Have you considered adding probiotics to your diet? If so, that’s great because these little organisms provide health benefits including improved gut and immune function.
Fortunately, probiotics are available in a variety of foods such as pickles; sauerkraut, Kombucha tea, and yogurt to give a few examples.
Finding the right type of probiotics for your body is very important.
Incorporating them into your diet can be a bit of a challenge.
There is a large range of probiotics, all with different ingredients that serve different purposes.
This guide will provide you with the fundamentals of probiotics, which will help you understand what they are and how to incorporate them into your diet.
Let’s get started…
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are live bacteria that are good for your overall health, but they're particularly good for your digestive system.
When most people think of bacteria, they immediately assume all of them cause diseases.
That couldn’t be any further from the truth.
The bacteria found in probiotics are helpful to your body, more especially, to your gut health.
These microorganisms help the foods you consume move throughout your gut properly.
You’d be pleased to know that probiotics have been shown to treat bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, infectious diarrhea, and antibiotic-related diarrhea.
Some people have also said that probiotics help skin conditions like eczema, and urinary and vaginal health, help prevent allergies, and maintain oral health.
Studies have also shown that while taking probiotics, there is an increase in the efficiency and function of the brain.
With the right amount of probiotics in your system, it makes it harder for any harmful bacteria to make their way into your body and make you sick.
I bet now you’re more excited about incorporating probiotics into your daily diet!
Let’s talk about a few foods that contain probiotics…
Food Containing Probiotics
Probiotics are naturally found in your body. You can get them from the food you consume and the supplements that you take.
Probiotics are mostly found in foods like:
Yogurt - This is one of the most familiar sources of probiotics. When buying yogurt, look for the ones that state “live and active cultures” on the label.
Sauerkraut - Eat the unpasteurized sauerkraut because pasteurization will kill the active and good bacteria.
Cheese - This acts as a carrier for probiotics. Eating cheese can help to boost your immune system.
Sourdough Bread - This is the best bread for you to eat because this bread helps the most with digestion.
Sour Pickles - Eating pickles without the use of vinegar in the pickling process is the best.
Instead, look for pickles with a sea salt and water solution. This type of pickle will help feed the growth of good bacteria and will help with digestion.
There are other sources of foods in which you could obtain probiotics, but those are the most common.
Why Probiotics Keep Us Healthy
Like I mentioned earlier, probiotics are so important for you to include in your diet, because they have been shown to improve our health.
They keep us healthy in a number of ways:
- After taking antibiotics, some of the good bacteria may be lost. Probiotics can help to replace the good bacteria that you lose.
- When taking probiotics, you are reducing the number of “bad bacteria” that can cause diseases in your body.
- They help to balance the good and bad bacteria in your system, which will help your body to work as it should.
Types of Probiotics
As you may be aware, there are different types of probiotics.
Here are the two most common:
Lactobacillus - This is the most important probiotic. You’ll find this one in food products like yogurt and some other fermented foods. This type of probiotic can help with diarrhea and may help people who cannot digest lactose.
Bifidobacterium - This type of probiotic can be found in most dairy products. It can help with any symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Probiotics have been shown to be very beneficial. They help to prevent future sicknesses and to treat the symptoms of certain illnesses. To help keep your body as healthy as it can possibly be, incorporating probiotics into your diet should be something to consider.
Benefits of Probiotics
Help Your Urinary Tract Health- Taking probiotics can help keep your urinary tract system working properly and prevent bacteria from invading and damaging it.
Getting a urinary tract infection can be painful and uncomfortable, and land you at the doctor’s office.
They’ll prescribe antibiotics but there’s always a chance that it will return.
By being proactive by adding probiotics to your diet, you can potentially stop it from recurring.
Not only do the probiotics ward off any infections, but they also help your system maintain good bacteria.
Women Get Many Rewards From Taking Probiotics - Sometimes a woman’s normal bacterial flora may get off balance.
This can lead to an increase in urinary tract infections described above as well as vaginal issues.
When not taking a wholesome amount of probiotics, women can experience yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis.
Pregnant women are at an even greater risk of getting vaginal infections, which puts them at risk of having premature labor.
Prenatal Health - Probiotics should be used by expecting mothers because they are very helpful to unborn babies.
The use of probiotics while pregnant provides the little one with vital health benefits.
Some of those health benefits include less of a chance of getting eczema and inflammation of the skin, and a decrease in the chances of them having allergies.
Boost Of Your Immune System- Consuming foods rich in probiotics can help your body to maintain a healthy intestinal foundation.
Enthused immune responses have been shown with the incorporation of probiotics in your everyday lifestyle and diet.
