Helen Lee Schifter, the former arbitrage trader on Wall Street and former editor for Conde Nast and Hearst, is a big believer in tea in all forms. Naturally, Schifter includes drinking Kombucha as a part of her monthly tea rituals.
What is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a fizzy tea drink that combines both an element of sweet and sour simultaneously. Made of a combination of yeast. sugar and black tea, the preparation for Kombucha involves setting it aside for a week so that the drink can ferment, much as how
yogurt is made from fermented milk.
Kombucha has been around for 2,000 years, first brewed in China, then spreading to Japan and Russia, and eventually worldwide.
What are the Health Benefits of Drinking Kombucha?
First of all, before proceeding don’t expect a bunch of lab tests and scientific research experiments by the International Kombucha Conglomerate.
First, because to the best of our knowledge, there is no such thing as an International Kombucha Conglomerate, but even if there were and Kombucha alone was attributed to solve every health problem on earth from cancer and heart disease down to simple headaches, as a known and popular product, Kombucha could not be patented like the majority of drugs on the marketplace that takes years to get approval by the various government health schemes such as the FDA.
Therefore, all health benefits to Kombucha are anecdotal. But just because there is no scientific proof of the benefits of Kombucha doesn’t mean they are there. After all, 2,000 years of brewing should stand for something. Here are a few of the perceived health benefits of Kombucha:
#1. A Metabolism Booster and a Diet Aid
Many people tout Kombucha as a booster of their metabolism. Kombucha may not be a miracle drink where the pounds just drop off instantly, but there is certainly evidence that green tea can help people shed pounds. Likewise, many people feel drinking Kombucha boosts their metabolism.
#2. May Aid in Digestion and Relieve Constipation
Here there is actually clear evidence that Kombucha contains probiotics that tend to be very good for reducing constipation as well as symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
#3. Lowering Inflammation
Studies have definitely been done on products that tend to relieve inflammation in the gut. Although Kombucha is simply another in a line of healthy foods that tend to relieve inflammation, it is frequently mentioned as an alternative.
#4. Cancer Prevention
Here the connection is far from evident in scientific terms, but it is known that Kombucha has antioxidants that may help the cells ward off certain diseases.
#5. Boosting of Cardiovascular Health
Cardiovascular disease is pretty much the leading global killer. Over 655,000 Americans die of heart disease just in the United States alone.
There is evidence that Kombucha may help reduce heart disease as part of a wellness regimen to improve heart disease, as both a metabolism booster for overweight people as well as to help in reducing overall cholesterol levels.
Kombucha may not be the wellness drink of 2021 and beyond, but Helen Lee Schifter thinks it should be noted that nobody has found any significant problems with people trying the drink for themselves.