Probiotics-What’s the deal?

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Bacteria- it’s not all bad ya know. Did you know that we have 20 times more bacteria than living cells in our body?! I know cray right! In fact, we actually need bacteria to help maintain a happy and healthy body. The great thing is you do not always need to supplement with a pill you can eat your probiotics as well. Foods that have been fermented have probiotics in them such food includes Saurkraut, kimchi, kefir, pickles, miso, tempeh, and sourdough bread (try rye).

Benefits of Probiotics:

  • Improving your digestion

  • Producing vitamins

  • Lowering cholesterol levels

  • Regulating hormones

  • Boosting your immunity

  • Increasing resistance to infections

  • Relieving symptoms of IBS

  • Relieving symptoms of thrush

  • Reducing the risk of certain cancers

Of course, there are two sides to every coin and bacteria is no different. There is good bacteria and bad bacteria. The good bacteria that we want is split into two families. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, these bad body, but really good, keep the bad bacteria at bay.

When should you take your probiotic you may ask, you want to take it away from food so that it can head to the colon and not have any competition with other foods so first thing in the morning is ideal.

If you suffer from any of the below, you also want to find a great source of a probiotic:

  • Sore throat

  • Candida (yeast overgrowth)

  • Bladder infections

  • Food poisoning

  • Constipation

  • After a course of antibiotics

If you are going to supplement a probiotic what you want to for is that it includes Lactobacilli Acidophilus and Salivarius and Bifidobacteria Infantis, Bofidum, Brevis and Longum. In tandem to that, you want to ensure that your probiotic includes FOS, these foods feed the healthy bacteria. Eating a plant-based diet that is high in whole foods from the earth will encourage the healthy bacteria to multiply as well so if you can’t find FOS probiotic supplements then np freight, grab a delicious salad like this one loaded with beets, carrots and kale and you are set.

To wrap up this post. It is very important to ensure that we are feeding the good bacteria in our gut and getting rid of the bad ones. One way for us to do this is by eating foods in pre and probiotics or taking a supplement or both for superpowers (jk, but you will fee great). Make sure that you take a probiotic from a respectable source and you are aiming for 30-50 billion CFU’s (colony forming units).

What to get the benefits from a probiotic without the pill. Try this delicious yogurt bowl filled with both pre and probiotics.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup coconut yogurt

  • ¼ cup homemade granola

  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

  • ¼ cup blueberries

  • 1 tbsp chia seeds

  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds

Instructions

  1. Get a clean bowl and add ingredients* to the bowl!

  2. Enjoy

Notes

*Any toppings can be used in place of the above.

Sade Thomasos