Are ‘miracle’ gut aids such as kombucha really good for you?

The project is funded by Innovate UK, the government agency for innovation in the tech sector. Amanda’s team worked with a north Wales company, Conwy Kombucha, which produces kombucha-based drinks, to look at the effects of kombucha in healthy people.

“We applied with the kombucha company to provide a better kombucha,” she explained.

“We really applied some of our scientific techniques to dig a bit deeper into what was in it, what was changing, what happens over time [with the bioactive chemicals].”

Amanda says she has used “functional foods”, external such as kombucha in her own life and is open to the idea as long as there is evidence-based science behind the specific product and claim the product is making.

However she stresses that any product on its own is not going to be a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet.

“If you want to be well, consume good food. I don’t just need this functional fancy drink on my desk while I’m in the office. I still have to look at the basics,” she said.

“Am I having enough protein? Are the carbs there? Is it reduced salt, reduced sugar? The homecooked or foods with very few ingredients. Those are what you’re looking for, the least amount of processing possible.”

For kombucha specifically, she recommends: “Look for a traditional live kombucha where the microbiota is alive in it. It’s going to have a different taste to what you’d buy in a commercial fizzy drink. You want something that’s naturally carbonated, not artificially carbonated.”

She acknowledges that identifying the best products is not always straightforward.

“With marketing, it’s really hard sometimes to know. I fall into the trap when I’ve seen something on social media and I’ve bought it. It’s arrived and I’m like, hell, what was I thinking?” she says.