What if you could enjoy a tasty beverage that actually improves your health while tasting delicious? It’s possible! Let’s discuss the many health benefits of kombucha...
Our personal story of how we came to brew our own kombucha began with our love for all things tea, along with a desire to find a refreshing and affordable drink that was a good alternative to sugary drinks.
You know the sugary drinks I’m talking about: soda, fruit juice, iced coffees, etc. Kombucha is cold, refreshing, and provides a fizz, with the added bonus of health benefits. But many of you who buy kombucha from the store know what I mean when I say regularly drinking kombucha became a money-sucking habit.
Homemade kombucha is not only a money saver, but allows us to have control over the quality of the ingredients, the ability to tailor the flavor to our specific tastes, and the ability to add medicinal herbs to further enhance the health benefits kombucha provides.
Is making your own kombucha starting to sound like a good alternative to you? Great! Let’s learn more…
Before we start: This herbal information is just that, information. This blog post and I DO NOT INTEND to treat, cure, or diagnose any disease or illness. This is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Please consult a physician before using herbs medicinally. Grab all the deets on the Medical jargon here.
This post also contains affiliate links. Translation: We get a little kickback for sharing certain products, at no additional cost to you, should you choose to purchase said items. And - thank you for supporting our farm and family! Read the full disclaimer here.
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented sweet tea. Since black and green tea both come from the camellia sinensis plant, either black or green tea can be used.
SCOBY is an acronym that stands for “symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast”, and forms during the fermentation process. If you have seen a SCOBY, let me just validate you now, yes...it looks disgusting, and you are probably wondering “Why would I want to drink something with a sea creature in it?”
During the fermentation process, the SCOBY eats the sugar in the sweet tea, and this is what creates the carbonation or the bubbles that result in a fizzy drink.
Health Benefits of Kombucha
Most of you know that probiotics and gut health are at the height of health discussions these days. It is highly important that we have good bacteria in our intestines for our immune system and to improve digestion.
Our gut health is connected to our brains, so when we have good gut health, we tend to have good brain health as well. A variety of probiotics is needed to support gut health, and different fermented food sources such as sauerkraut or other lacto-fermented vegetables, miso, and yogurt all provide different strains.
Kombucha helps add to this variety with the probiotic bacteria s. boulardii. One thing to remember is that kombucha provides “transient” bacteria. Meaning, that they do not colonize and stay in your gut, but rather pass through your system helping as they go. So, it’s important to consume transient probiotics on a regular basis to maintain the benefits from them.
What benefits do these transient bacteria provide? Scientific evidence has shown that these probiotics inhibit bad bacterial growth, and will help flush out existing bad bacterias so they cannot take hold in your system and harm you. For more information on these studies, see our post on making herbal kombucha recipes.
In addition to the probiotic benefits, kombucha is high in antioxidants which is essential for the detoxification of the liver.
These antioxidants can be further enhanced depending on the medicinal properties of the herbs you choose to use. Additional studies have been made that suggest kombucha can be beneficial for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and managing blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes.
When kombucha is made with green tea, you are combining the benefits of green tea along with the health effects of kombucha. Green tea is known for aiding in weight loss, helping with type 2 diabetes, brain health, heart disease, and so much more. See our post on green tea for more detail on the benefits.
I always say that the best way to kick a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. I can’t think of a better replacement for sugary drinks than what kombucha has to offer.
If you’d like to get started brewing your own kombucha, sign up for our FREE Kombucha Workshop where you will learn:
- How to get your kombucha brew started.
- How to bottle & flavor for the most fizz!
- Tips & tricks on the top 3 problems kombucha brewers encounter.
- Free downloadable kombucha checklist & recipe.
Or, if you’re ready to jump in with both feet, be sure to grab our Kombucha Start Kit or any of our Kombucha Flavoring Packs in our Farmhouse Teas store!
More Kombucha Posts
Are you getting weekly tips on all things herbal?
Growing, creating, recipes, herbal medicine tips, and more every week right to your inbox (including sales on herbal goodness!) Make sure you grab it here!
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
