Like us, pets can also enjoy kombucha and experience its health benefits. They can consume it regularly as part of their diet or as treats during the day, or they could even be great treats every time they lift their paw.
Or you can also offer them to some animals raised at home for consumption obtaining meats with good quality; either way, kombucha can be a great option to make animals at home feel more at ease and with tremendous energy.
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What animals can consume kombucha?
So far, it has only been tested on pets. However, the consumption of kombucha and its possible benefits has been studied in pets or farm animals, showing a more significant benefit after feeding kombucha; hoping we can extrapolate those results to more species, including us.
It has been shown that rodents, dogs, ducks, rabbits, pigs, chickens, and cattle can consume it, some reacting with interest to eat it by giving it directly or being imperceptible when mixing it with their food.
This is because kombucha helps the animal improve digestion thanks to its probiotic content and intervening against any pathology.
It can also help recover some altered physiological parameters, and being a food rich in nutrients could strengthen the animal’s body, even improving its external appearance. [1]
What benefits can it bring you in general?
Many of the health benefits (or possible benefits) that kombucha may show in humans have previously been proven in several animal studies, such as detoxification, antioxidant properties, protection against pathogens, and prevention of the development of certain diseases.
Kombucha supports gastrointestinal and liver function, resulting in better digestion with increased nutrient absorption. Another essential feature is its anti-diabetic effects demonstrated in rodents, which could also occur in humans or other animals. [2]
It can also improve the immune system response (adaptive and innate) in animals and lower blood pressure by prolonging life expectancy in dogs and cats. In addition, kombucha can reduce blood cholesterol levels being tested, especially in rabbits. [3] [4]
Kombucha for house pets
Our pets can get from kombucha a variety of nutrients and beneficial microorganisms that will help them maintain a good state of health, giving them more vitality and perhaps enthusiasm since they could be very delicious as sweets or mixed-in food.
Kombucha is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and protein for your pet, so turning them into sweetmeats for dogs or cats can be practical and safe while offering a few doses a day since, like humans, their consumption must be regulated.
You can make the sweetmeats by mixing the SCOBY with beef or chicken broth and then letting it dry. A good way is to cut them into pieces or strips and leave them in a dehydrator at 95ºC until they dry. In this way, they can be stored as long as you want, ready to feed your pet at any time.
You can also give your pet the raw SCOBY without any additions. One way is to offer them small pieces of SCOBY to see if their pet accepts it since they may also like it this way.
Your kombucha could be a good alternative for a natural and healthy reward if you have fish, cats, dogs, or even pet chickens.
Can it be helpful to use kombucha for livestock?
Using kombucha in cattle feed has been considered to prevent disease and allow better digestion. This was observed during tests that proved its beneficial effects on health in cows and pigs.
It can help keep the viscera in good condition, reduce the bad smell in the feces, and prevent the formation of thrombi, thus preventing heart disease. [5]
It has been found that kombucha prepared with Chinese herbs could protect against the FMD virus if it is applied in low doses and administered by spraying it directly into the animal’s mouth or nose.
The probiotic activity of kombucha and some components of Chinese herbs give them some broad-spectrum antiviral activity. In addition, the FMD virus is sensitive to acidity; therefore, organic acids and the low pH of kombucha could inhibit its activity. [6] [7]
Another detail to mention is a drink originated from kombucha called kowbucha, which helps reduce the production and release of carbon dioxide from the stomach of animals contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Also, the kombucha you will use in cattle should have only organic ingredients, making sure that it does not have any sugar (not inorganic) since it is not approved for use in this way.
Kombucha for chickens
If you have a home where you can raise broilers to feed you and your family, the birds must have a good diet and health.
There is always a risk that the bird’s food will become contaminated with pathogens that can make it sick, causing the infection to make them lose weight and decrease their appetite.
You can avoid this by mixing kombucha into the bird’s water or food. Its low pH could inhibit or eradicate these dangerous microbes. Also, the drink’s acidity would have the same effect on the intestine and stomach since its organic acids would contribute to reducing the medium’s pH.
In this way, they reduce the pathogenic microbial load and collaborate in developing good microorganisms at the intestinal level, favoring the increase in the availability of energy and nutrients, leading to more significant growth of chickens. [8]
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047279718307385
[2] https://journalagent.com/z4/vi.asp?pdir=ias&un=IAS-73745
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1878818121002772
[4] https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2013.0031
[5] http://dormaj.org/index.php/AANBT/article/view/82
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4704643/
[7] https://www.scielo.br/j/bjm/a/RjhvxM8LqbN98RjVpQMKfCr/abstract/?lang=en
[8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579119302652