Kombucha, the bubbly sweet-and-sour drink made of fermented tea, has been the talk of the grocery store isles for its apparent health benefits.
Among them includes helping manage Type 2 diabetes, reducing risks of heart disease, and even battling cancer.
But are their truth to these claims, or is it marketing drivel?
The recently published results of a review of studies into kombucha’s purported health benefits suggests…nothing. That is, we simply don’t know yet.
Researchers at the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri looked at 310 articles and failed to find even one controlled study analyzing kombucha’s effect on humans.
“Nonetheless,” the study’s authors wrote, “significant commercial shelf space is now dedicated to kombucha products, and there is widespread belief that the products promote health.”
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With no tangible results on its effects on humans, whether kombucha is beneficial to your health will continue to be up for debate. Lab and animal studies exist, and do suggest the tea and the vitamins and other properties resulting from fermentation may support good health. The same studies also say kombucha has antioxidant and anti-tumor properties, can stimulate the immune system, and could slow down the progression of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and more.
However, the University of Missouri study’s authors stressed that it’s “critical that these assertions are tested in human clinical trials.”
So the next time you decide to splurge on lucratively-priced kombucha, do it to treat yourself to the bold taste of fermented tea, and not as a miracle elixir.
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