Kombucha Gummies: All You Need To Know
Supplementary, sweet, and nutrient-packed gummies are more popular than ever, especially for folks who want to make sure their supplements come with organic ingredients or are palatable for kids. These days, you can even find kombucha gummies: supplement gummies made with kombucha tea and other natural ingredients.
But what exactly are kombucha gummies, and are they delicious, or do they ruin the unique flavor of kombucha? Let’s answer these questions and more now.
What Is Kombucha?
Kombucha is a very popular fermented tea, usually made from types of green or black tea (and some kinds of kombucha are even made from a blend of both types!). Without getting too technical, kombucha is made by adding live bacterial colonies and yeast to sweet tea, allowing the mixture to ferment for up to a few weeks to a few months.
The result? Slightly fizzy, sweet tea with a pleasant tartness that has made kombucha popular around the world. Many historians believe that kombucha first originated in China nearly 2000 years ago.
Today, many people still appreciate consuming kombucha or making their own tea with bacterial colonies and yeast, especially if we already have yeast on hand from baking or other culinary adventures.
What Ingredients Are in Kombucha Gummies?
So-called kombucha gummies are becoming increasingly popular. These gummies include kombucha as one of their core ingredients, alongside other ingredients and vitamins like:
- Vitamin B
- Sugar
- Gelatin
- And more
It all really depends on the kombucha gummy manufacturer and what they want their gummies to include. However, most kombucha gummies taste very similar to kombucha tea: sweet and tart.
So, Are Kombucha Gummies Tasty, Too?
Like all things, that depends on your preferences! Many people find kombucha gummies to be flavorful, tasty, and absolute delights. Others think that solidifying kombucha’s sweet and tart flavor ruins the experience. They may believe that kombucha is meant to be enjoyed as a fermented tea, and solidifying kombucha into a shell with gelatin isn’t that enjoyable.
That said, kombucha gummies should provide many of the same benefits as regular kombucha tea, given its ingredient composition. Because of this, you might consider trying kombucha gummies if you like to sip kombucha from time to time for its health benefits rather than because you enjoy kombucha itself.
Benefits of Kombucha
Just what benefits do those include? Given kombucha’s popularity and long history, plenty of studies have gone into kombucha and its supposed health benefits in the past.
Vitamin Content
As a fermented food, kombucha, by its very nature, has tons of probiotics, which are helpful bacteria that can bolster the gut microbiome and provide other benefits and antioxidants.
In a nutshell, antioxidants are special compounds that can neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules because of their electron content, leading them to cause tissue damage, inflammation, and so on.
Antioxidants may neutralize free radicals by donating an electron, arresting any inflammation and potentially leading to health benefits over time.
Kombucha has antioxidants and probiotics, making it a vitamin-packed beverage by default. Depending on the exact strain of kombucha you consume in your tea or your gummies, you may also find additional vitamins like:
- Live bacteria, which may aid with food digestion or boost the health of intestinal cells
- B vitamins, which are some of the most important for cellular respiration and generation
It all depends on how kombucha is prepared and what types of tea were used in its creation. Because of this fact, no two kombucha gummy types will be exactly alike. Should you choose to try kombucha gummies, be sure to read the ingredients on the back of the packaging so you know exactly what you're putting in your body.
Gut Health Benefits
As noted above, kombucha is famous for its probiotic content. This is similar to the content found in other fermented foods. All naturally fermented foods have probiotic properties.
When consuming fermented foods like kombucha, you may experience a more balanced gut microbiome. Your gut microbiome is a collection of healthy bacteria that perform several key biological processes, including:
- Aiding digestion
- Reducing bad bacteria from living in your intestines
- Influencing your diet or cravings
- Influencing your immune system
- And more
In short, the healthier bacteria you have in your gut microbiome, the healthier you are likely to be overall. Plus, probiotics like the kind you can find in kombucha tea or gummies may help you rebalance your gut microbiome if it has become imbalanced because of a bad diet, illness, or some other reason.
While kombucha gummies or tea can’t solve digestive problems by themselves, such as irritable bowel syndrome, they may contribute to long-term gut health. They could serve as an ancillary solution to these issues.
Immune System Support
Lastly, kombucha may also contribute to immune system health and support. Therefore, consuming kombucha gummies or other kombucha-related products could also bolster your immune system in a small way.
That’s because kombucha’s probiotic content helps your immune system stay in check and in balance with the rest of your body. Furthermore, providing healthy bacteria to your body will teach your immune system what it really needs to prioritize.
Where to Get Kombucha Gummies
Whenever you get any health supplement, you'll want to make sure that the manufacturer doesn't use artificial chemicals or ingredients at any step of the process. As a natural probiotic, fermented food, kombucha doesn’t need any help from synthetic chemicals to provide potential health benefits.
However, many gummies are made with synthetic chemicals, which could help them keep their shape for longer. Ultimately, we recommend only purchasing kombucha gummies – or any supplementary gummies, for that matter – from a trusted supplement manufacturer who prioritizes organic ingredients and minimal environmental impact.
You can also make your own kombucha gummies if you have the time and patience. In a nutshell, it just involves mixing regular kombucha tea with gelatin, then mixing in any other spices or fruit juices you may want to affect the resulting gummies’ flavor. Some kombucha gummy manufacturers pack additional supplements or helpful ingredients, such as peptides, into the resulting candies.
They usually only take about five minutes to make, although they have to be chilled and solidified in the fridge before you can consume them.
Summary
All in all, kombucha gummies are potentially beneficial supplements that could bolster your gut microbiome and provide other health benefits depending on what’s included in each gummy product. If you haven’t tried kombucha gummies before, consider finding a manufacturer you trust or making your own gummies at home! You may find that you like how they taste, and your kids might also benefit from the kombucha without having to drink tea.
Alternatively, you can find additional supplementary gummies for other needs at Hope Health’s online store. Whether you need gummies for immune system support, gut health, or something else entirely, we can help. Check out our online store today!
Sources:
Kombucha: a systematic review of the empirical evidence of human health benefit | NCBI
Effect of Kombucha on gut-microbiota in mouse having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease | NCBI