Amazing Probiotic Rich Foods
Lately I have rediscovered the importance of probiotics to my gut health. You see, for the last month I have been helping a family of 6 implement the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) Diet. I have been recommending they slowly increase the probiotic foods they have been eating. They have followed my advice and they have been having terrific results in their digestive health. Realizing that my gut health has been a lifelong issue for me, I started following my own advice. I began making my own beet and vegetable kvass and drinking some every day. Low and behold, I have found that I am much more “regular” digestive-wise and feel great.
You see, people with digestive issues commonly have dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is simply an overgrowth of bad organisms and not enough healthy organisms in the gut. We should all have a balance of many different organisms and not an overgrowth of any particular one. The best way to ingest probiotics is to make your own in food form. Vegetable ferments and vegetable fermented beverages like sauerkraut, beet kvass and kimchi are better for people who tend to have constipation. Fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir, however, can cause or exacerbate constipation. Therfore, homemade fermented dairy foods are great for people who tend to have diarrhea. I am not talking about store bought yogurt or kefir. I am talking about homemade yogurt and kefir that is fermented at least 24 hours. This greatly increases it’s potency and eats up all of the lactose that was in the milk.
If you are just started on your probiotic journey, you should proceed slowly and start with just a teaspoonful or less. You can slowly work your way up to ¼ to ½ cup per day. Homemade probiotic rich foods are much more potent than store bought!
My Early Probiotic Journey
When I first started on the GAPS Diet about 10 years ago, I had to increase my probiotic intake very slowly. I had major die off reactions when I started taking and eating probiotics. A die off reaction or Herxheimer reaction is a healing reaction that can happen as the bad gut organisms die off after consuming probiotics. You see, the probiotics not only add good bacteria to your digestive tract, but they kill bad pathogenic bacteria also. In my case, my palpitations that I was having frequently at the time, got much worse during a die off reaction. I remember walking my dog very slowly around the park because I felt so bad. My next door neighbor even noticed and inquired if I was okay!
Flash forward to the present, and I can increase my fermented foods much more effortlessly and my health is much stronger.
I just wanted to share my thoughts on homemade probiotic foods and the wonderful effects they can have on your digestion and health. You should consider making your own probiotic rich foods yourself. I will try to post some easy recipes soon.
