If you spent time googling around to find the health benefits of a kombucha you may be under
the impression that in fact it is the elixir of life you may have read that it can help boost
metabolism and in turn help with weight loss or perhaps you've been told that one bottle a day
can keep all your gut health issues away. And if you've really been down the kombucha rabbit hole
maybe you've even stumbled upon crazy stories like how President Reagan apparently drank kombucha
daily to help him fight off colon cancer. Now ignoring for a minute that Reagan might have been
a secret hacking sad kicking hipster at heart, the big question is what health claims are true
and what are not? Hi I'm registered dietitian Richelle Godwin and in this video I'm going to
walk you through the top seven most popular health claims about kombucha. Now for each potential
benefit our research team and I have analyzed all the evidence or lack thereof to figure out which
benefits are actually true and which are not. That means by the end of this video you'll finally be
able to see how drinking kombucha may benefit you and you'll be able to decide for yourself
whether it's worth your time and money. Let's go! Kombucha sales are expected to hit five billion
dollars this year and arguably the number one reason so many people are buying it is due to
the supposed gut health benefits. In fact if you look at the labels of popular selling kombuchas
you'll see words like "rebalance" "rebuild" and "reclaim" plastered all over them. And of course
you'll see the number one buzzword in gut health, "probiotics" there as well. Understandably when
you see this you can be forgiven for thinking you're drinking a gut health tonic of the gods
and that with regular consumption you'll build a bulletproof gut in no time. But
is this actually true? Well here's what we know from analyzing the top selling kombucha brands.
Yes they do have probiotics in them and probiotics in case you don't know are beneficial bacteria
or yeast that can confer some benefit on your gut health when consumed in adequate amounts. So first
impressions would suggest kombucha can indeed support our gut health of course how exactly it
does this would depend on the specific probiotics present in the kombucha you're drinking.
But guess what... that's not the full story. You see it turns out the probiotic superheroes that
kombucha companies mention on their labels and in their marketing are actually added to the drinks
after the tea has already been fermented. In other words the benefits they talk about are actually
thanks to the probiotic supplements they add into their kombucha afterwards. If you want to find out
why they do this because it is actually quite a complicated issue and involves regulations around
probiotic labeling laws we go into this in great detail in our video on GT's kombucha and you can
find a link to that in the description below. So given all this I guess you're probably wondering
are there any actual probiotics naturally present in kombucha that can help with my gut health?
In other words are there any probiotics that are created due to the natural fermentation process
as opposed to being added into kombucha after it's been brewed? Well the answer is "maybe".
You see most kombuchas will naturally contain several species of acetic acid bacteria
and lactic acid bacteria as well as friendly yeast and they may have probiotic effects. But
the reality is that in order to be technically classified as a quote unquote "probiotic",
these strains need to have been studied and shown to confer a real benefit to humans and right now
we simply don't have those studies. Also the other problem is that the microbial composition
of kombucha can vary so much depending on the SCOBY used, the tea and sugar chosen,
the fermentation time, the environment is made in, and so forth. So to wrap this up, kombucha
naturally has friendly bacteria and yeast but we just don't know for sure how beneficial they are
for gut health. Meanwhile commercial kombucha definitely does contain probiotics which can
support gut health. But just remember these are no different to the types of probiotics you'll find
in a probiotic supplement. Now just before we go on to look at all the other potential health
benefits of kombucha I think it's interesting to preface it all by saying a few things.
For starters many of the benefits are likely due to the tea itself such as the polyphenols
and tea or the acid components of kombucha such as acetic acid lactic acid and DSL acids,
among others. With that said the kombucha fermentation process seems to increase the
strength of the benefits found in tea. For example it increases the total polyphenol count and it is
of course only thanks to the fermentation process that we get the beneficial acids. The other big
thing to highlight is that pretty much all of the research we'll talk about in the rest of this
video was either done in vitro or in animals as opposed to controlled studies of humans.
And boy have there been a lot of animal studies! From rats to rabbits to ducks
and even cattle, scientists have been feeding kombucha to a huge range of animals.
And all this is to say when we come across any encouraging results in the rest of this video,
we just need to remember they merely show that there is some potential for the health claim being
true in humans. Oh and one other important point for you to keep in mind is no two kombuchas are
created equal. So when you hear about kombuchas in these studies, just bear in mind it may not be the
same type of kombucha you buy or make at home. The idea that something inside kombucha can hunt down
and kill bad bacteria yeast and viruses like some sort of mini Jason Bourne is interesting,
but is it true or not? Well there is some research that suggests kombucha may be able to do this
specifically when it comes to several food-borne infections such as h pylori, e coli, salmonella
and others, and even potentially candida yeast. In terms of how it might do this, researchers believe
it may be due to the polyphenols and acetic acid in kombucha. And in case you don't know,
acetic acid is the same compound that's abundant in vinegar but until more research is done,
the jury is out. Whenever our research team and I read about the potential anti-cancer properties
of a food or drink we have to wade through the research slowly and apply extra caution.
After all it's a big claim for people to be making. So let's see whether or not this claim
is true or not? So first of all, what we do know is that kombucha is made from tea leaves and tea
leaves are rich source of polyphenols, a type of antioxidant. We also know that the longer you
ferment kombucha, generally the higher the total polyphenol count. Now according to the journal,
"Nutrients", a diet rich in natural polyphenols could lower the risk of certain cancers.
