Potent Probiotic Foods and Drinks: 5 Guidelines to Get the Healthy Benefits

Today, the probiotic industry is a booming business. Probiotic sales topped $243 million in 2005 alone².

Yet in this money-making industry, a number of probiotic supplements unfortunately lack in quality for the following reasons:

• Many probiotic supplements can’t survive harsh stomach acids in order to reach the intestines.
• Manufacturers may not offer the right probiotic combinations that are best suited to human intestines.

So, while a probiotic supplement could provide some value, it won’t have the power to recolonize your inner ecosystem to transform your digestive health.

To make sure that your probiotic food or drink stands out head and shoulders above the rest, keep these important guidelines in mind:

1. Beneficial bacteria and yeast in fermented foods and drinks must be alive and active. Whether you’re buying a fermented food or drink or making it at home, getting active, living bacteria is the only way to support digestive health.
2. Fermentation must not use heat. Fermented foods and drinks will retain their vital amino acids within the natural fermentation process, which can be easily destroyed by heat.
3. Fermented foods and drinks must contain a variety of live cultures. Probiotics produced in a lab may contain only a single strain of bacteria and won’t provide the diversity your digestive system craves.
4. Fermented foods and drinks must contain living food for microflora. Probiotic supplements will only contain bacteria, compared to fermented foods and drinks that contain actual food to help promote microflora growth. Basically, probiotic-rich foods and drinks will provide friendly bacteria in your gut with the nutrition they need to benefit your overall health. Robust microflora found in fermented foods and liquids will start working immediately, compared to microflora in probiotic supplements that require up to six hours to colonize in the intestines.
5. Fermented foods and drinks must be acid-resistant. In order to remain viable in your system throughout the digestive process, hardy fermented foods and liquids are acid-resistant for reliable, complete assimilation.

More Information about Gut Healing Diets: BED vs. GAPS Diets, Two Gut Healing Protocols

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