You’ve likely heard a bit of the buzz around probiotics lately. They’ve become increasingly popular since the mid-1990’s, with more and more people trying them today.
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are commonly known as friendly, good, or healthy bacteria. These are the good bacteria that we hear about – the kind that keeps our immune system healthy, helps us to properly digest food (especially starches), and helps us to absorb nutrients.
Research is increasingly linking digestive health to overall health. It’s now estimated that over 75% of our immune system resides in our intestinal tract, with over 500 species of bacteria present.
This good bacteria can be found in raw and fermented foods, for example: yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha.
I remember when I had my first bottle of kombucha – which is an effervescent, fermented tea that can be combined with other ingredients such as ginger or fruit to flavor – I related that effervescence to that of soda and thought to myself, “why would anyone drink soda ever again?” I’m currently working on home-brewing my own batch of kombucha, something I began back in 2014, but had stopped when I moved at some point. (Home-brewing is very simple and easy and rather fun to see what fruits and flavors you can combine it with!)
To learn more about probiotics, check out this article.
Have a wonderful Friday! 🙂