In fact they found quote, "the vast majority of laboratory studies supported
anti-cancer activities of natural polyphenols", unquote. But if you dig into the details a bit
more you will also find there is a lack of clinical trials supporting these lab studies.
Of course we did a bit more digging to see if there were any studies specifically focused on
the tea polyphenols in kombucha and their proposed anti-cancer properties. In one study, our research
team came across kombucha prepared from green oolong and black tea was shown to reduce the level
of toxicity in human colorectal cancer cells. And in another study, kombucha significantly decreased
the survival rate of prostate cancer cells. But the catch with both of these studies,
is that they were done in vitro and conducted on cells, meaning done outside of a living organism,
which as we know is not the same as doing studies on actual human beings. So once
again until further studies are done, the health claim that kombucha can prevent or cure cancer
is a stretch. The idea that kombucha can help the detoxification process and in turn prevent damage
to the liver is another intriguing health claim, so is there any merit to this? Well our research
team did find some supporting evidence in studies conducted on liver damaged mice. Researchers
found that when the mice were fed kombucha, the rodents experienced less liver cell death which
really surprised us given that kombucha also does contain some small levels of alcohol. And if you
want to geek out with me for a second and look at why researchers believe this was happening,
well it was reasoned from these studies that kombucha has the ability to protect liver cells
by influencing metabolism of fats and reducing the formation of scar tissue in the liver.
So yes kombucha may help with the detoxification and protection of the liver at least in mice.
But for now when it comes to us humans, the potential benefit is a "maybe" at best. If
you've been dealt a bad genetic hand or otherwise have a history of high cholesterol, the idea that
kombucha can help support healthy cholesterol levels and thus reduce heart disease risk is
fascinating. But once again is it true? Well my research team and I found one study that showed an
experiment group were fed a high cholesterol diet and then given kombucha extract. Remarkably unlike
the control group, their cholesterol lowered. Fantastic news, right? Well the catch with that,
the study was conducted on a small number of rabbits. So clearly more research is needed.
Meanwhile other animal studies have shown that kombucha consumption raises levels of
HDL cholesterol or "good cholesterol" and lowers levels of LDL cholesterol or "bad cholesterol".
However until there are studies on humans proving kombucha lowers cholesterol levels we can't come
to any firm conclusion on this health claim. If you look at the label of the most popular
commercial kombucha brands such as GT's and Kevita you'll see they contain on average 10 grams of
sugar per 12 fluid ounces or 355 ml. Now while that's a whole lot better than your typical soda,
which comes in around the 30 gram mark, it begs the question how can kombucha a drink with sugar
lower blood sugar levels? Well surprisingly there is some research that shows kombucha
delays the digestion of carbohydrates and in turn can help lower blood sugar levels. However these
findings come from animal studies and in this particular case they were focused on poor little
diabetic rats. So like many of the health claims for kombucha there is some hope here but further
research is needed, especially in humans. And now onto the final health claim we'll be looking at.
Can kombucha speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight? Well from our research we found
no convincing evidence that drinking kombucha aids in weight management or a faster metabolism.
Well at least not any more than simply drinking the green tea it's made from. In other words,
any potential weight management benefits of kombucha stems simply from the fact it's made
from green tea. You see the green tea contains an antioxidant compound called EGCG. And from the
limited research we've seen, suggests that EGCG may have a beneficial effect on glucose control
and weight management. But don't take this to mean that you can replace daily exercise
with a glass of kombucha. Especially given most kombucha contains some sugar and thus calories.
So to sum up here, the evidence seems to be weak. Just before we wrap things up, it's
important to know that kombucha is not without its potential downsides. There can indeed be some risk
to consuming kombucha on the regular but the funny thing is that like with the health benefit claims,
many of the risks talked about online are also overblown. So once again if you want to sort fact
from fiction, check out our other video on the health risk of kombucha. Link in the description
below. As we've seen there are a lot of different health claims being thrown around by kombucha
companies and lovers alike. But the reality is, most of them need more research and in particular
they need controlled studies involving humans. In the meantime though, we can be cautiously
optimistic that kombucha is good for our health. You see although we're not sure about its natural
probiotic benefits, it does deliver lots of other benefits thanks to the green tea itself. Hello
antioxidant rich polyphenols. And these benefits are heightened through the fermentation process.
Meaning kombucha is more beneficial than the tea by itself. And additionally the fermentation
process also creates acids such as acetic acid and lactic acid which may offer other health
benefits. Perhaps best of all, kombucha is playing a massive role in reducing soda consumption and
thus sugar consumption. And if you find yourself swapping your Coca-Cola for a glass of kombucha,
well then for us that's more than enough reason to enjoy this fizzy fermented tea.
Now I'm sure you're wondering how does kombucha compare to other fermented foods like kefir
kimchi and sauerkraut? Specifically which are the healthiest fermented foods for you?
Well to find the answers you're looking for, my research team and I have created a Free Fermented
Foods Comparison Tool. In it, you'll find all the answers you're looking for, including which foods
have the most probiotics, nutrients and even how to make them. And once again you'll find the link
to this in the description below. Now we want to hear from you. Have you tried kombucha and
experienced any of these benefits? And if you bought it, which brand did you go with and why?
And if you enjoyed this video as part of our fermented food series I'd love for you to join
our Essential Stacks community by clicking the subscribe button below. We research the
most important ways you can improve your digestive health so you can love your gut again. Bye for now