Drinking Kombucha Linked to Reduced Blood Sugar Levels in People With Type 2 Diabetes

Small pilot examine suggests bigger trials are warranted to verify the potential good thing about fermented tea.

People with kind 2 diabetes who drank kombucha, the fermented tea drink, for 4 weeks had decrease fasting blood glucose ranges in contrast to after they consumed a similar-tasting placebo beverage. This is in accordance to outcomes from a scientific trial carried out by researchers at Georgetown University’s School of Health, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and MedStar Health. This discovering, from a pilot 12-person feasibility trial, factors to the potential for a dietary intervention that would assist decrease blood sugar ranges in folks with diabetes and likewise establishes the idea for a bigger trial to verify and develop upon these outcomes.

This discovering was reported in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition on August 1, 2023.

History of Kombucha

Kombucha is a tea fermented with micro organism and yeasts and was consumed as early as 200 B.C. in China, nevertheless it didn’t turn into standard in the U.S. till the 1990s. Its reputation has been bolstered by anecdotal claims of improved immunity and vitality and reductions in food cravings and irritation, however proof of those advantages has been restricted.

“Some laboratory and rodent studies of kombucha have shown promise and one small study in people without diabetes showed kombucha lowered blood sugar, but to our knowledge this is the first clinical trial examining effects of kombucha in people with diabetes,” says examine writer Dan Merenstein, M.D., professor of Human Sciences in Georgetown’s School of Health and professor of household medication at Georgetown University School of Medicine. “A lot more research needs to be done but this is very promising.”

Study Design and Results

Merenstein continued, “A strength of our trial was that we didn’t tell people what to eat because we used a crossover design that limited the effects of any variability in a person’s diet.”

The crossover design had one group of individuals consuming about eight ounces of kombucha or placebo beverage day by day for 4 weeks after which after a two-month interval to ‘wash out’ the organic results of the drinks, the kombucha and placebo have been swapped between teams with one other 4 weeks of consuming the drinks. Neither group was instructed which drink they have been receiving on the time.

Kombucha appeared to decrease common fasting blood glucose ranges after 4 weeks from 164 to 116 milligrams per deciliter whereas the distinction after 4 weeks with the placebo was not statistically important. Guidelines from the American Diabetes Association really helpful blood sugar ranges earlier than meals needs to be between 70 to 130 milligrams per deciliter.

Composition and Brand of Kombucha

The researchers additionally seemed on the make-up of fermenting micro-organisms in kombucha to decide which elements is likely to be probably the most lively. They discovered that the beverage was primarily comprised of lactic acid micro organism, acetic acid micro organism, and a type of yeast referred to as Dekkera, with every microbe present in about equal measure; the discovering was confirmed with RNA gene sequencing.

The kombucha used in this examine was produced by Craft Kombucha, a business producer in the Washington, DC, space. It has been re-branded as Brindle Boxer Kombucha.

“Different studies of different brands of kombucha by different manufacturers reveal slightly different microbial mixtures and abundances,” says Robert Hutkins, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the examine’s senior writer. “However, the major bacteria and yeasts are highly reproducible and likely to be functionally similar between brands and batches, which was reassuring for our trial.”

The Broader Context

“An estimated 96 million Americans have pre-diabetes — and diabetes itself is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. as well as being a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure,” says Chagai Mendelson, M.D., lead writer who was working in Merenstein’s lab at Georgetown whereas finishing his residency at MedStar Health. “We were able to provide preliminary evidence that a common drink could have an effect on diabetes. We hope that a much larger trial, using the lessons we learned in this trial, could be undertaken to give a more definitive answer to the effectiveness of kombucha in reducing blood glucose levels, and hence prevent or help treat type 2 diabetes.”

Reference: “Kombucha tea as an anti-hyperglycemic agent in humans with diabetes – a randomized controlled pilot investigation” by Chagai Mendelson, Sabrina Sparkes, Daniel J. Merenstein, Chloe Christensen, Varun Sharma, Sameer Desale, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Car Reen Kok, Heather E. Hallen-Adams and Robert Hutkins, 1 August 2023, Frontiers in Nutrition.
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1190248

Additional examine authors at Georgetown University are Sabrina Sparkes, a pupil in the School of Health, Varun Sharma and Sameer Desale. In addition to Hutkins, Chloe Christensen, Jennifer M. Auchtung, Car Reen Kok and Heather E. Hallen-Adams are on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The authors want to categorical their gratitude to Tanya Maynigo, founding father of Craft Kombucha for offering the kombucha and placebo kombucha for this examine. She teaches kombucha courses in Washington, DC, and this yr is launching a brand new model of her favourite drink referred to as Brindle Boxer Kombucha.

The examine acquired no exterior funding.

Hutkins is a co-founder of Synbiotic Health. Auchtung has a monetary curiosity in Synbiotic Health. Merenstein is president of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics board, a non-paid place. All different authors haven’t any competing pursuits to declare. All kombucha and placebo drinks have been donated by Craft Kombucha. Craft Kombucha didn’t have any entry to information reported in this examine. No writer has any monetary ties with Craft Kombucha.