It may not be to everyone's taste, but kombucha tea may be able to deliver the benefits of fasting, without the hardest part – the fasting itself. Researchers found that the when the yeasts and bacteria from the fermented, sweetened tea colonized the gut, they altered fat metabolism, without any other dietary changes, resulting in lower fat stores.

At the center of these findings is the flora found in kombucha tea's SCOBY (Symbiotic Cultures of Bacteria and Yeasts), the gelatinous starter, rich in microbes, found floating near the surface of the fermented liquid. The probiotic microbes, including species of Acetobacter, Lactobacillus and Komagataeibacter genera, have previously been linked to a range of positive health benefits including lowering blood pressure.