Probiotics
By Samantha Anderson
At the very least you’ve probably at least heard about fermented foods and the term “probiotics.” These are two key elements that are all the rage in the gut health world. But you may, or may not, know exactly what they are and how they benefit your health. Let’s dive in as we uncover what is a probiotic and 5 fermented foods to boost your intake.
So, what exactly are probiotics?
The word probiotics comes from the Greek language. “Pro” means promoting and “biotics” means life. Something that promotes life sounds pretty promising, doesn’t it?
Probiotics are helpful bacteria (and yeast) and can be found naturally in our bodies, mostly in the digestive system, where they outnumber human cells by 10:1 15. Additionally, these good bugs can be found in a number of food and supplements.
It may sound kind of strange to think that bacteria can be helpful since we are taught at a young age to avoid as much bacteria as possible, but in reality, less than 1% of bacteria causes disease in humans14. Our preconceived notions may make the thought of eating something with millions (or billions) of bacterial cells, by choice, seem crazy and unappetizing, but probiotic-rich foods can actually be super yummy and pretty easy to make! More on that in a minute, firstly let’s look at how these bugs help us.
How can probiotics help you?
Good bacteria help balance the bad bacteria in your digestive system and act in a mutually beneficial relationship with you.
A few benefits from probiotics are:
Improve gastrointestinal function, enhanced immune system, and reduced risk of colon cancer 13
Support growth of intestinal microbiota by suppressing potentially harmful bacteria and reinforcing the body’s natural defence mechanisms 13
Enhance the ability of your body to use calcium, phosphorous and iron 12
Treat diarrhea caused by antibiotics and diarrhea caused by bad bacteria during travel 11
Improve digestion of lactose 10
Lastly, a mother’s microbiome affects which bacterial species first colonize in her child’s body, contributing to the life-long health of her child 8,9
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? The alternative happens when we find ourself with an unbalanced system. This can have the negatively impact on your metabolic functions and can be a risk for various diseases such as obesity, intestinal inflammation, and insulin resistance.
What can cause you to have low levels of probiotics?
Stress, excessive consumption of alcohol, chlorine and fluoride in drinking water, poor nutritional habits, exposure to toxins in the environment, antibiotics (in pills, but also in conventionally-raised meat/eggs/dairy products) and many other things can throw your gut microbial balance off 6.
This is why it’s so important to keep your gut healthy with the help of probiotics.
Supplements can be a convenient way to include these bugs into you daily life however, as mentioned above, fermented foods are one of the best (and tastiest!) ways to boost your intake! It has also been found that fermented foods often contain much higher levels of probiotics.
Here are 4 of my Favourite Fermented Foods to Boost Your Intake of Probiotics
1. Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut literally means “sour cabbage” in German and is native to East Germany, Russia and Poland. Its existence can be traced all the way back to 4 B.C.
It has one of the easiest fermentation processes out of all fermented foods, making it simple to make on your own. All you need is a glass jar, shredded cabbage and salt! Then wait for natural fermentation to begin, which takes approximately one to two weeks.
In addition to eating sauerkraut, you can drink the juice of sauerkraut for probiotics (be sure to save some of the juice as a “starter” for you next batch, though).
Benefits of sauerkraut:
– Reduces pathogenic bacteria
– Has anti-cancer, antioxidant compounds and helps with iron absorption and restoration of intestinal flora
– Rich in minerals, vitamin C, dietary fibre, and phytochemicals
2. Yogurt
The word “yogurt” comes from Turkey dating all the way back to 3 B.C. and refers to a thick and tart milk, but came from many different cultures that kept animals for milk.
The natural fermentation (where the bacteria turn the lactose into lactic acid), causes the milk to thicken and develop a sour taste, which helps prevent spoilage. Yogurt is a great source of protein, calcium, phosphorous, and B vitamins.
Just make sure you are choosing yogurt made from the milk of grass-fed/pasture-raised cows. And opt for full-fat! Many people who cannot tolerate milk do just fine with yogurt.
Benefits of yogurt
– Reduces the risk for gastrointestinal disease
– Improves lactose intolerance, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, allergies and respiratory diseases, bone and dental health and pregnancy outcomes.
3. Kefir
Kefir originated in Eastern Europe and southwest Asia thousands of years ago. The word “kefir” refers to feeling good after eating a meal in the Turkish language. It is similar to yogurt, but tastes slightly sourer and more acidic and has a thinner consistency.
The difference between yogurt and kefir is that kefir is made with 30 or more types of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, while yogurt is made only using a few. Because of this, kefir usually has three times the amount of probiotic content than yogurt.
Even though kefir is more beneficial, some find the taste to be too tart. If you don’t eat yogurt and want to try one of the two, I would start with yogurt because of its milder taste.
Benefits of kefir:
– Shown to be effective in cancer prevention and treatment
– Can protect you from toxins, has antimicrobial effects, and has shown to inhibit Helicobacter pylori, which has been linked to chronic gastritis, ulcers and gastric cancer
– Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic effects
– Aids in lactose digestion, decreases effects of intolerance
– Helps control high blood pressure
4. Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented sweetened black tea that has a mix of yeast and bacteria. It originated in China and has a slightly acidic taste to it. The bacteria and yeast eat the sugar in the tea and transform it into a fermented beverage.
They also form a floating cellulose layer on the surface of the tea (called a kombucha mushroom or SCOBY: Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast), which may look a bit intimidating at first, but is completely normal.
The longer the tea is left to ferment, the thicker the layer becomes. If you’re looking for something that you can drink instead of eat, this could be for you!
I’ll admit, my SCOBY is a bit out of hand. Each time you brew a new batch of kombucha, a new layer of SCOBY forms on the surface. Be generous and gift your “SCOBY babies” to your foodie friends so they can brew their own kombucha.
Benefits of kombucha:
– Helps detoxification and promotes the immune system with its antibacterial activity and antioxidant activity
– Anti-cancer effects
– Reduces blood pressure
– Has also shown to prolong the lifespan in a study using mice
There you have it, folks: 4 fermented foods to boost your intake of probiotics however there are many, many, many more!
Before I forget I would like to highlight there are many great recipes to make your own fermented foods, however you can also purchase some of these foods at your local farmers market or grocery store.
I hope that has given those new to the world of probiotics and ferment foods a little nudge to give a few of these a try. For those that are an old hand at this I’d be curious to hear your fave(s) in the comments below.
Also, if you would like to comment, I would love to hear if you are taking probiotics in supplement form, fermented foods, or both.
Until next time and with gratitude,
Sam
References
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