Can I Use Probiotics To Help With Medical Conditions
There is currently a large amount of research happening around the idea of what probiotics can do for your body. Even though there are a lot of possibly positive outcomes, researchers are still working to find definitive answers about how probiotics can help with various conditions.
However, there are some medical conditions where probiotics may help. This can vary between people meaning that what works for one person may not work for another. These can also vary based on the certain probiotic that is taken.
Some of the conditions that might be helped by increasing the amount of probiotics in your body include:
- Upper respiratory infections .
- .
The Best Foods With Probiotics And Prebiotics To Boost Your Health
Wondering what foods with probiotics and prebiotics you should add to your diet to optimize your health? This guide will give you an easy plan to follow, recipe ideas, and a checklist of foods with probiotics and prebiotics to regularly include in your diet.
No doubt many of you know that probiotics and prebiotics are a hot topic right now, not only for helping promote digestive health, but for overall health as well.
But do you know what the difference is between prebiotics and probiotics? What health benefits they may provide? And, most importantly, what are the best foods with probiotics and prebiotics you should be eating to improve your own health?
Im here to give you the scoop on the health benefits of probiotics and prebiotics, the best foods with probiotics and prebiotics to include in your diet, and some of my favorite probiotic and prebiotic packed recipes to try!
The Best Probiotic Foods Everyone Should Eat
Probiotics are living microorganisms that deliver a range of health benefits when included in the diet. Traditional fermented food sources of these bacteria exist in nearly every culture, and can also be taken in supplement form.
These beneficial microorganisms are believed to improve brain function and digestion, and may also promote heart health and better skin.
This list of healthy fermented foods containing beneficial probiotics can help you round out your health plan and get the most out of your menu.
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What Are The Top Probiotic Foods To Add To Your Diet
When youâre looking for probiotic foods, try fermented foods that retain some of their live cultures . Good examples of foods with live cultures are:
- Fresh kimchi
- Yogurt
- Fresh sour pickles
Other foods like water or brine cured olives and some cheeses can be sources of foods with probiotics.Some may have labels with a âlive and active culturesâ seal, but it isnât always easy to know when products contain live cultures. It may be even harder to know if these products contain probiotics with proven health benefits.
Fermented Foods That Dont Contain Probiotics
As you now know, not all fermented foods contain live organisms. Microbes that are essential for making beer and wine are filtered out in the finished product, Dr. Webster says. Sourdough breads and canned sauerkraut, other fermented vegetables, and many kombuchas are heat-treated, which inactivates the microorganisms. So even though these products might taste good and offer some nutritional benefits, theyre not strong sources of probiotics.
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How Are Fermented Foods Made And Are They All Probiotic
Fermentation is the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms. Many foods you might eat every day go through the fermentation process: yogurt, sauerkraut, cheese, bread. Good bacteria love fermentation, so in turn, fermented foods with live cultures in them can contain probiotics.
But not all fermented foods are probiotic. In fact, the vast majority of fermented foods are not. For example, beer or vegetables that ferment in vinegar have no proven probiotic benefits.
Most foods with live cultures have no scientific evidence that shows they help with anything. True probiotic foods contain a strain of live bacteria thatâs been studied and shown to give health benefits.
In short: All fermented foods have live cultures. But not all live cultures have proven health benefits, so not all fermented foods are also probiotic foods.
How do you know if a food has probiotic benefits? Check the label to see if the food reports the specific probiotic strains it contains. Then search to see if those strains have any science to back up their health benefit claims.
Why Are Probiotics Beneficial For Gut Health
A probiotic is best described as a microorganism which naturally occurs in cultured foods and which improves the health of its host . Probiotic foods naturally contain probiotic cultures of yeast or bacteria. Probiotic bacteria perform some important functions such as supporting a healthy immune system, metabolism and digestion. Research indicates that imbalances in the gut microbiome can been linked to numerous diseases, including cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Your gut microbiome is strongly influenced by your food choices and you can easily support this by including more probiotic rich foods into your daily diet.
Discover even more top tips for digestive health. Also, check out some of our delicious gut-friendly recipes from satisfying soups to salads, including a whole range of tasty plant-based options.
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What Are The Top 5 Probiotic Foods To Eat
Probiotics can be taken as a supplemental pill, but they also naturally form in some foods. Probiotics in the pill form are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration like other medications are, if you have a weak immune system you should talk with your doctor before using probiotics as they could be harmful for people with certain conditions. Below are 5 foods you can incorporate into your diet that contain healthy probiotics.
How Much Probiotic Food Do You Need
The quantity of probiotic foods you should aim to include in your diet varies, Tolliver says. However, the American Academy of Family Physicians generally recommends that adults try to consume 10 to 20 billion colony-forming units per day.
“Keep in mind, probiotic concentrations vary across foods,” Tolliver says. “For example, yogurt on average can contain one to five strains of different bacteria and 6 billion colony-forming units, whereas kefir can contain nearly 12 different strains of bacteria and 25 to 30 billion colony-forming units.” Cording’s advice: Just do your best to try to eat probiotic foods regularly.
