Our bodies are made up of trillions of bacteria. They live on our skin, in our mouth, in our gut, everywhere- but they’re essential to our health.
This might seem gross, but the community of bacteria, known as the gut microbiota, is involved in everything from immune health to digestion and even cholesterol.
While some of these microorganisms may cause disease under the right conditions, others help to protect from disease. Either way, there’s a mixture of both good and bad bacteria and a proper balance must be maintained.
If the microbiome becomes unbalanced, the body starts to experience problems. This is where probiotics come in handy.
Quick Guide
- What are Probiotics?
- What To Look For In Probiotics
- Is Yogurt a Good Probiotic?
- The Best Probiotics For Immunity and Everyday Health
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are similar to the ‘good’ bacteria that benefit your body. As the name suggests, they are a proactive way of maintaining the balance of bacteria for optimum health.
Some foods contain probiotics naturally while supplements like probiotic pills are another way to add it to your diet.
But due to the wide range of probiotics on the market and the wide range of problems you may want to address, it’s important to choose the right type of probiotic for you.
What To Look For In Probiotics
When you’re trying to find the best probiotics for your health, it’s best to look at the main issue that you’re trying to address.
As we said earlier, some of the common problems that people try to address with probiotics are:
- weakened immunity
- digestion problems
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- ulcerative colitis
- diarrhea
- inflammation
- high cholesterol
There are different types of probiotics that could address the different issues, but here are the basic characteristics of the best probiotics:
- They contain live and active bacterial cultures
- They contain at least 1 billion colony forming units (CFUs)
- The genus Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium or Saccharomyces boulardii are included
Now all this is very good, but probiotics supplements can be expensive.
Because of this, I’ve included some probiotic and prebiotic foods that you can add to your diet if you’re on a budget.
This leads to a common question:
Is Yogurt a Good Probiotic?
Many persons think that yogurt is a good probiotic to add to their diet. It’s easily accessible and affordable, but it also has many downsides.
Yogurt is made with starter bacterial cultures- Strepococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Unfortunately, these bacteria are destroyed by your very strong stomach acids so you won’t reap the benefits.
If you really want to use yogurt as your probiotic, it’s best to buy the brands that have been studied and tested. You may have to pay a little extra though, and do try to avoid the brands with excess sugar as this disrupts your gut health.
The Best Probiotics
Prebiotic and Probiotic Foods
The best probiotics in the health community are actually prebiotic foods.
These are everyday foods that you can eat to boost your good bacteria. After all, your diet is the main thing that feeds your microbiota.
What your gut bacteria loves the most is fermentable fiber, which is included in foods below.
Here’s a list of prebiotic foods:
- beans
- green bananas
- asparagus
- onions
- garlic
- chicory root
- Jerusalem artichokes
- dandelion greens
- leeks
- barley
- apples
- oats
- flaxseeds
- wheat bran
- seaweed
Probiotic foods are also very beneficial for our gut bacteria. Most items on this list of probiotic foods are found online.
- yogurt
- kefir
- tempeh
- kimchi
- sauerkraut
- miso
- kombucha
- pickles
Best Probiotic For Immunity
If you’re always fighting colds and want to boost your immunity with a probiotic supplement, the Align Daily Immune Support Probiotic Supplement is a great way to boost your gut health. It is trusted and recommended by Nutritionists and Doctors.
- contains Bifidobacterium lactic BB-12, a bacteria strain thought to boost immunity
- can help fight lactose intolerance
- contains five billion CFUs
- should be taken once a day
Best Probiotic For Everyday Health
Culterelle Daily Probiotic targets everything from skin health to gut health. Each serving (one capsule) contains 10 billion active cultures of Lactobacillus GG.
This probiotic helps to:
- reduce bloating
- curb gas
- ease an upset stomach
It also helps to boost immunity.
Probiotics Are Important
If you’re frequently suffering from digestive issues like IBS. the common cold, etc, a probiotic supplement can be a good addition to your diet. Probiotics are also super helpful if you’ve recently taken antibiotics as they can help to replenish your good bacteria.
It’s important to remember that our overall health depends on our diet. A good portion of fruits and vegetables can provide the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber that we need to function.
Read more about some good sources of fiber for any diet.