Probiotics

We would like to begin this blog with what we think is one of the most important keys to good health – probiotics.

Probiotics are supplements given to mimic the beneficial bacteria/intestinal flora we all have in our bodies. As a result of antibiotic use, many of these good bacteria are killed, causing what scientists believe to be a host of problems. Even if you aren’t taking antibiotics prescribed by your doctor for an illness, antibiotics are found in our drinking water and most of the meats, eggs, and dairy products we consume. Also, the pasteurization process and other modern food preservation techniques have caused the natural probiotic content of our foods to decrease, leaving many people deficient.

Benefits of probiotics:

• Strengthens the immune system by creating a healthy balance of flora


• Helps prevent and treat leaky gut syndrome/diarrhea


• Helps to balance Candida levels in the body, which prevents and treats yeast problems (vaginal yeast infections, thrush, etc.) and UTIs


• Treats IBD and IBS – inflammation of the colon


• Reduces the recurrence of bladder cancer


• Helps speed up the recovery of intestinal infections


• Prevents eczema and other allergy symptoms


• Believed to treat food allergies and intolerances

Ways to take probiotics naturally through your food:

• Cultured/fermented veggies – sauerkraut, fermented sweet potatoes, pickled ginger, beets, etc.


• Fermented beverages – kefir, natural ginger ale, kombuca, kvass – even some beers and wine


• Unpasteurized milk and other dairy products (aged cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt)


• Miso

You can find many recipes for these items in Jordan Rubin’s Maker’s Diet or by doing a simple Google search.

How our family uses them:

Adam prefers to get his probiotics naturally through food. He begins every day with a large bowl of all-natural plain yogurt, sweetened with honey. He also eats a lot of homemade fermented veggies – especially sauerkraut and pickled beets.

I used to drink raw milk and other dairy products daily, but since having my second baby I have been finding it harder to make the trip to get my milk on a regular basis. I now take a supplement two times per day if I haven’t eaten a probiotic-rich food in its place. I take Solaray’s Multidophilus 12, because there is no soy in the capsules. I began taking them about a year ago and since I have not had a flare-up of my Crohn’s Disease, made it through an entire pregnancy without a yeast infection or UTI, and have nursed a baby for four months without any thrush. The probiotics are also transferred through my breast milk to David, which I feel is a great preventative measure for seasonal and food allergies on top of being good for his overall health. Breast milk already has probiotics, but taking the supplement increases the amount he is receiving.

Gabe takes KAL Dinosaurs Baby Bifidactyl in powder form. I mix ¼ teaspoon into his rice milk with his morning drink. He began taking this approximately 4 months ago. At the time we began to notice that he had really bad breath (a sign of poor digestion). Within 3 days the bad breath was gone. He has also made it through the spring without needing any OTC allergy medications.

-Jessica

Sources:

"Probiotics: What are they? - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for healthy living - MayoClinic.com. 30 May 2009 .

Rubin, Jordan. Maker's diet. New York: Berkley Books, 2005.