You may have been hearing about probiotics lately, and for good reason. Creating a healthy bacterial environment in your digestive system can have many benefits. From assisting in weight loss to reducing irritable bowel and indigestion discomfort, adding a probiotic to your diet is a great idea.
Probiotics can be found in both supplement and naturally sourced formats. Foods that are rich in probiotics are generally dairy-based or fermented. They contain healthy bacteria that aid in the digestion of your food to efficiently separate the nutrients and vitamins to be absorbed by the body.
Probiotics are about so much more than just adding a healthy snack like a yogurt cup to your regular diet. When you have good bacteria battling the foreign intruders in your body, you are more likely to stay healthy and feel better.
Taking a supplement like Spore Probiotic can help to improve your gut health and keep your digestive tract balanced. Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know about probiotics.
Sources of Probiotics
Adding probiotics to your regular diet can help to improve your gut health and provide the right environment for proper digestion and breakdown of nutrients and minerals. Probiotics also help boost your immune system when the bacteria helps fight off infection and inflammation, giving your immune system a rest from working overtime. Here is a list of foods that are high in probiotics:
- Kefir
- Kombucha
- Sauerkraut
- Natto
- Yogurt
- Raw Cheese
- Kvass
- Apple cider vinegar
- Gherkin pickles
- Brine-cured olives
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Kimchi
- Buttermilk
Benefits of Probiotics
Helps Diarrhea
Chronic diarrhea can make life and eating unpleasant. For those with irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive issues, diarrhea can be a daily struggle. Probiotics are known to help ease the severity of diarrhea and calm gas and bloating. Most commonly, those that are taking antibiotics can suffer from side effects that include diarrhea. Antibiotics are designed to fight bacteria in the body, and they can affect the balance of good bacteria in the digestive system.
Digestive Balance
Probiotics are made up of a type of helpful bacteria that aid in the breakdown of nutrients in the body. When you eat, your food hits the stomach and then is broken down into smaller portions by stomach acid and bacteria to assist in the absorption into the body. When your gut is lacking in the right bacterial balance, it can cause bloating, indigestions, cramping, and diarrhea. A gut with too many bad bacteria can result in obesity, chronic digestive issues, and mental health problems.
Mental Health
Having a healthy gut has been shown to help people suffering from depression. Proper levels of good bacteria in the digestive tract can help relieve stress on the immune system, which can relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety. Adding a supplement or probiotic food to your diet could help improve mood and quality of sleep, both of which can help battle depression.
Allergy Relief
Some strains of probiotics can reduce allergies in those that consume them regularly. Adults and children that take a regular probiotic supplement have found relief in their eczema. It is believed that the powerful bacteria that helps the digestive system to run efficiently also relieve stress on the immune system and improves histamine production.
Heart Health
Probiotics have been proven to bring down bad cholesterol levels. As food is properly processed in a healthy gut that is filled with good bacteria, the right nutrients and minerals are distributed to the rest of the body, including the heart. Healthy fats are separated from trans fats that are less likely to make their way to the heart or create clogged arteries.
Oral Health
The healthy bacteria found in probiotics can help maintain the health of oral tissues as well as the digestive tract. The bacteria work to break down food particles and can help to reduce the severity of infections in the mouth like canker sores. If you have bad breath or plaque buildup on your teeth, eating probiotic foods can be helpful.
Boosted Immunity
We have learned throughout the last year as we watched the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic how important it is to have a healthy immune system. When you add a probiotic to your diet, you are helping your body to run more efficiently. This proper functioning of each system takes the unnecessary strain off of your immune system. To keep your immune system running smoothly and not being put under stress, a healthy gut is a necessity.
Reduces Belly Fat
If you have trouble losing weight in your belly region, a probiotic may be helpful. A healthy balance of good bacteria in the digestive tract can help to rid the body of fats instead of having them add up around the gut where they are normally absorbed. Probiotics also help you feel fuller longer after eating, making it easier to maintain a proper caloric intake.
Reduces Blood Pressure
Probiotics have been shown to be highly effective in reducing blood pressure. When your body is struggling to process fuel and irritation in your digestive tract, it can cause hypertension. Adding more healthy bacteria to your body through a probiotics supplement or foods that are high in healthy bacteria can help you bring your blood pressure down.
Vaginal Health
The vagina has a range of healthy bacteria that prevent infections and promote good reproductive health. If you are prone to urinary tract infections or yeast infections, you can add a probiotic to your diet to help increase your bacterial balance. More healthy bacteria can boost your vaginal health and even increase your fertility.
Probiotics are found in fermented foods, dairy, or supplements and can have many benefits. From reducing the severity of your indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome to boosting your heart and oral health, probiotics are a powerful natural remedy. Probiotics come in many strains and it’s important to know which type is best for tackling your particular problem. Talk to your doctor or your dietician about what type of probiotic is the best match for you. Keep your healthy bacteria in balance by adding a probiotic to your diet today.
