Many people extoll the potential health benefits of kombucha. But does the beverage pose a risk to those who have struggled with substance use disorders? Can recovering alcohols drink kombucha?
What Is Kombucha?
Kombucha is an aerobically fermented beverage that usually contains water, sugar, tea, yeast, and bacteria. First brewed in northern China around 220 BC, kombucha has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for centuries.
Advocates claims that the drink has a host of beneficial features, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, antimicrobial, and antibacterial properties. However, experts at respected organizations such as the Mayo Clinic have cautioned that there is not yet enough evidence to support these claims.
Questions about kombucha’s health benefits have not slowed public interest in the beverage, though. According to one market research organization, the global kombucha market exceeded $4.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to surpass $9 billion by 2030.
Does Kombucha Contain Alcohol?
For people who have alcohol use disorder (alcoholism), questions about kombucha aren’t limited to its potential health benefits. They extend to the threat this beverage may pose to their recovery.
Since it is a fermented beverage, does that mean kombucha contains alcohol? Yes, it does. But most versions that are sold in the U.S. only have a minimal amount.
To be legally sold as nonalcoholic beverage in the U.S., kombucha can contain no more than 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). To put this amount into context:
- Regular beer usually has an ABV of around 5% ABV. This is 10 times the amount that’s usually found in kombucha.
- Standard table wine usually has an ABV of about 12%, which is 24 times higher than kombucha.
- Distilled spirits such as gin and vodka usually have an ABV of about 40%, which is 80 times higher than kombucha.
To summarize: Kombucha has alcohol in it, but usually not too much. And not enough to get a person drunk, as you’d have to drink 10 bottles of kombucha to get the same amount of alcohol that’s in one standard beer.
But that doesn’t mean it’s safe for everyone to drink.
Can Recovering Alcoholics Drink Kombucha?
What does the information about kombucha’s alcohol content mean in terms of its safety for someone in recovery? Can recovering alcoholics drink kombucha, or would doing so be considered a relapse?
Most experts advise people in recovery to avoid kombucha. Reasons for this guidance include:
- A small amount of alcohol is not the same as no alcohol. If your goal is to avoid this drug entirely, you shouldn’t drink kombucha.
- You won’t know how you’ll respond to kombucha until you drink some. Having one drink won’t cause you to become intoxicated, but it could trigger urges that lead to a full relapse.
- Some store-bought kombucha may contain more than 0.5% ABV. And if you consume home-brewed kombucha, you may have no idea how much alcohol you’re ingesting.
To maintain your healthy recovery, it’s probably wise to stay away from kombucha.
Strategies for Protecting Your Recovery
Of course, maintaining your healthy recovery will involve more than avoiding kombucha. Here are five strategies that can help in a variety of situations:
- Know your triggers: When do you feel most tempted to drink? Are certain circumstances or events particularly difficult to get through? When you’re able to identify risks before they occur, you can either find ways to avoid them or develop strategies for responding in a healthy manner.
- Remain vigilant: Unfortunately, not every recovery threat is predictable. But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to prepare. A flexible, all-purpose relapse prevention plan can include knowing which self-soothing techniques work best for you and identifying one or two people that you can call at any time.
- Practice self-care: Healthy habits such as following a nutritious diet play, exercising regularly, and getting an appropriate amount of sleep can help you maintain your focus and manage everyday stresses. This can prevent small problems from transforming into major challenges that threaten your recovery.
- Use your support network: Isolation can be a breeding ground for self-defeating thoughts and ill-advised behaviors. Staying in touch with important people in your life can be a valuable form of self-care. It can also be an ideal opportunity to view your problems from a different perspective, brainstorm solutions, or simply remind you that you are not alone.
- Get professional help: You don’t have to wait until you’ve reached a crisis point before you seek professional care. Outpatient therapy or counseling can be an essential source of ongoing support as you work to strengthen your relapse-prevention skills and progress in your recovery.
What Happens if You Relapse?
Sometimes, even vigilant efforts aren’t enough to avoid a relapse. Once you’ve relapsed, you can’t change what happened – but you remain in full control of how you choose to respond. Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind:
- Tell someone: This can be difficult, but it is important. As alluded to in the previous section, isolation can be unhealthy even when things are going well. In the aftermath of a relapse, cutting yourself off from others can push you into a downward spiral of shame and guilt. This, in turn, can increase your risk of using substances again.
- Identify the cause: Relapses rarely occur out of the blue, though the cause isn’t always easily apparent. For example, was it a response to a single event such as a relationship conflict or problem at work, or did it result from a buildup of unmanaged stress? Knowing what contributed to your relapse can help you prevent it from occurring again.
- Assess the damage: Did you have a one-time slip up, or fall back into an extended period of substance use? How did your relapse affect your self-confidence, relationships, performance at work or in school, or other parts of your life? As with the cause of your relapse, you can’t address the damage until you identify it.
- Make a plan: Once you understand both the cause and the effects of your relapse, you can decide how best to respond. Identify specific changes that can make a meaningful difference, such as avoiding certain situations, revising your work schedule to minimize stress, or attending support group meetings.
- Be kind to yourself: Missteps and setbacks are unavoidable parts of life. While it’s understandable to be upset when you’ve had a relapse, you need to treat yourself with the same level of compassion that you’d show to a friend who had a similar problem. Be kind to yourself, learn from the experience, and focus on making the next day a better day.
Also, please remember there’s no shame in returning to treatment if you need that level of help. This doesn’t mean that you have failed, or that your prior treatment experience didn’t work. Instead, it’s proof that you’re committed to your recovery, and you value yourself enough to take whatever steps are necessary to get back on track.
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