The health industry is constantly changing with new fads, gimmicks and products, promising to be the “new cure all” for all of your health related problems. One of the most recent health products making its claim is Kombucha.

Kombucha is a fermented and cultured food which is made from tea (generally black or green), sugar, water and a bacterial culture called a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) which creates probiotics and enzymes. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Look past the gelatinous mushroom looking disc and discover all the health benefits that are in kombucha, and it may just become your daily health drink.

According to Hannah Krum author of “The Big Book of Kombucha” and owner of Kombucha Kamp, an online store dedicated to brewing this health drink, “Kombucha has been consumed for thousands of years by civilizations all over the planet.” It’s a health elixir that has been around for many year because of the numerous benefits.

There is currently a lot of hype surrounding this new health craze. Is it actually beneficial for you? Or is this more harmful than healthy? Here are six benefits of drinking Kombucha on a daily basis:

1. Cleansing and Detoxifying

Kombucha promotes healthy livers and helps to ease their burden. It helps eliminate and flush out toxins in you system. One study showed that Kombucha is high in Glucaric acid which can even help aide in cancer prevention.

2. Joint Health

Kombucha supports preservation of collagen and prevents arthritic pain symptoms. It supports collagen, and even helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

3. Digestive Health/Gut Health

Kombucha produces enzymes and probiotics which can help to heal leaky gut syndrome, ulcers, as well as help to reduce or eliminate symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression and anxiety.

4. Immune Health

Kombucha produces antioxidants and helps to control free radicals, protecting against cell damage, inflammation and tumors. Probiotics also help to support the immune system by giving benefits of good bacteria.

5. Promotes Energy

Kombucha promotes energy through its Vitamin B, as well as the small amounts of caffeine that it contains. Most of the caffeine that originated in the tea are used during the fermentation process, leaving much less in the end result than traditional coffee or soda.

6. Cancer Prevention/Recovery

Kombucha has been known to help aide in cancer prevention and recovery from cancer. Krum acknowledges drinking kombucha doesn’t specifically cure anything. “It may help the body bring itself back into balance naturally. That is how it is able to do so much – because it’s really just your body working with nutrition, like any other food.” This is why this idea suggests to help aide, not cure.

President Regan was even known to utilize the health drink during his diagnosis of cancer in 1987 (dying in 2004 due to old age and not cancer) because of the Russian author and Nobel prize winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s testimony of using kombucha to cure his stomach cancer while in soviet labor camps.

Way to Incorporate Kombucha into your Daily Health Regime

• Sourcing -Thankfully due to its increasing popularity, kombucha is becoming easier and easier to find at your local grocery or chain store. It is usually with specialty drink items in the cold section or dairy section of the store. If you are more of the frugal or DIY type you can easily brew your own kombucha. It is extremely cost effective to brew your own, and despite looking like a science experiment once you learn how to do it is a fairly easy process to repeat through batch brewing or continuous brewing.

• Drinking-If you are new to kombucha, start slow. Start off with a small amount two to four ounces only to begin and increase the amount each day until your body acclimates to it. If you start off with too much too fast, since it is a detoxifier, you will have an immediate detox. Also, if you’ve never had kombucha before it may take some getting used to adjust to flavor and appearance (floating pieces of the mother/scooby are ok to drink and quite healthy!).

• Enjoy!-Start to enjoy drinking kombucha on a daily basis by replacing other unhealthy drink such as soda or juice with kombucha (just remember, start off with small amounts if you're new to it). The store bought brands have many different types of brews, some more carbonated than others. You may have to experiment with different brands or brewing and second fermenting your own to find what you like best.

As other health fads may come and go, the benefits of Kombucha definitely prove to stand the test of time. To your health, drink up!