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Natural Sources Of Probiotics
Taking a supplement can give you quick access to certain probiotics, but there are other options, too. “One of the easiest ways to is to increase the number of probiotic-rich foods in your diet,” says Sophia Tolliver, M.D., MPH, a family medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
There are plenty of options out there when it comes to natural sources of probiotics, but these are considered the best:
Pickles And Other Fermented Vegetables
Along with being a tasty and nutritious snack, fermented vegetables can be a great source of probiotics. Fermented vegetables â think cucumbers or beets , cauliflower, radishes and so on â offer gut-friendly bacteria.
The emphasis here is on âfermentedâ: These benefits only come from fermented vegetables that are made using a fermentation method .
One caveat: Salt is often an important part of the fermentation process, so if you’re following a low-sodium diet, you may want to avoid or limit how many servings of probiotic vegetables you dig into, Smithson says.
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Want More Great Gut Health Content
What’s your favourite way to get probiotics into your diet? Comment below and let us know…
Tracey Randell is a qualified Nutritionist and certified Institute for Functional Medicine practitioner . She lectures at the nutrition college where she trained on various subjects including IBS, Celiac disease, the gut-brain axis and food intolerances. She also offers post graduate training to other health care professionals.
All health content on bbcgoodfood.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information.
Why You Need To Eat A Variety Of Prebiotic Foods
Experts recommend eating a variety of the following foods, as each offers unique fibers, and different microbes like to munch on different types. This way, you also increase your microbial biodiversity, which researchers have found is crucial to a healthy gut. And even if you haven’t jumped on the probiotic bandwagon just yet, you should probably introduce these foods into your diet anyway studies show that just adding prebiotic veggies to an unhealthy diet can begin to alter the composition of our gut by strengthening our good microbes.
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Do I Still Need To Take My Probiotics If I Take A Product With Atpro
While Digest Gold + Probiotics contains probiotics, it does not include ATPro. Our original Digest Gold formula includes ATPro but not probiotics.
Only you can decide for certain which formula is best for your individual needs. However, if you are interested in a separate probiotic supplement, consider Enzymedicas Pro-Bio.
With eight different noncompetitive strains for increased diversity, it has a guaranteed potency of 10 billion CFU.* Pro-Bio survives stomach acid and supports regularity and immune health.* It promotes a healthy microbiome and optimal digestive function and helps reduce occasional gas, bloating and indigestion.*
What Are Natural Probiotics
Natural probiotics are those probiotics that occur in food and in the dirt. As humans, we have actually evolved to ingest soil-based organisms as our source of natural probiotics. This includes trace amounts of organic dirt on your vegetables or incidental ingestion from working or being outside near grass and soil.
These naturally occurring probiotics populate our gut and keep us healthy. After all, our ancestors long ago didnt have access to probiotic supplements they got everything they needed from their natural environment and foods.
The good news is that we have access now to both: probiotic supplements and natural probiotics from foods. But, as mentioned, certain foods have naturally occurring probiotics that can help you diversify your diet and keep your gut health strong!
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Probiotic Foods To Help Balance Your Gut
Itâs true that probiotics can be found in some foods. You might already include them in your diet, or you may be able to replace a food currently in your diet with another that specifically contains probiotics. But picking a probiotic food is not as easy as picking any yogurt off the shelves at the store, and not all fermented foods have probiotics in them.
Finding foods with live cultures is easy. Finding foods with live cultures that have proven health benefits requires attention to detail and research. Plus, you need to make sure youâre getting enough probiotics from those foods in your diet to actually get the health benefit you want.
Yogurt is a classic example. All yogurts do contain live cultures at some point as they are being made. However, as a part of the manufacturing process, the live cultures donât always survive until the yogurt makes it to store shelves. Alternatively, some yogurts still contain live cultures post-processing, however, the specific strains used to make the yogurt provide no benefits to humans.
The truth is, few yogurts naturally contain a probiotic strain. Oftentimes, probiotics are added to the yogurt, but not used as part of the production process.
If you donât already eat fermented foods, there are other options to help you add probiotics to your gut without making a significant dietary change. Probiotic supplements like Align DualBiotic Prebiotic + Probiotic Gummies will guarantee you add more good bacteria to your gut.*
How To Add Probiotic Foods To Your Diet
While it might be tempting to rush to the grocery store and buy all these probiotic-rich foods, you’re better off introducing them into your diet more gradually.
“A common side effect from eating too many probiotics is having extra gas and bloating,” Yeung says. Plus, “some people experience headaches when eating probiotic foods due to the amines, such as histamine and tyramine, found in those foods.”
To minimize the chance of side effects, Yeung recommends going slow. “Gradually introduce probiotics into your diet with a serving a day, and then increase the amount once your digestive system has adjusted.” Your gut will thank you.
