· By Ruby Monaghan
Is Kombucha Gluten Free?
Like many people trying to improve their gut-health you probably have some form of IBS or intolerance (or you might just genuinely be the master of your own intestines). If you fall into the 6% of the population with a gluten intolerance or even the 1% of the population with coeliac disease you’ll be all too familiar with scouring the ingredients lists on unfamiliar products looking for any traces of gluten.
But fret not my dears, I can confirm Kombucha is 100% gluten-free! Let us talk you through the ingredients so you know exactly what goes into our gut lovin’ drinks.
What goes into Hip Pop kombucha?
Kombucha, in it’s essence, is just tea, sugar, SCOBY and fruit juices. Anything else like the acetic acid (vinegar) or carbon dioxide is released during the fermentation process. If you don’t know what SCOBY is, it’s a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, that basically does all the work for us (kind of). The yeast breaks down the sugars into ethanol, glucose, sucrose and carbon dioxide. The bacteria convert most of the ethanol and remaining sugars into acetic, gluconic, and lactic acids (the good stuff).
If you ever get unsure, we have the full list of ingredients under each product on our website. Check out the ingredients in our Strawberry and Pineapple kombucha here.
Could Kombucha be beneficial to my gluten-free diet?
If, like most people who are on a gluten-free diet, you also suffer with IBS or symptoms associated with gluten intolerances, kombucha could be a great addition to your diet. Kombucha has been shown to increase the number of good bacteria in your gut all while reducing bloating and helping keep those bowels moving smoothly and on time.
There are even more additions to kombucha which can increase its gut-health potential such as ginger which has anti-inflammatory properties (try our Ginger & Yuzu kombucha!) We have another great blog about the benefits of kombucha for IBS which you can read here.