This post has been updated since it was originally published on February 16, 2022.
Coffee is universally a fan favorite way to start off the morning, offering a boost of energy to the body while also available in a variety of preparations so you never grow bored. But while your morning cup of coffee has been shown to have some significant health benefits, particularly when consumed black, it may also cause digestive distress and stomach discomfort that can put people off from drinking it.
If you’ve been looking to cut down on your caffeine craving and replace your morning coffee with something better for your gut that can also improve your overall wellbeing, there’s one drink health experts agree may be a great choice: kombucha.
Kombucha
A lightly carbonated fermented tea, kombucha is a probiotic-rich beverage that can provide a multitude of benefits to the body, particularly in the form of increased gut health. “The main benefit of kombucha is the billions of probiotics found in the drink,” explains Emily Zorn, MS, RD. “Probiotics help us have a healthy gut and are most often found in food items like yogurt and sauerkraut.”
Where coffee can oftentimes irritate the stomach lining when consumed on an empty stomach, drinking kombucha first thing in the morning can help to provide a healthy dose of probiotics into your system which will naturally balance your gut and improve digestion. “Kombucha is one of the only probiotic-rich drinks besides kefir, which is a drinkable fermented yogurt,” notes Zorn. “For people who are lactose intolerant (and for people who don’t eat yogurt or sauerkraut), kombucha is an excellent source of probiotics.”
If you are relying on kombucha for a heavy dose of caffeine, you may want to think again as it does offer significantly less caffeine than coffee. “A 14 ounce bottle of kombucha has about 15 mg of caffeine while 1 cup of coffee has about 95 mg caffeine,” explains Bill Bradley, R.D. for Mediterranean Living. Hardly comparable, making the switch to kombucha may be useful if you’re already looking to cut down on caffeine consumption and are in search of a healthy drink that can also work to improve your overall health, starting with your gut.
“Because kombucha is fermented, it has many microbes and probiotics that are good for your gut microbiome. If you have an out of balance gut microbiome, it will affect your entire body including your emotions and your weight (plus increasing risk of many preventable diseases),” add Bradley.
One thing to note is that as kombucha is a fermented tea it does contain a small percentage of alcohol. While it is certainly not enough to get you drunk, if you are following a sober lifestyle or are pregnant, it’s advised to avoid kombucha in favor of a green or black tea. “Like all food and drink, moderation is key with kombucha. You want to avoid drinking 2 gallons of kombucha per day, just like you want to avoid drinking 2 gallons of green juice per day. It is very healthy, but more is not better,” says Zorn.
If you’re struggling with gut health and find that drinking coffee each morning leaves you jittery and plagued with a constant stomach ache, making the switch to kombucha can help provide your body with a natural serving of probiotics that will heal your gut health and kickstart your day. A multi-functional beverage that can allow you to feel great and offer a slight increase in energy makes for a worthwhile addition to any diet, starting your morning on the right foot.
