Why You Need To Add In Probiotics

Having a healthy gut is a topic that is growing popularity in the world of wellness. The first time I had ever heard of gut health was when I was beginning my health coaching training a few years back. I was of course curious and I started researching the importance of gut health and I was surprised to find many studies and information about how important the gut is for your overall health. Gut health is actually at the core of your wellbeing. Having a healthy gut can help promote better energy, better mood, a healthy immunity, healthy hormone balance, better skin health, better sleep, better brain performance and it can even prevent most diseases. While there is a lot that is involved in healing the gut, which starts with a personalized plan, there are a few things you can start doing today to promote a healthier digestion. One of those is adding in probiotics.

I make sure to get in a probiotics either through a supplement or through fermented foods. You may have heard of probiotics, but you may not know the truth behind why you need them. Adding in probiotics to your diet can help benefit the health of your gut. After consuming probiotics, they travel through the body and interact with cells and nutrients and bacteria in the body to deliver benefits such as healthy elimination, a healthier immune system, a healthier metabolism and more.

Here are some of my favorite ways to add in probiotics:

cultured yogurt

Whether you choose dairy or non-dairy yogurts, they are a great way to add in probiotics to your diet. When choosing a yogurt make sure you look for “lactobacillus bulgaricus” and “streptcoccus thermophilus” in the ingredient list. These are the probiotic strains added to milk or non-dairy milk to help it grow bacteria to create a cultured yogurt. You will be able to tell the difference in a quality cultured yogurt with probiotics because it will have a tangy taste. I recommend a greek yogurt for a dairy. For non-dairy I love coconut milk yogurts. Some are great alternatives to greek yogurt and are perfect for yogurt bowls and parfaits. There are also some that are ceremonial grade meaning that it is meant to be taken as a supplement (about 1-2tbsp a serving). The ceremonial grade yogurts can be taken by the spoonful or added to a smoothie.

fermented foods

Fermented foods are an amazing way to add in probiotics. The most popular items are kimchi, sauerkraut, sourdough and other fermented vegetables. you can purchase these items in store or you can make them at home. With a quick online search you can find many helpful recipes to guide you to fermenting at home. The process is actually so simple and can save you A LOT of money! When purchasing in stores make sure that you are purchasing real fermented foods and not pickled. pickled vegetables are made using vinegar where fermented foods are not.

kombucha

Kombucha is one of my favorite sweet treats that offers incredible sources of probiotics. You can make this at home or purchase at the store. There are a lot of options out there for kombucha and some may taste better to you than others. It may take a few tries until you’ve found the one that you enjoy most. They do naturally contain small amounts of alcohol so keep that in mind if that does not fit your lifestyle (there are so many other ways to get in probiotics into your diet).

pill form

This is the simplest way to get in probiotics, but one of the most difficult to navigate. There are many probiotics sources on the market however many times by the time the probiotics reach your grocery store or your door step they have lost their benefits. Fortunately, a lot of companies have found solutions and have created pre and probiotics that help benefit your gut and remain beneficial on their way from the manufacturer to your door step. My favorites are this one here, this company has done their research and is mindful about how the pre and probiotic is made and delivered to you, as well as this one here which uses soil based organisms in the probiotic. I have tried and love both!