Your questions about gut-health drinks answered
What is the best gut-health drink?
Gut health drinks are plentiful and easy to find but it really depends on what you’re looking for when it comes to finding the right one for you. For those looking for a tasty hit of live cultures without the addition of dairy, a water kefir soda such as Belly Dance’s could be right up your street. However, if you don’t mind the hint of caffeine, you’ll love Equinox’s fruity organic kombucha offerings, which took our top spot. For an affordable first try, the One Living kombucha cans are the perfect entry point. However, if you don’t find dairy scary, kefir is packed with live cultures and makes for a delicious breakfast option. We loved the plain kefir from Biotiful as a healthy all-rounder.
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is created when tea and sugar are fermented using a Scoby, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. The resulting drink is fizzy and very slightly alcoholic usually less than 0.5 per cent, about the same as an overripe banana. While some of the sugar remains, most is consumed by the bacteria, which can be visible in the drinks as stringy bits that are perfectly safe to consume.
Most kombucha products contain between 2g and 4g sugar per 100ml, compared with more than 10g for juice or cola. Kombucha drinks will also contain caffeine, however, so it’s worth taking a look at the label if you have caffeine sensitivities or hear issues. This drink has skyrocketed in popularity and some brands offer a healthier and more gut-friendly formula than others.
Kombucha is a safe bet for people following a plant-based diet but for anyone who might be sensitive to (or trying to avoid) alcohol or caffeine, it might be worth exploring other gut-friendly options.
What is kefir?
Kefir is usually made by adding live kefir grains to milk and allowing them to ferment. The result is a slightly effervescent, thick, tart milk drink that tastes like a stronger version of natural yoghurt – and can contain up to 10 times the number of bacterial strains.
Kefir made with milk contains dairy and is therefore not suitable for vegans or plant-based eaters, however, water kefir is suitable for non-dairy diets. Water kefir is a version of the drink made without any milk and usually comes as a sparkling soda.
If you’re looking for a gut-healthy drink that will work for you, there are a few things professor Tim Spector advises: “Look for billions rather than millions of colony-forming units (CFUs) on the label, to maximise the amount that makes it to the gut,” he suggests.
“Everyone’s microbiome is unique, like a fingerprint, so, we can’t yet promise that certain strains will boost yours. The best advice is to mix up the drinks you have, for maximum diversity. Fermented products do their work as they pass through you, so, have them little and often, rather than occasional binges.”
How I tested gut health drinks
I reviewed more than a dozen drinks for gut health, assessing each for flavour, natural ingredients and price. I also looked into whether certain options were suitable for vegans or certified organic. I also investigated prices and options to subscribe and save on repeat deliveries – good gut health is for life, after all. You can find our full testing criteria at the end of this guide. For each gut-health drink, I looked at a number of factors and qualities. These included:
- Flavour: We tasted each gut-health drink to see how enjoyable it was to consume, noting sweetness, bitterness and overall balance.
- Ingredients: We checked the labels for natural, functional ingredients that support gut health and noted whether any additives or artificial sweeteners were included.
- Suitability: We assessed whether each drink was suitable for vegans and whether it carried any organic certification.
- Price: We compared the cost of each product, including the price per serving and overall value.
- Subscription options: We looked at whether products offered discounts or convenience through subscription services for repeat deliveries.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Each product was tested both by gut health expert and co-author of bestselling gut-health book The G Plan Diet (£12.99, Amazon.co.uk), Hannah Ebelthite, and by fitness and wellbeing editor (and self-confessed gut-health nerd) Emilie Lavinia. Between them, they’ve selected the best the market has to offer, from independent and global brands.
Meet the experts
- Tim Spector: Professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London and author of The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat
- Hannah Ebelthite: Gut health expert and co-author of The G Plan Diet
Want more recommendations? Check out our guide to the best probiotics
