Drinking kombucha can lower blood sugar and therefore help fight type 2 diabetes.
- Kombucha is known for its antioxidant properties and probiotic benefits.
- Drinking this drink for four weeks lowers average fasting blood sugar by 164 to 116 mg/dL.
- Kombucha was primarily made up of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, and a form of yeast called Dekkera.
Kombucha is a fermented drink that is made up mostly of yeast and bacteria. It is known for its antioxidant properties and probiotic benefits. “Some rodent research on kombucha has shown promise, and a small cohort in people without diabetes has shown the drink to lower blood sugar,” said Daniel Merenstein, professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine in a statement. Recently, the researcher and his team wanted to know if kombucha helped regulate blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. For this, they carried out a study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
Drink kombucha or a placebo for four weeks
As part of the work, 12 people with diabetes were asked to drink either kombucha or a similar-tasting placebo drink for four weeks. After a two-month “withdrawal” period to “eliminate” the effects of the drinks, the kombucha and the placebo were switched between the groups. The participants still had to drink the products for four weeks. “A strength of our trial was that we didn’t tell people what to eat because we used a crossover design that limited the effects of any variability in a person’s diet,” explained Daniel Merenstein. Fasting blood glucose levels were then measured at several points in the study. Secondary outcomes, such as gut health, skin condition, mental health, and vulvovaginal health, were measured using a questionnaire.
Type 2 Diabetes: Bacteria in Kombucha Help Regulate Blood Sugar
According to the results, kombucha lowered average fasting blood sugar levels after four weeks by 164 to 116 mg/dL, unlike placebo (162 versus 141 mg/dL). Next, the authors also looked at the composition of the fermenting microorganisms in the kombucha to determine which ingredients might be most active. According to their observations, the drink was mainly made up of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria and a form of yeast called Dekkera. Each microbe being present in roughly equal measure.
“We were able to provide preliminary evidence that a common drink could have an effect on diabetes. We hope that a much larger trial, using the lessons we have learned in this study, can be undertaken to give a more comprehensive answer. definitive to the effectiveness of kombucha in reducing blood sugar, and therefore preventing or helping to treat type 2 diabetes”concluded Chagai Mendelson, co-author of the research.
