The truth about kombucha: Everyone’s crazy about it but is it really healthy for you?
Kombucha is everywhere – from supermarket shelves to cafes, the local bar scene and fifty-fifty your health-witting friend who has a jar of the stuff brewing at home.
But if you lot retrieve information technology'southward a new beverage, people in China were already making and drinking information technology thousands of years ago.
The fermented sugared tea (that'southward what information technology is essentially) is probably the latest beverage to join detox juices, smoothies, protein shakes and a menagerie of health beverages in recent years.
Its slightly tart, mildly sweet and fizzy nature is thanks to weeks of fermentation by the SCOBY, short for the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast added to the tea.
READ: Need more than probiotics in your diet? Find out which foods are better for your gut
Kombucha is sometimes chosen "mushroom tea" because of the micro-organism-rich, mushroom-similar film found on the surface of the liquid.
But that's not the merely part of kombucha where the supposedly beneficial bacteria or probiotics is found. The friendly microbes are also thought to grow in the mixture – and that'due south what's getting enthusiasts excited near the drinkable.
But how much do we all really know about information technology? Here are some questions yous might have.
CAN KOMBUCHA REALLY HELP WITH DIGESTION?
Call up when yoghurt starting time hitting the wellness nutrient scene as the fermented food du jour? If its cool, flossy, rich texture didn't already win you over then, its litany of health benefits might have gotten you intrigued.
And information technology seems history is repeating itself with kombucha. A quick Google search on the drink'due south benefits would get you lot a list ranging from better digestion to weight loss, improved blood sugar levels, lower heart illness risks and even cancer prevention. But can it really do all that?
The beverage does have several species of lactic acid bacteria, according to a written report published in Food Microbiology. Still, the study noted that there is still no bear witness that support the probiotic benefits of kombucha.
"There are few controlled studies examining the health benefits of kombucha in humans," said dietitian Goh Qiu Le with Changi General Infirmary's Dietetic & Food Services.
READ: Anxious? Depressed? Indigestion? Experts say kimchi or yoghurt tin help
Dr Brent Bauer, the director of the Department of Internal Medicine'south Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic, too doubted its probiotic role: "Limited evidence suggests kombucha tea may offer benefits similar to probiotic supplements, including promoting a healthy allowed system and preventing constipation".
WHAT ABOUT OTHER "BENEFITS" SUCH As PREVENTING CANCER?
There are claims that kombucha could help your body detox as well as prevent and manage health weather, from blood pressure to cancer. What do the experts think? "Most of kombucha'south claims appear to be overstated," said Jaclyn Reutens, the founder and dietitian at Aptima Nutrition & Sports Consultants.
"Further studies are needed to validate and/or debunk these otherwise anecdotal and hypothetical health claims," said Goh.
Dr Bauer likewise wrote on mayoclinic.org that "these claims are not backed by science. At present, valid medical studies of kombucha tea'south function in homo health are very express".
IS HOME-BREWED KOMBUCHA Condom?
If you're brewing your own kombucha, be careful. Letting nature take over sugar-rich solutions can sometimes invite harmful pathogens such as East coli to grow, likewise, said Li Zhaoping, a professor of medicine and the chief of University of California, Los Angeles'south Sectionalisation of Clinical Nutrition.
Reutens cautioned that "you can inadvertently add together other leaner from poor food handling" or let "pathogenic leaner and mould" to multiply when the kombucha "has not been sealed and stored fairly".
Furthermore, there is no standard to benchmark skilful or safety kombucha against considering "there is no gilded standard recipe of tea, carbohydrate and SCOBY to exist used", said Reutens. And there isn't a home kit to let y'all test your brew's nutritional value or safety, except maybe smell and taste.
So how should kombucha taste like then? "Its flavour profile is comparable to that of apple tree cider vinegar – tart nonetheless slightly sweet," said Goh.
READ: Can you lot – should you – eat nutrient that has passed its death date?
Another way to approximate your dwelling-made kombucha's safety is to test its pH, he said. "The fermentation procedure lowers the sugared tea's pH from ≥5 to approximately 2.v over 7 to ten days. If a pH of 2.5 has non been reached past Day 10, the liquid should exist discarded."
In fact, Prof Li advised confronting home brews, peculiarly if they're made for older people or those with compromised immune systems, equally they are not pasteurised.
"Meaning and breastfeeding women, and individuals with known allergies to alcohol should too avoid kombucha," added Goh.
Those who don't imbibe and those with severe irritable bowel syndrome should avoid kombucha equally well since it contains alcohol and tin exacerbate diarrhoea, said Reutens. "If you are drinking a highly sweetened kombucha in large quantities, you lot could finish up putting on some weight."
CAN STORE-BOUGHT KOMBUCHA Really Be Sugar FREE?
Speaking of weight gain, just how many calories does kombucha have? A 500ml store-bought canteen can take up to 100 calories, which come up mainly from sugar; flavoured options may have more than, said Reutens.
Kombucha definitely has a lower calorie count than soft drinks only nevertheless, information technology is not sugar-free. "You lot cannot get kombucha without saccharide because sugar is the substrate for the SCOBY," said Reutens. "The carbohydrate tin can be listed as sucrose, beloved, cane sugar, brown carbohydrate, beet sugar, maple syrup or agave."
Goh highlighted that "excessive sugar is sometimes added to mask the tangy taste of kombucha" and make information technology more appealing to consumers.
Your best bet? Look at the "per 100ml" column and pick the 1 with the least amount of sugar, brash Reutens.
WHAT ELSE IS IN THAT Canteen OF KOMBUCHA YOU GOT FROM THE SUPERMARKET?
Because the beverage is made of tea, kombucha tin can comprise polyphenols – the antioxidants that tea is known to accept. But if that's your reason for drinking kombucha, you might be better off drinking plain black or green tea without saccharide, said Reutens.
Neither is kombucha alcohol-gratis, despite claims on the bottle, as it can contain anywhere from 0.5 per cent to three per cent alcohol. Manufacturers are allowed to label the drink as not-alcoholic if it contains less than 0.five per cent booze, said Reutens.
As for kombucha-infused cocktails and drinks at confined and wellness cafes, Goh doubted their nutritional benefits. "The addition of kombucha to booze does nothing for the potable from a nutritional standpoint."
Also, ensure that the kombucha is refrigerated and not placed on the shelf at room temperature, said Goh. "Authentic kombucha, which is essentially a symbiotic collection of bacteria and yeast, should look murky with floating strands."
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/wellness/kombucha-health-benefits-indigestion-cancer-236686
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