Probiotics 101: Part 3

The last two blogs have been all about probiotics. Why they are good and why you might not have a healthy probiotic culture.

This post is about taking action. There are lots of links that you can follow for more information. Here are some steps you  can you do to get more probiotics:

If you are limited on time and are having difficulty getting your hands on good quality fermented foods, taking a probiotic supplement will be beneficial. 

There are plenty of probiotics on the market. A good supplement will indicate the number of live colonies in each capsule before its expiry date. Shoot for a brand that has several different types of bacteria with a minimum 10 billion per capsule and take the supplement daily. For children, I would recommend buying a probiotic powder that can be mixed into pureed foods or sauces.

One good product that I have looked into is VSL#3. This supplement comes in a powder and has 450 Billion live cultures per packet. For people who have significant GI problems or inflammatory conditions, who are aggressively trying to bring their gut flora back into balance, there is significant research behind this product.

Here are some links if you are interested in seeing some of the research:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23836895

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15984978

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19067432

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16903771

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24029785

That is all I want to say about supplements.

A better way to improve your gut culture is to eat probiotic foods. We only recommend supplements because people do not eat enough fermented foods.

It is always best to get nutrients from REAL FOOD. This is always our first recommendation. There are components in fermented foods that support the growth of the microbes. As well, there is a wider variety and greater number of bacteria in a small amount of food than you would receive in a supplement.

The vast majority of fermented foods that you can buy at the grocery store are pasteurized or contain preservatives that kill all of the bacteria. For this reason, I do not recommend that you purchase pickles or sauerkraut from you local store UNLESS they are a brand you know to be unpasteurized and preservative free. One great brand for pickles and saurkraut is Bubbies. I have seen this brand at several health food stores. You can find it in the fridge. Here is a link to their page http://www.bubbies.com/bubbies_products.shtml

Good options for probiotic foods include:

Sauerkraut (Unpasteurized and preservative free)
This is pickled cabbage that can be put on burgers or hotdogs or eaten as a side dish.

Pickles (Unpasteurized and preservative free)
Whether you like them sweet or dill, pickles contain a good amount of probiotics for your system.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a popular Korean dish that is fermented and pickled cabbage. It can be very spicy.

Olives (in brine, preservative free)
Olives in brine have large amounts of probiotics because the brine allows the probiotic cultures to thrive.

Yogurt
I rarely recommend that people eat yogurt. Most yogurts are filled with sugars and syrups. The milk is pasteurized and then probiotics are added back into it. If you are going to eat yogurt, look for high fat varieties that have natural ingredients and say “live and active cultures.”

You can ferment pretty much any combination of fruits and/or vegetables at home. Here is a link with more information and recipes: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/fermented-food-recipes/

Lastly.. my favorite source of probiotics:

Kombucha tea (fermented tea)

SCOBY

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is contains probiotics.  The production involves making sweetened tea, adding a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), and letting the SCOBY breakdown the sugar to produce a drink full of B vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, enzymes, and probiotics.

The SCOBY looks like a jellyfish or a mushroom.  It sounds kind of gross, but it is worth it!

Here is a link for making your own:  http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/continuous-brewing-kombucha

You can buy bottled kombucha at many grocery and health food stores.

Make sure you check the labels. Some kombucha teas are loaded with sugar!

One last note, when you are introducing fermented foods, do it slowly. Give your body time to adjust. 

Enjoy!