Kombucha on a keto diet: sip it or skip it?

All in all, following a keto diet is simple: Keep your carbs low and your fat high. Though some ingredients such as sugar are a no-go and should be kept away from your high-fat pantry, the lifestyle does not have to be restrictive. Even dessert isn’t off-limits! Yet, in the case of certain foods—tasty, sparkly gut-friendly concoctions, for instance—the answer isn’t that obvious. If you picked up kombucha during college to help you fight hung overs and be all ears in that 8 am mandatory class or if Jenna from yoga keeps venting you the benefits of this Whole Foods staple and you are tempted to give it a try, chances are that you are wondering if such a habit aligns with your low carb lifestyle. Will fermented tea kick you out of ketosis? Here is what you need to know about drinking kombucha on a keto diet.

1 What Is Kombucha

It’s got an intricate name, but kombucha basically is fermented tea. It can be prepared at home or bought premade and consists of sweet black, green or white tea to which a SCOBY—Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast—has been added. So yes, it contains sugar. It also encloses lots of probiotics and good bacteria which can help balance the gut. Does the sugar contained in kombucha make it off-limits on a keto diet? Yes and no.

2 Can I Drink Kombucha on a Keto Diet

We are well aware that “yes and no” is not going to get you very far. So here is the long answer. Not all kombuchas are made equal. Depending on the brand and even the flavour, the carb and sugar content may and will vary. The secret to drinking kombucha on a keto diet therefore lies on the nutritional information label as it is often the case with the high-fat lifestyle. So yes, you can absolutely keep enjoying fermented tea and benefiting from its gut-friendly effet on a low carb diet. Just make sure to pick one that’s suitable for you.

3 Keto gut-friendly drinks

Health-Ade

We recommend opting for a low-carb kombucha brand, such as Health-ade.

KeVita

If you are looking for a good dose of probiotics but aren’t set on kombucha, we recommend trying another kind of gut-friendly drinks such as water kefir. KeVita offers sparkling drinks of the sort which are sweetened with stevia and therefore much more suitable for keto dieters. Their lemon cayenne flavour is particularly low in carbs.

There you have it. Sugar is a key ingredient in the making of kombucha. It is therefore not ideal for anyone following a high-fat diet. However, as long as you keep an eye on nutritional labels and make conscious choices, you can absolutely enjoy a serving from time to time. However, there are much more interesting alternatives out there to sip on some low carb probiotics.

Cover credit: Athena Kavis | Unsplash