The yeasts and bacteria that help keep you healthy can be bought! While you naturally produce the good yeasts and bacteria you need, it doesn’t hurt to add them to your diet.
You have both good and bad bacteria in your body, and when you get an infection, that means that there is an imbalance and that you have more harmful bacteria. Good bacteria help regulate the number of harmful bacteria in your body, maintain balance, and keep you healthy.
Probiotics are made of good bacteria and yeasts that naturally exist in your body. They help your body by providing essential support to your digestion, keeping you regular, boosting your immune system, and promoting your overall health.
Probiotic Uses
Probiotics live in your gut, mouth, vagina, urinary tract, skin, and lungs; therefore, they can help alleviate certain conditions in these areas, such as:
- Abdomen: diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance
- Mouth: yeast infections, gum disease
- Vagina: yeast infections
- Urinary tract infections
- Skin: eczema
- Lungs: upper respiratory tract infections
Your natural bacteria are affected when taking antibiotics, because when the antibiotic fights the bad bacteria it also fights the good bacteria, which could result in diarrhea.Pairing antibiotics with a probiotic helps replace the good bacteria that was destroyed by the antibiotic. The extra good bacteria from the probiotic can help fight off the bad bacteria, thereby making you feel better faster and avoiding diarrhea.
Supplements are a good way to provide additional healthy bacteria to your body and keep you healthy, but probiotics can be found in food if you prefer the natural route.
Foods with Probiotics
Taking probiotic supplements and consuming foods and drinks that contain them can help your body maintain the balance it needs to keep you healthy.
Fermented products are a good source of probiotics, and consuming one or more of these throughout the day is beneficial to your health:
- Yogurt
- Buttermilk
- Pickles
- Kombucha
- Kimchi
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Tempeh
- Miso
Yogurt
The most beneficial probiotic is called lactobacillus acidophilus and is labeled on yogurt containers if present. It’s perfect for digestion, avoiding yeast infections, and even promoting healthy blood sugar.
Another benefit to yogurts with lactobacillus is that it produces lactase, thereby aiding those that suffer from dairy issues. It also aids those with irritable bowel syndrome by reducing symptoms of pain and bloating. And helps those with eczema by reducing associated pain and itchiness.
Yogurt is an easy addition to your diet and can even be turned into whole meals, but to get the most out of your yogurt, you need to find out if it contains live-active bacteria. To do this, all you have to do is look at the label the next time you go shopping!
Written By: Dr Saadiqah Hajat