Do a quick search of kombucha online and you’ll find that the fizzy drink (produced by fermented tea, sugar, fungi, and bacteria) supposedly supplies sky-high energy, quells pain, fends off certain cancers, detoxes your body, helps you shed weight, and turns your immune system into a fortress. Guzzlers of the health beverage preach these promises, too.

But is our beloved kombucha really a health elixir in a bottle?

"I would be wary of calling kombucha a remedy or a magic food," says Maggie Neola, R.D., a dietitian at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. After all, glorifying one food over another (kale is king!) isn’t the way nutrition works. A healthy diet is all about variety.