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Best Probiotic Foods For A Healthy Gut
Probiotics are the good-guy bacteria and yeasts inhabiting our bodies and providing us with many health benefits.
Our bodies are brimming with these digestion- aiding, vitamin-synthesizing, immune-boosting microbial life forms.
Probiotics is also the name for foods containing these healthful microorganisms, and eating these foods regularly maintains good digestion and overall health in multiple ways.
Best Foods With Probiotics For Your Healthy Gut
Home » Healthy Habits » 13 Best Foods with Probiotics for Your Healthy Gut
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Have you heard the expression that your gut is your second brain?
It’s truethe gut contains 100 million neurons that control not only your digestion but also your mental and physical health. That said, it’s no wonder why you want to make sure to keep your gut healthy.
In order to maintain a healthy gut, you have to make sure to eat a proper diet . This means that its important to make sure that youre eating enough foods with probiotics.
With so many other good healthy diet choices available today, its easy to miss probiotic-rich foods, considering that most of them have strong flavors that may be unfamiliar to your taste buds. But they can be an acquired taste, and after you start to enjoy them, you will be able to see and feel the health benefits that they are giving you.
In this article, we will talk about 13 foods that are rich in probiotics that you should consider adding to your diet. But first lets break down the different kinds of healthy bacteria.
What You Will Learn
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Probiotic Lunch Foods For Kids
Okay, so now you know the best probiotic foods, lets focus on the ones most kids will actually eat:
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Kefir
Need ideas on how to pack these into school lunches you kids will enjoy? I got you covered with these lunches below:
Yogurt & Fruit Parfait
Top this parfait with granola for a protein and probiotic packed lunch. Change it up by swapping the blueberries and strawberries with your fruit of choice.
Apple Grilled Cheese
If your kids are a fan of the cheese/apple combo, then youve got to try this epic grilled cheese! Of course, you can always leave out the apples but be sure to make it with Swiss or Gouda.
Charcuterie Lunch Box
Pack this Charcuterie boards probiotic-rich foods like cheese, pickles, and olives into a bento-style lunch with whole-grain crackers and fruit for extra fiber!
Triple Berry Smoothie
Smoothies make a refreshing treat for the lunchbox and much like yogurt, pack it into a chilled thermos container for best results. Up the ante on this recipe by using Greek yogurt or kefir.
Reuben Pinwheels
The classic Reuben sandwich consisting of roast beef, sauerkraut, and cheese reinvented into a fun-to-eat and delicious bite sized lunch! For bigger appetites, turn this into a wrap.
Apple Quesadillas
The cheese and apple combo is also great in a tortilla and highly recommended with Gouda! Want a quicker fix? Try the Ham & Cheese Apple Wraps.
How Do Probiotics Help Your Health
Probiotic foods can help maintain a healthy gut microbiome. Researchers have found lots of evidence connecting probiotics to improved immune functions and overall gut health.
However, only foods and supplements that contain live, active cultures, that have been studied and proven to deliver a health benefit actually count as probiotics. Some foods marketed as probiotic foods may not technically contain live cultures with proven health benefits. Always check the label for a probiotic, and always research the strain.
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What Are Probiotics And What Do They Do
Probiotics are live microorganisms, or good bacteria, that promote better digestive health and a better immune system. They produce these benefits as they help create a balance between the helpful and harmful bacteria that coexist in the body, but specifically the gut. They are important for digestive health because they help move food through the gut by affecting the nerves which are in control of the guts movement.
Whats The Difference Between Prebiotic And Probiotic Foods
The term prebiotic often enters the conversation about probiotics, but the two shouldnt be confused. Prebiotics essentially serve as food for our probiotics, Fiorita explains.
Most types of fiber are fully digested before reaching the intestines, but others, the prebiotics, stay intact through the metabolic process and feed the intestinal bacteria in the gut.
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Prebiotic foods are fiber-rich and encourage the growth of beneficial microorganisms that already exist in the gut, such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, she says. Leeks, onions, tofu, some soy products and grains are examples of prebiotic foods.
Probiotics thrive when an individual consumes adequate prebiotic-rich foods within a diverse diet, Fiorita says. One group is not healthier than the otherwe need both.
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Can I Get Probiotics From Food
You can absolutely increase beneficial microbes in your body from the foods you eat. Certain foods have probiotics in them and can benefit the health of your microbiome.
These foods can be introduced into your diet at any point of the day. You may even be regularly eating them now and not realize that they contain probiotics. You will want to check the food label for live and active cultures. A few suggestions for just some of the probiotic-rich foods you can add to your diet and some times to try them include:
For breakfast, try:
- Powders.
- Liquids.
Probiotic supplements may be combined with a prebiotic. Prebiotics are complex carbohydrates that feed the microorganisms in your gut. Basically, prebiotics are the food source for the good bacteria. They help feed the good bacteria and keep it healthy. Prebiotics include inulin, pectin and resistant starches.
When you have a supplement that combines a probiotic and prebiotic, its called a synbiotic.
