What does our gut do? Our gut extract energy from food, absorbs nutrients, and eliminates waste.
Probiotics are live microorganisms (bacteria and yeast) that live primarely in our gut. Or as The World Health Organization defines it nicely – probiotics are “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”
Early research suggest that probiotics may help:
– Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
– Regulate immunity
– Reduce the risk of irritable bowel disease
– Help with constipation and keep things moving
– Reduce risks of headaches, anxiety, and depression
– Promote blood sugar control
When we eat, organisms in our gastrointestinal (GI) tract also eat!
Thus, we should focus on eating variety of vegetables, whole grains, legumes…
In addition, we should consume more Prebiotics foods as they help nourish our gut bacteria. So in a way, we can think of Prebiotics as food for Probiotics.
Some of the best Prebiotic foods are:
* Whole Oats
* Asparagus
* Bananas
* Garlic
* Onions
* Apples
Next we should consume Probiotic rich foods such as:
* Kefir
* Plain Yogurt
* Fermented Vegetables
* Miso (refrigerated)*
* Pickles (in salt, not vinegar)
* Sauerkraut (choose refrigerated)
* Kimchi
* and more!
Keep in mind that you don’t have to go out of your way in order to buy some of the mentioned foods if outside of your reach, physically or financially.
Make a good nutrition easy on yourself and go with whatever is available in your locality and what is reasonable for your budget. Spending too much money on “superfoods” should not be our goal. Good health and good nutrition is the goal!
*Hikari Organic Miso Paste is a brand that does not have Alcohol as a preservative (yey!), the brand has red and white miso paste options (I love them both), and it can be purchased on Amazon.
