From kefirs to kombuchas, gut shots to prebiotic sodas, the ever-growing “wellness drinks” on offer at the supermarket are bursting with gut-boosting claims. Meanwhile, the desire for these drinks shows no sign of slowing down: data from Ocado Retail show that health drink sales are up 54 per cent year-on-year; Waitrose alone sells 35 types of kombucha.
Yet many are largely expensive fizzy drinks with marginal health benefits. One of the newest arrivals is Poppi – an American concoction which tried to sell itself as a “prebiotic soda”, but had to scrub this claim as it did not meet the required fibre levels.
“It is an absolute minefield,” says Megan Rossi, gut health scientist at King’s College London and founder of The Gut Health Doctor, who has spent 20 years researching the area and the effects of ultra-processed foods and dietary interventions on the microbiome. “When it comes to gut-health drinks, the research is still somewhat in its infancy,” she adds.
Here are the ones worth trying, chosen by our experts – and those that may be more style than substance.
Gut shots tend to be around 60ml (or around a fifth of the size of a can), promising a small, potent burst of microbiome-boosting nutrients.
