Yesterday I had such an amazing opportunity, I got to share with the world a brief tidbit of my passion for gut health, probiotics and fermented foods. While I was a bit nervous to start I think it came of clearly and I got a quick chance to spread the word. I can’t say enough how important these friendly micro organisms are for our overall health and I will be adding some resources that I believe will help you learn more about them. For now enjoy this short interview I did on Texas Living on the way, why and how.
(see below for a quick recap)
What Are Probiotics?
Helpful bacteria that live all around us and make up a huge piece of the digestive process. They help do many functions including assimilation and utilization of food to helping regulate our immune system, which is largely located in the gut. The average healthy adult has anywhere from 3-4lbs. of bacteria (good and bad) in their digestive tract.
Where Are They Found?
They are all over, but we get them mostly from probiotic rich foods like properly fermented vegetables, milk products like yogurt and kefir as well as fermented drinks such as kombucha. Every culture typically has some type of fermented food that accompanies as meal; the Japanese eat miso or natto, the Germans eat sauerkraut, the Koreans eat kimchi. Unfortunately we have lost these traditions in our current food system which in turn has comprimised our digestive health.
How Can You Benefit From Them?
Start slowly, if you’ve never used or eaten probiotic rich foods before or supplemented with them once every day to couple of days. If you do not have any negative reactions (bloating, gas etc) continue to slowly up your intake to a few times per day. Examples of proper servings include 4oz kombucha, 2 tablespoons of sauerkraut, 1/2 cup yogurt. I consume fermented foods at least twice daily or use a supplement.
Sources of Probiotics?
Supplements: If you choose you can take a daily capsule.. I recommend and use these. They are award winning and contain over 12 different strands of bacteria as opposed to only one or two.
Sauerkraut: An easy vegetable to add to any meal sauerkraut is a mixture of cabbage, sea salt and water that is fermented over a few days to a few weeks depending on your method. Here’s a link on how to easily make your own. If you’re not into that, Bubbies is my favorite larger commercial brand, but look for local alternatives (always buy refrigerated kraut as the others are pasteurized leaving them void of any benefit).
Kimchi: Make your own or look in your local Whole Foods or other natural market. A great addition to soups and stews or eaten alone.
Miso: Miso Master, Mr. Miso are both good. Also found in most natural foods or Asian markets. A fermented soybean paste, Miso is great in salad dressings and soups.
Kombucha: Black tea cultured with sugar consuming friendly bacteria. Make your own for cheap! Or I like larger brands like GT’s Synergy as well as those smaller and local to me in Texas.
Atchara: This is a product that took a while for me to get used to but absolutely love now, fermented green papaya.
There are of course other options. If you have any questions about or would like to share your favorite fermented foods please do so!
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Brian, that was great! You came off very chill and real. Well done. I felt the need to sip on a glass of ‘booch while I watched (so I did).
I’ll be getting into ferments with my readers that are new to real food, and I will definitely link up to this post.
Kudos to you my friend!
Jennifer @ 20 something allergies and counting…down recently posted..Great Moments in October
Jennifer, thank you for the note! Live TV can be a beast, wow, but the message came across (more or less) in a way that I hope people can understand and benefit from.
Thanks for sharing and let me know if you need any fermentation help!
Brian
I was looking at the probiotic caps you recommended, but you lost me with the soy lecithin and carageenan. Other than that they look pretty good. Why take a great base product and mess it all up like that?
Jeannine,
Thank you for your feedback and I’m happy to see there are others as passionate as I am about quality food and supplements!
Much like yourself I was concerned when I first saw this product as it was the only one they have that had questionable ingredients, but it was way before I knew anything about the integrity of this particular company and what (or what does not) go into all of their products.
This probiotic is no exception. It is a specially formulated capsule that allows the bacteria to thrive within (alive) without being freeze dried or denatured. They actually won a medical science award for this process in (1999). I understand your concerns for both carageenan and lecithin but as you know there are good and not so good forms of both. This particular carageenan is essentially minimally processed seaweed and the lecithin is from a fermented soy source, both of which are used to FEED the bacteria, not for emulsification.
Instead of following the route of most probiotics on the market and only providing one or a few strands of bacteria, they have created a cocktail of 12 different strands, virtually unheard of! These strands are also NOT created in a petri dish, like many on the market, but rather cultured from the fermentation of various tree barks.
Anyway, I’m definitely not trying to sell you on anything other than the fact that it’s something that I wholeheartedly stand behind and take great pride in knowing the quality of what I recommend is sound.
If you find out something I don’t know and it turns out to be correct, I would gladly switch sources.
Thanks again,
Brian Johnson