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Kombucha is a fermented beverage primarily composed of yeast and bacteria, known for its antioxidant properties and probiotic benefits. According to Daniel Merenstein, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, promising research on rodents and a small cohort of non-diabetic individuals has shown that this beverage can lower blood sugar levels. Recently, Merenstein and his team wanted to investigate if kombucha could help regulate blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. For this purpose, they conducted a study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
Participants were asked to consume either kombucha or a placebo with a similar taste for four weeks. After a two-month “washout” period to eliminate the effects of the beverages, kombucha and the placebo were switched between the groups. The participants continued to consume the products for another four weeks. Merenstein emphasized, “One strength of our trial was that we did not tell people what to eat because we used a crossover design that limited the effects of any variability in a person’s diet.” Fasting blood sugar levels were then measured at various points during the study. Secondary outcomes such as gut health, skin condition, mental health, and vulvovaginal health were assessed using a questionnaire.
The results showed that after four weeks, kombucha reduced the average fasting blood sugar levels from 164 to 116 mg/dL, in contrast to the placebo (162 vs. 141 mg/dL). The researchers also examined the composition of fermentation microorganisms in kombucha to identify the most active ingredients. According to their observations, the beverage was primarily composed of lactic bacteria, acetic bacteria, and a yeast called Dekkera, each microbe being present in roughly equal measure.
Chagai Mendelson, a co-author of the study, concluded, “We were able to provide preliminary evidence that a common beverage 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 provide a more definitive answer to the effectiveness of kombucha in reducing blood sugar levels, and thus preventing or helping to treat type 2 diabetes.”
