Love kombucha?

I’ve made my own kombucha for years! It is one of the easiest of all the fermented foods/drinks to make as it only needs attention once a week… all you need is black or green tea, sugar, water and… a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).

So what are the benefits?

There’s not enough evidence to clearly state that kombucha is ‘good’ for your gut health and we don’t yet know if the good bugs in this fermented drink impact the lower part of your gut, but… the researchers are working on it! So for now, be mindful of some of the claims and cleverly organised wording on the labels.

It is, however, a great alternative to alcohol and other higher sugar drinks so for that reason alone, it is a good option to have if you enjoy it rather than those other choices.

Things to consider:

Sugar is needed to keep the bacteria alive, because of that, I’m willing to accept a little more sugar than I normally would in drinks. Some brands are all about the ‘sugar free’ message but to be honest, when they then need to add in combos of sweeteners to make them palatable, I’m not a fan. I personally would look to choose one with less than approx. 3g of sugar per 100ml and accept that to be part of my daily 26g upper limit than have a drink with sweeteners.
As well as stevia which you often see in the low/no sugar kombucha, erythritol is another one you will see. Sweeteners ending in -ol are not helpful for those with IBS and can exacerbate bloating so I’d skip pass those if that’s you!
Kombucha contains caffeine which can impact on the QUALITY of your sleep (not necessarily affect you going to sleep) at night. Ideally keep to drinking in the day to limit the impact. I know this doesn’t work if you are having it instead of alcohol, but that’s hopefully not every night.

Acid:
Kombucha is acidic so be mindful of your teeth, it isn’t something to sip on over several hours. Use a straw if you are concerned to minimize the contact time with your teeth.

Want to see if a kombucha has a decent number of bacteria in it? Leave it on the bench for a week in a glass covered with a towel and see if a SCOBY grows. If not, there is not many bugs in there!

Check out my Instagram reel all about kombucha here.

Head here to find out how to make your own kombucha.