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The Benefits of Probiotics
I am very excited today to share this post with you. Not only is the lovely Eliza Schneider of Embodied Emergence joining us again, to share her thoughts on probiotics, but I am also sharing some great probiotic encouraging recipes from some wonderful friends of mine, as well. Probiotics have single-handedly changed the game for my always troubled gut, my only complaint of probiotics is that I didn’t learn of them sooner. I am so happy Eliza took some time to explain probiotics and share all of the amazing benefits we get from them.
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If you’re interested in taking better care of your digestion you’ve surely been hearing buzz words like “probiotic,” “prebiotic,” “digestive enzymes,” “intestinal flora”… don’t be scared by these terms! You’re not alone if you’re thinking “WTF is this biotic stuff all about? Should I be taking supplements? Do I need this stuff? What kind should I be getting?….!!??”
Don’t fear! The digestive detective (my new self-title, haha) is here to “break it down for you,” so to speak.
Today we’re going to focus on your intestines. These windy, long intestinal tunnels have villi (tiny hairs) capture the nutrients and send them into your blood stream. These villi are covered with tiny bacteria (probioitics). The probiotics repel yeast, bad bacteria, and fungi from getting into the blood stream. It is VITAL that the nutrients are able to absorb into the blood stream at this point in the digestive process, and the probiotics assist in allowing this to happen. The intestines are the final frontier for the digested food before it’s moved into the colon and then released as waste.
On average, we have over 1,000 different types of bacteria that live in our digestive track and help to break down food and absorb nutrients! (Amazing, right!?) But sadly, things like antibiotics and diets filled with processed foods can cause these helpful bacteria to die off. As I mentioned in a previous blog post on POO, foods that cause inflammation in the body can cause the villi to be covered in a mucous that prevents mineral and nutrient absorption! This in turn can cause problems like constipation or diarrhea, IBS, abdominal pain, cramps, bloating and other not-so-fun digestive problems.
Something to be aware in today’s factory-farmed world is that there can even be trace antibiotics in the meat you are eating. Conventional farmers often add antibiotics to animals who are grown close together and are prone to bacterial infections. Also, some fish are packed in antibiotics so that they don’t develop bacteria on them as they are shipped to stores. By choosing organic fish and meats you’ll avoid these risks.
The GOOD NEWS is that probiotics (supplements that help rebuild the intestinal bacterial [AKA flora]) can relieve many of these problems! Probiotics are microorganisms that offer some form of health benefit to the host. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are a special kind of dietary fiber that nourish the existing bacteria already living in the colon. They are naturally occurring in many plants. Basically, prebioitics are fibers (non-living) that help feed the good bacteria (probioitics!).
In this post, we are going to focus on PRObiotics, the actual beneficial bacteria that we ingest either in foods, or through supplements and are produced naturally (in a healthy body) in our intestines.
Some foods with natural probiotics in them are:
- Plain yogurt (Be sure to pick one without too many filler sugars and that says something like “live and active cultures” to be sure you’re getting good bacteria!)
- Kefir (fermented milk drink made with kefir grains)
- Fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, etc
- Miso (fermented soybean paste… makes great soups, and yummy dressings!)
- Tempeh (fermented soybean)
- Kombucha (basically bacterial cultures that in a tea-based drink)
- Dark Chocolate (YESS!!!)
- Olives (also go through a brine-fermenting process) Read the rest of this entry »
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Happy Friday!! This week flew by for me, how about you? Got anything fun planned for the weekend? Hubby is originally from Louisville, so we are celebrating the Kentucky Derby tomorrow, as we do every year, but this year we can actually host a little party at our new home. We are so excited.
I plan to make a bunch of food that reminds Mark of home, most of which I cannot eat myself, but I definitely don’t mind one bit. I think Mark actually gets more homesick this time of year than at the holidays. It is such a big deal there. So I plan to make some Hot Brown Sandwiches, a black-eyed pea salad, pimento cheese dip, jalapeño cornbread, deviled eggs, apple cobbler and a bourbon pecan tart and of course mint juleps. Then we are picking up some homemade fried chicken from the market at the corner. Depending on how all the cooking and baking goes I will try to share some of the recipes on here, afterward. But I make no promises!
An update on our banana tree. Look at all those bananas. I cannot wait to eat some.
Some of the beautiful roses from our yard.
Having a home yoga practice means sometimes you get a little kitty in your down dog.
And sometimes your mat gets taken over by a real dog.
Mark was in San Francisco for a few days for work and Seri really missed him. She wouldn’t leave his side when he got home.
Tried running on the beach this week since I have been having a little knee pain. It felt really great on my knees and my back.
Discovered the most teeny tiny adorable hummingbird nest, cozied up in our grapevines. It is barely 2″ wide. If that. Incredible.
Had a growler of local organic grapefruit kombucha delivered by bike from local husband and wife company, Fine Feathers Kombucha. I just adore where I live.
I *think* I found what I was looking for on yesterday’s run. I KNOW that Seri did. Look how happy she is
Went to the doctors yesterday for the first time in over a year. It really is the one place in the whole wide world that can give me anxiety as soon as I walk in. I really don’t like doctors.