Goodbye, Love Handles! New Study Says Kombucha May Help You Lose Weight

Losing weight is no one-day job. It takes time, dedication, and the right kind of diet at the right time of the day. A mere search on the internet will bring forth a range of food options that are healthy, wholesome, and perfect to lose the excess fat in the body. Adding to the list of weight loss foods, we have kombucha - a probiotic drink that has today gained popularity due to its nutrient profile. A new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that "microbes in kombucha make changes to fat metabolism in the intestines of a model worm species", which are similar to the effects of fasting. The findings are published in the journal PLOS Genetics.

Also Read: 5 Prebiotic Foods That Support Your Gut Health And Digestion - Experts Reveal

What Is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented drink, loaded with a good amount of beneficial probiotics, which include gut-friendly live bacteria and yeast, and a decent amount of amino acids, vitamin C, B2, B6, acetic acid, lactic acid, and antioxidants. Touted to be a super drink, it is a concoction of microorganisms like yeast and bacteria, which is prepared by fermentation of sugared tea using SCOBY i.e., the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, which results in the enrichment of its nutrition value.

Also Read: 7 Probiotic Drinks For Good Gut Health

Weight Loss: How Kombucha Helps You Lose Weight?

The team of researchers investigated the impact of microbes in kombucha on metabolism, by feeding them to the model nematode worm C. elegans. It was found that the yeast and the bacteria create metabolic changes in worms' intestines, which are similar to those that occur during fasting. The microbes further alter the expression of genes involved in fat metabolism, "leading to more proteins that break down fats and fewer proteins that build a type of fat molecule called triglycerides."

The researchers further explain, "We were surprised to find that animals consuming a diet consisting of the probiotic microbes found in Kombucha Tea displayed reduced fat accumulation, lower triglyceride levels, and smaller lipid droplets-an organelle that stores the cell's lipids-when compared to other diets. These findings suggest that the microbes in kombucha tea trigger a 'fasting-like' state in the host even in the presence of sufficient nutrients."

However, further studies are required on humans for better understanding of kombucha's weight loss effects. Meanwhile, you can always include kombucha in your diet, in moderation, for various health benefits.