Probiotics are the live microorganisms that are important to maintain a good and diverse population of bacteria and fungi in your gut key. Keeping the 100 trillion bacteria in your gut happy and in balance is important to the roughly 10 trillion cells that make you a human! Researchers are finding ties between imbalances and issues with the gut microbiome and anxiety, depression, autism as well as chronic diseases.
While you can get probiotics from a bottle, look to modifying your diet first – include organic items as much as possible to ensure your actually getting the probiotics. Pesticides, chemicals and other processes often kill the bacteria.
For people with hormone issues, be careful of soybean products because they have phytoestrogens. See disclaimer below.
- Cheese – check the label though because not all cheeses have live/active cultures. Look for cheddar, cottage cheese, Gouda or mozzarella. Eat fresh as cooking will kill the cultures. A nice glass of red wine and cheddar cheese is a great combination!
- Kefir
- Kimchi – made from cabbage, red chili pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, etc
- Miso – fermented soybean product with salt and koji fungus
- Natto – another fermented soybean product
- Brine cured olives
- Pickles – aka Sour Pickles – those made in salt and water. Pickles made with vinegar do not have live probiotics
- Sauerkraut
- Sourdough bread
- Tempeh – I had to look this one up – it’s another soybean product
- Traditional buttermilk – in general, the US has cultured buttermilk that does not contain probiotics. Check the label
- Yogurt – make sure the label says live or active cultures
Disclaimer: The information on this site is NOT medical advice. Please consult with a doctor or other professional as appropriate.