The health of your gut is big news right now. It seems what happens in your gastrointestinal system affects all aspects of your wellbeing, from your mental health to your digestion – and natural probiotics can help.
Probiotics help to keep the natural levels of microorganisms in your body in check. Research studies show that your gut flora helps to boost your immunity, improve symptoms of conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, and help you lose weight. Probiotics can even help improve your mental health. So what are probiotics – and what can you do to get more natural probiotics in your diet?
What Are Natural Probiotics?
You can get probiotics in supplement form, and these are certainly popular and can help many people enjoy better health. You can also get probiotics from natural sources – food. It is often easier to include probiotics in your diet when you add them to your lunch or breakfast. It’s a tasty way to increase the levels of probiotics in your body.
How Do Natural Probiotics Benefit Your Health?
Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that form part of your gut lining. When you have enough friendly bacteria in your gut, you absorb nutrients more effectively, and you boost your immune system. You get more energy, and your skin looks healthier. You may even experience weight loss as toxins are removed from the body, and you can burn calories more effectively.
When you have low levels of probiotics in your body, you suffer more from colds and flu, digestive issues, skin problems, and bacterial infections.
Here’s how you can boost levels of natural probiotics – include these foods in your diet:
1) Yogurt
When you’re looking for a natural probiotic, then look no further than yogurt. This is surely the simplest way to include more probiotics in your diet. It would help if you had live yogurt, and you can also get yogurts that come with added probiotics. But be very careful to check the ingredients list on the yogurt you choose, as you definitely don’t want to eat lots of yogurts that also contain sugar, flavorings, and colorings. Look for natural low-fat yogurts.
2) Tempeh
Tempeh is a different alternative to tofu or meat if you eat it. Tempeh is made from soybeans and formed into a grain that is rich in probiotics. You can eat it on salads or bake it, fry it, and put it in soups and stews. It is a good choice for bulking out meals while adding good levels of healthy probiotics.
3) Kefir
This is a type of drink that comes from Turkey and Russia. It is similar to yogurt. You can get so many different forms of healthy bacteria from drinking kefir that it should be top of your list. If you want, you can drink this plain on its own, although it does have quite a sour taste. Or you can add it to smoothies with fruit to sweeten it a little. Look for kefir that does not contain sugar.
4) Kombucha Tea
Did you hear about kombucha tea? It has been around a while but has recently been getting more popular. It is a black tea that is brewed using a base of natural probiotics. Kombucha tea is fermented using a colony of bacteria and yeast to start it off. Although it takes a while, you can make it yourself, and you can also buy it ready-made from a variety of health food suppliers.
5) Kimchi
Kimchi comes from Korea and is a side dish created by fermented cabbage or fermented radish. It is good to add this to a sandwich for a special input of natural probiotics or to use it as a side dish to accompany any meal. Sauerkraut is the German alternative to kimchi and is made from fermented cabbage.
6) Miso
Miso is a paste from which you can make a traditional watery soup. Miso soup is created from fermented soybeans. This soup is a great source of probiotics, but it can also be high in sodium, so watch your intake.
7) Dark Chocolate
You can find dark chocolate, which has healthy probiotics added to it, making this a delicious way to get natural probiotics into your diet. Dark chocolate also has other health benefits.
8) Microalgae
You can get special superfood algae plants added to dishes, like blue-green algae and other ocean plants. Adding these to your diet helps to boost probiotic levels, which brings more energy and better digestion.
9) Sourdough Bread
It contains live probiotic cultures, usually from live yogurt used in the recipe when you make sourdough bread. Try swapping your normal bagel or piece of bread for a sourdough sandwich to get more natural probiotics in your everyday diet.
