Kombucha made its commercial debut in the United States less than 30 years ago, according to the Institute of Food Technologists, and it was still relatively rare to find in grocery stores before the past decade or so, but the fermented tea drink is thousands of years old. It is thought to have originated in Asia around 221 B.C., which is why World Kombucha Day is celebrated on February 21.

Now, propelled in part by the health craze for fermented foods, this lightly effervescent tea is really gaining a following. Data from The Food Institute indicates that kombucha sales exploded from $1 million in 2014 to $1.8 billion in 2019, and the number of brands has increased around 30 percent each year for several years.

Kombucha, affectionately referred to by fans as “booch,” may never be as popular here as it is abroad — in fact, its taste is somewhat polarizing, and it is often compared to vinegar — but it does have a lot of nutritional credibility. Because it is made by adding a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) to sugar-sweetened tea, it has many of the same probiotic benefits as other fermented foods and drinks, research shows. Fermentation also gives the drink a mild natural carbonation and slight alcohol content, usually 0.5 percent or less alcohol by volume (ABV).

But will kombucha help you when it comes to hydration, and how does it stack up against water? Read on to find out.

How Much Hydration Do You Need?

Being well hydrated is one of the easiest and best things you can do to improve your health. While the well-known adage recommends eight 8-ounce (oz) glasses of water each day, research found no scientific basis for this practice. The best recommendation comes from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which advises that women get about 2.7 liters (L) of fluid per day and men about 3.7 L per day. About 20 percent of those amounts comes from the foods you eat, which means women should aim to drink 2.2 L (nine 8-oz glasses) of water per day and men 3.0 L (13 8-oz glasses). Of course, a number of factors affect fluid needs, including activity level, life stage, and diet. For a more personalized recommendation, use a hydration calculator.

Since kombucha is a beverage, and a rather popular one at that, it’s only natural to wonder if it can be counted toward your fluid intake each day, and how it compares to plain water.

Nutrition Facts of Kombucha

The nutrition details for kombucha vary from bottle to bottle, so the best way to know which to choose is to read the label. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), one brand has 29 calories, 0 grams (g) protein, 0 g fat, 8 g carbohydrates, and 10 milligrams sodium in 8 oz. However, this item contains added juice for flavor. If you’re looking to limit the amount of sugar in your diet (as everyone should be), select a product that does not state that it contains a certain percentage of juice; this disclosure usually appears above the nutrition facts label. A quality booch may contain only 4 g sugar per 8 oz, for example.

Kombucha is made from a mixture of tea and sugar. But unlike soda, most of the sugar is gone from the final brew. Because kombucha is a fermented food, almost all of the sugar is broken down by the microbes in the SCOBY. According to the USDA, you might find 8 g of sugar in 8 oz of kombucha compared to 25 g of sugar in the same amount of cola.

As a result of fermenting the sugars in the tea, a small amount of alcohol is produced. To be sold in the nonalcoholic section of any store, a bottle of kombucha must contain no more than 0.5 percent ABV. Home-brewed versions may contain significantly higher amounts of alcohol and should be consumed with caution as a result. Some brands intentionally brew and market “hard kombucha” with a higher alcohol content, according to Bon Appetit. Because all kombucha contains some alcohol, it should not be consumed by anyone who is pregnant or nursing, or has a history of alcohol addiction.

What About Kombucha Makes It Hydrating?

As stated previously, kombucha is fermented tea, and like most tea, its primary ingredient is water, as seen in the ingredients list. Because kombucha is mostly water, it has excellent hydrating properties. While alcohol is a known diuretic, which means it makes you urinate more and can dehydrate you, research shows that the amount of alcohol in even hard kombucha is so small that it won’t have a significant effect on your fluid levels.

Kombucha vs. Tea: Which Is More Hydrating?

Plain, unsweetened tea, hot or cold, has a slight advantage over kombucha because it does not naturally contain any sugar or alcohol, according to the USDA. Tea’s higher water percentage makes it a slightly better hydrator than kombucha. Kombucha can still be a worthwhile addition to any beverage lineup, however.

Types of Kombucha: How Hydrating Are They?

The main thing to remember when choosing a bottle of kombucha is that not all booch is created equal. While some brands stick to a very traditional recipe — brewing black or green tea and sugar in the presence of microbes — others have gotten creative with flavors, often adding fruit juice after the fermentation process has been completed.

Fruit juice is fine in moderation, but it adds calories and natural sugars and slightly dilutes the concentration of microbes in the final product. Flavors may help make these fermented brews more palatable, though, which means more people may drink more of them. If you’re tracking how many carbohydrates or how much sugar you consume, be sure to check the label of your drink. Also keep in mind that hard kombucha will be much higher in alcohol than a conventional bottle — as high as 8 percent ABV by volume — and may not be a good fit if you’re limiting your alcohol intake.

Health Benefits of Kombucha Beyond Hydration

Beyond hydration, there are numerous health benefits of drinking kombucha. Kombucha is rich in probiotics, and according to Harvard Health Publishing, eating more probiotic foods may help improve gut health even more than taking probiotic supplements. Unfortunately, there are no specific recommendations as to which foods and probiotic strains in what amounts are best, but for now, the recommendation is to eat more probiotic foods of all kinds, and that includes kombucha.

In addition to having probiotic benefits, kombucha also boasts health benefits from the polyphenols in the tea it contains, per the Cleveland Clinic. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants, which may help decrease inflammation in the body, a major contributor to many of the most common health ailments, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Kombucha is also known to contain several B vitamins, some minerals, and organic acids that may have antimicrobial effects.

While all of the compounds found in kombucha have been linked to positive health effects, it is important to note that robust research on the effects of kombucha itself is still lacking. In other words, while kombucha can serve as a healthy addition to any diet, it should not be counted on as a magic pill to fight all ailments.

Tips for Enjoying Kombucha to Maximize the Perks

The best tip for enjoying kombucha is to choose a healthy brand in the first place. Look for a brand that is pure kombucha, without added fruit juices after brewing or excessive sugar levels. For the healthiest bottle, opt for a brand with no more than 5 g of added sugar per serving, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

Also, keep in mind that too much of anything isn’t good for you. No safe limit for kombucha has been established yet. Just be sure to enjoy commercially prepared kombucha in moderation (e.g., one bottle per day or less), and as always, check with your doctor before making any big changes to your diet.

If you drink hard kombucha, be aware that alcohol is a diuretic, according to the Mayo Clinic. As such, kombucha that has more than 0.5 percent ABV will cause your body to lose more fluid. As a result, any hard kombucha should not be considered toward hydration goals.

Should You Drink Kombucha to Stay Hydrated?

Kombucha can be a healthy part of your hydration routine. Given that you’ll be limiting intake to 16 ounces per day or less, it can help you with your hydration goals but can’t get you all of the way there. Water, sparkling water, coffee, and tea can also be enjoyed as part of a healthy hydration regimen.

Does Kombucha Count as Fluid?