Health Benefits of Probiotics & Fermented Foods
Posted by Eric Lancaster on
Our bodies are more bacteria than anything else. The microbiome in our gut controls numerous key functions in our bodies. A balanced microbiome is critical to overall health, handling the immune system, metabolism, sustains the gastrointestinal tract, enhances mood and brain function, manufactures crucial vitamins and nutrients, and promotes a healthy weight. This microbiome allows you to feel better and lose weight.
Optimizing your intestinal flora helps prevent obesity and diabetes, and regulates dietary fat absorption. The risk of cancer is lowered. Acne can be prevented. Improve both your mood and mental health by keeping the balance of intestinal flora tipped toward the positive side. The simplest way to do that is by eating fermented foods.
Fermented Foods Are Packed With Good Bacteria
As a natural probiotic, fermented foods are great source of live bacteria that replenish the balance of friendly bacteria for optimal health. Beneficial gut bacteria perform many valuable functions, such as mineral absorption, and producing nutrients. Vitamin K2 is essential for introducing calcium into your bones and keeping it out of your arteries, which decreases your risk of coronary artery disease and stroke.
By eating just a quarter to a half cup of fermented vegetables, for one to three meals each day, you can significantly impact your level of health. The use of yeasts, bacteria, or both, to convert carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide, or organic acid, is the main idea of fermentation. The trillions of beneficial bacteria, particularly those in the intestinal system, help with digestion, improve immunity, and may even help us get leaner. Research is still coming out in regards to how important these microbes are to health.
Examples of Fermented Foods With Probiotics
An effective method of encouraging microbe growth is a diet rich in foods packed with probiotics. This 'good' bacteria can be found in fermented foods. For example; miso, a fermented paste is made from barley, rice or soybeans. It is full of essential minerals, like potassium, and supplies millions of microorganisms, supporting strength and stamina.
Another example of fermented food; sauerkraut, is made from cabbage and salt. It is beneficial to brain health which helps cure depression and anxiety. Extremely simple to make, homemade sauerkraut has none of the chemical preservatives or added sugar that non-refrigerated, store-bought varieties do.
Yogurt that is labeled with the "Live and Active Cultures" seal provides one hundred million probiotic cultures per gram. That adds up to approximately seventeen billion cultures in a six-ounce cup. Yogurt is a great way to introduce probiotic cultures into the diet of people who are uncertain about eating fermented food.
Pickles are another good fermented food starter. Pickles provide a healthy dose of probiotics in a familiar package.
Kimchi is a Korean-type of sauerkraut. It is found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store near other Asian ingredients. Made from fermented cabbage, it is a spicy energy-booster. Kimchi helps with digestions, nutrient assimilation, improving both digestion and appearance of your skin.
If you do not favor fermented foods, or do not always have access to them, you can also take a probiotic supplement to receive these beneficial bacterias that help your body thrive. Considering the importance of your digestive tract, do not wait until you're suffering pain and discomfort before taking good care of it.