So what is this mysterious drink that everyone's been talking about? If they're talking about kombucha, it's a fermented tea that comes in numerous flavors and provides several surprising health benefits.
What Is Kombucha?
Kombucha starts out as a sweetened black or green tea. Then, it is fermented with the help of a "SCOBY" (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). That sounds appetizing... but it gets better, don't worry. The SCOBY transforms the sweet, sugary tea into something more carbonated and sour. This transformation generates some of the positive effects kombucha has to offer.
What Are the Health Benefits?
According to a study conducted by Dr. Axe, kombucha is full of probiotics, antioxidants, and enzymes that aid digestion and help prevent stomach ulcers. This wonder-tea also contains helpful bacteria called "apathogens" that compete with bad bacteria in the digestive tract. Kombucha has some positive impact on your immune system. It helps prevent joint damage, and reduce arthritic pain.
It has also been proven that kombucha increases your metabolism, and limits fat accumulation. Studies have shown that kombucha has been known to give people energy, and this is a result of the formation of iron that is released during fermentation. Chelation is a process in which the iron released helps boost blood hemoglobin. This improves oxygen supply to tissues.
Drinking kombucha promotes detoxification of the body which can prevent stomach cancer. Kombucha is very high in Glucaric acid, and recent studies have shown that glucaric acid helps prevent cancer. In addition, the Global Healing Center states that kombucha has been proven to decrease levels of toxins in the body that cause liver damage. Finally, kombucha reduces blood sugar levels which would be helpful for those who have diabetes.
What Does It Taste Like?
Kombucha is not sweet. It has a sour, bitter taste that may make you squint like you just accidentally bit a lemon (I would describe it like a vinegar soda). But don't get discouraged—with time the taste becomes more bearable.
There are many different flavors and varieties of kombucha. The sweeter flavors such as raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and citrus will mask the bitter vinegar taste much more than the ginger flavor will. You can find a deeper description of the taste here.
Where Can I Buy It?
You can purchase kombucha at Wal-Mart, Target, or any grocery store, or specialty food store. If you are in your local grocery store, it is located near the pre-cut fruit and organic juices such as Naked Juice and Bottlehouse Farms smoothies.
Wrap Up
Kombucha may be sour, but the health benefits are pretty sweet. This drink is a must if you are looking for a little detox, or if you are trying to build up your immune system. Next time you're at your local grocery store, feel free to show your stomach some love and pick up a bottle! It may take you a while to finish, but the repercussions will leave you wanting more.