It’s hard to know which good bacterial strains to choose in a probiotic. Which are good for me? Now you can choose with more confidence.
Good bacteria is super important in our bodies. These bacteria in our microbiome direct our immunity, they convert all our vitamins B’s and K into something we can absorb and use, and they safeguard us against bacteria from outside the body.
We get bacteria from the air, from the raw foods that we eat, from the people and objects that we touch… But we can also consciously TRY to raise our good strains from eating fermented foods.
Fermented foods come in many forms. They are generally left somewhere warm to purposely grow bacteria. – This takes a lot of getting used to. They are either salted before growing (to limit the growth of unwanted bacteria), or given a dose of the good bacteria that we want to grow before the warming process.
It’s a good idea to start with a small amount of fermented foods and work up from there, maybe into a probiotic supplement, or into more fermented foods. Why? As you add good bacteria to the digestive tract (really colon), the bad ones die off. This can cause a release of toxins, which can make us feel like we have the flu. So go slow to ease into this change.
Fermented Foods List
Here is a free video I made to help you to see the different forms of fermented foods available. (I was tired after a family member had bronchitis.)
Here are some fermented foods to consider: pickles, sauerkraut, miso paste (soy & rice paste for soup), gardiniera (Italian vegetables), kimchi (Korean spicy cabbage), yogurt, beet kvass (a Russian beet drink) and kefir (good bacteria and yeast). [All of these should be found in the cold section of the foods store, not the canned section.] However, there are recipes for fermented fruits like apples and raspberries, salsa and mustard (see Nourishing Traditions’ (book) recipe), black bean paste, chutney and drinks like kombucha (doesn’t agree with me~). And in the past, ketchup was a fermented food.
Here is a super handy chart of which good bacteria/ probiotic strains to choose, based on what is happening with the individual. Thank you to Gluten Free & More magazine for posting this.
The probiotic supplements have a list of the good bacteria strains on the package back. It can be helpful to rotate which probiotics that you take, because they all focus on different strains. And know that the good bacteria are constantly exchanging DNA materialism according to a Sandor Katz interview that I hope to publish soon. (Sandor Katz wrote Wild Fermentation book.)
A Word of Caution: Although good bacteria in probiotics and fermented foods sound like a cure-all, they can be overwhelming during a current bout of serious illness. As the good bacteria go in, the bad ones die off. This can cause a release of toxins, which would not be a good idea during serious illness.
Second, if you end up with a swollen belly or a lot of gas when you take fermented foods and probiotic capsules, stop using them. You may already have an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, called Small Intestine Bowel Overgrowth, or SIBO. (Normally the good bacteria are supposed to be living in the large intestine or colon, at the end of digestive line.) Talk with your naturopathic doctor about this.
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This article is meant for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual care by your naturopathic doctor. This post does NOT contain any links for my material benefit.