Fight Obesity - When wanting to lose weight, you should add probiotics to your diet. This is because by adding them, you can help boost your usual bodily functions that can help to stimulate weight loss naturally.
Digestive Health - This is one of the greatest advantages of taking probiotics. Antibiotics can destroy the good bacteria in your system.
Taking in probiotics on a daily basis increases the number of good bacteria in your body.
As I’ve mentioned several times, having healthy bacteria in your body is needed to help maintain a healthy digestive system.
A lack of good bacteria in your body can result in diarrhea, constipation, and cramps.
With probiotics, chronic issues like irritable bowel syndrome can be taken care of.
Adding probiotics into your lifestyle makes your body healthier and helps it function more efficiently.
Consumption of probiotics has been shown to help relieve symptoms of many sicknesses.
They have also helped to make people feel better and make their systems run more efficiently.
Up until this point, I’ve mainly focused on obtaining probiotics through the consumption of food.
However, you also have the option of getting them through supplementation.
Let’s get into that now…
How To Choose Probiotic Supplements
Eating probiotic-rich foods is not the only way to increase your good bacteria and improve your gut health.
Consuming high-quality probiotic supplements is a great option as well.
I recommend getting your probiotics from a combination of foods and supplements.
Never fully depend on any supplement to get the nutrients your body needs.
Supplements should be thought of as a type of insurance for your body, and when you combine them with healthy foods, all bases get covered.
Here are a few tips if you’re considering probiotic supplements…
1)) Read the Label
It’s important to read the probiotic label so you know exactly what types of probiotics are in the product.
All labels should include:
- The species and strain of the microorganisms. Many labels only include the species, but the different strains provide different benefits.
- Number of organisms in a single dose and how often you should take it. Choose one with at least seven strains and five billion colony-forming units (CFU).
- Storage information; the label needs to tell you the best storage for the probiotics.
TIP: Always keep your probiotics away from heat and moisture.
- Live and Active Cultures; when buying yogurt, look for the yogurt that has this on the label. If the label doesn’t have this, the probiotic bacteria could be dead.
- Encapsulated pills ensure that the bacteria can survive through the acidity in your stomach and be able to reach your colon.
- Certification by an independent third party. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate most probiotics. This means that the number of bacteria stated on the container may not be accurate. Always be sure that everything has been tested.
2)) Cure Whatever Symptoms That You Have
Probiotics help with our immune systems and our digestive systems. They can help with yeast infections and digestive problems.
Look for these things in a probiotic:
Find a probiotic with multiple strains of bacteria. This is because the gut contains 30-40 strains. The more strains, the happier and healthier you will be.
Here is a short list of different health conditions that probiotics can help with:
- If you’re traveling, take Saccharomyces Boulardii a couple of weeks before your trip. Taking this probiotic can help prevent traveler’s diarrhea. Many people get this by digesting food or water that has been infected with bacteria.
- If you’re lactose intolerant, you should take lactobacillus bulgaricus. This will help the gut to digest lactase.
3)) Feed and Treat Your Gut Properly
Having the right probiotics is important for your gut, but now you have to keep it healthy.
The bacteria in your colon thrive on non-digestible fibers, which are known as prebiotics.
For example, you could feed the bacteria 2 to 4 servings of garlic, bananas, artichokes, whole grains, and honey to keep your gut happy and healthy.
Most probiotics already have prebiotics in them but may be listed on the label as inulin.
Conclusion
As you’ve learned in this guide, consuming the right probiotics in the form of food and supplements is extremely important for your gut health.
It’s no secret that probiotics have been known to get rid of any symptoms of sickness and are used to prevent illnesses from developing.
This is one of the reasons why finding the right probiotics is so important.
The term probiotic sounds like an intimidating scientific term, but in reality, you should think of it as simply consuming good bacteria that help you maintain a healthy digestive system.
That point of view removes the fear and mystery from probiotics.
You should have no doubt in your mind that probiotics help keep the gut healthy by balancing the bacteria in the digestive system and preventing bad bacteria from taking over.
They also play a role in boosting the immune system, which can help you stay healthy overall.
Adding probiotics to your diet is one of the best things you can do for your health!
I recommend consuming foods that are rich in probiotics and taking a high-quality supplement to cover all of your bases.
Don’t forget, probiotic supplements have many benefits that include improving gut health, aiding in weight loss, strengthening your immune system, and reducing anxiety.
Doing some research on the perfect probiotic for you ensures that you get a good quality product. If you’re ever not sure of the best probiotic for you, it’s always a good idea to check with your physician.
There’s only one thing left to do, and that’s taking action by consuming probiotic-rich foods and taking a high-quality probiotic supplement!
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