Drinking Kombucha Can Mimic The Effects Of Fasting
The study on roundworms have interesting implications for humans.
Kombucha, a well-known fermented beverage, has gained popularity for its potential to introduce probiotics into the gut.
Previous studies have linked the microbes found in kombucha with enhanced fat processing in animals.
However, the extent to which kombucha can introduce enough microflora to have a positive effect was uncertain.
Fasting By Drinking: The Roundworms Study
This particular study, published in PLOS Genetics, by researchers from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, deal with the intriguing possibility that kombucha tea could elicit fasting-like benefits.
Scientists discovered that the microbes present in kombucha could effectively colonize the gut of roundworms, and alter their fat metabolism.
This alteration was the result of an increase in the production of fat-burning proteins within the worm gut.
It was as if the roundworms were fasting!
The study indicates that drinking kombucha tea may create a fasting-like state in the body, leading to reduced fat buildup.
The researchers suggest that the byproducts of fermentation could be key in influencing metabolism, supporting the claimed health advantages of kombucha like protecting against metabolic issues and improving liver function.
Implications For Humans
Roundworms and humans do differ in plenty of respects, but at least this time, we have evidence on the fasting-like effects of kombucha.
Just because it worked on roundworms do not automatically means it will be the same for humans. For one, humans have a greater number of infinitely more complex proteins. So we don’t know how the interactions will come out in the human body.
The initial tests on animals are encouraging, but clinical trials on humans is essential to understand the effect of kombucha on gut health and overall well-being.
So in the meantime, don’t knock the kombucha-drinking hippie. They could very well be fasting!
