, microbes in our gut are capable of synthesizing B-vitamins, vitamin K, folate, and short-chain fatty acids. Finally, microbes also aide in digestion and intestinal motility (1). In short, having a healthy gut is critical to your overall health.
Kombucha has grown in popularity because it is marketed as a probiotic drink. The World Health Organization defines probiotics as “live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” There is scientific literature to support the benefits of particular probiotic bacteria species in relation to certain health conditions, but what is less clear is how the specific microbes found in kombucha fit into this probiotic picture.
For example, studies have shown the benefits of bacillus coagulans GBI030, 6086 in improving irritable bowel syndrome symptoms (2) and saccharomyces boulardii has been shown to prevent and protect against antibiotic-associated diarrhea, clostridium difficile infection, and helps improve acute diarrhea (3-7). These two microbes are found in commercially bottled kombucha tea like GT’s.
While there is research to support the benefits of such probiotics, there has been little research to support the use of such probiotics when consumed in the form of kombucha. Unfortunately studies investigating kombucha’s health benefits are limited to just a few rat and human trials that are underpowered and the results aren’t certain.
WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND
If you decide you want to try kombucha anyway, commercially brewed kombucha that is pasteurized is safest. While pasteurized is safest, many prefer the natural, unprocessed beverage brewed at home because the bacteria is alive. However, keep in mind this means that harmful bacteria can also exist too. There have been several case reports documenting nausea, vomiting, allergic reactions, liver toxicity, and metabolic acidosis after consuming kombucha (8.9). While it’s known that home brewing booch can be risky if not prepared correctly, there are steps you can take to minimize risk. Below are some pointers to keep in mind:
- When you brew kombucha, you create ethanol. Unpasteurized booch is often less than 1%, but over-fermenting can increase the alcohol content up to 2-5%, similar to that of many beers.
- Prepare your tea and ferment it in a very clean environment
- Using a non-glass container like ceramic can potentially leach elements like lead into your brew
- If it smells like acetone, toss it
- If you are immunocompromised or pregnant, kombucha is not recommended
You can learn more about safe home brewing from companies like Kombucha Brooklyn. They offer additional suggestions on the type of vessel to select, types of teas to use, sanitation, and even offer to let you email a picture of your SCOBY to help you decide if you should toss it and start over. If you are looking for creative flavoring options, check out the blog on lavenderandlifting.com for tips using essential oils in your next brew.
In the end, deciding if you want to start drinking and/or brewing kombucha is a personal decision. While the scientific evidence is limited to support the health benefits, the effervesce tangy flavor might be enough of a reason to give it a try. You never know, it just might ‘grow’ on you!
For more nutrition-related blogs, check out FoodAsRx.com.
References
1. Gorbach SL. Microbiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract. In: Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. Chapter 95. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7670/.
2. Hun L. Bacillus coagulans significantly improved abdominal pain and bloating in patients with IBS. Postgrad Med. 2009;121:119–124.
3. McFarland L.V. (2010) Systematic review and meta-analysis of Saccharomyces boulardii in adult patients. World J Gastroenterol 16: 2202–2222.
4. McFarland L.V. (2006) Meta-analysis of probiotics for the prevention of antibiotic associated diarrhea and the treatment of Clostridium difficile disease. Am J Gastroenterol 101: 812–822.
5. Surawicz C.M., McFarland L.V., Greenberg R.N., Rubin M., Fekety R., Mulligan M.E., et al. (2000) The search for a better treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile disease: use of high-dose vancomycin combined with Saccharomyces boulardii. Clin Infect Dis 31: 1012–1017.
6. Hochter W., Chase D., Hagenhoff G. (1990) Saccharomyces boulardii in acute adult diarrhea: efficacy and tolerability of treatment. Munch Med Wschr 132: 188–192.
7. Mansour-Ghanaei F., Dehbashi N., Yazdanparast K., Shafaghi A. (2003) Efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii with antibiotics in acute amoebiasis. World J Gastroenterol 9: 1832–1833.
8. SungHee Kole A, Jones H, Christensen R, Gladstein J. A case of Kombucha tea toxicity. J Intensive Care Med. 2009;24(3):205–207. doi: 10.1177/0885066609332963.
9. Srinivasan R, Smolinske S, Greenbaum D. Probable gastrointestinal toxicity of Kombucha tea: is this beverage healthy or harmful? J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Oct;12(10):643-4.
