When I attended the Natural Products Expo this year I noticed that there were dozens of newly launched products that were fortified with probiotics – they were everywhere!
There is no disputing that probiotics (good bacteria) are good for you, but I have to question the viability of the probiotics in these products and whether they are any better than eating naturally fermented foods. I try to add fermented foods to my diet often and I eat them almost every day because I've found them to be the best way to feed my body probiotics.
This is essential because most of our food has been pasteurized, irradiated, or chemically treated to kill bugs – but this also kills the good stuff. Our soil is depleted of good bacteria with the overuse of synthetic pesticides and other chemical contamination. Certain substances in our food have also been suspected to cause leaky gut syndrome – which creates tiny little holes in our digestive system organs that leak out the good bacteria we need to stay healthy and keep our immune system strong.
This is why we absolutely must do everything to restore the good bacteria in our guts. Historically, food was often preserved with fermentation and traditional diets often consisted of raw and fermented foods that contained a healthy dose of good bacteria. The fermentation process creates good bacteria that work like a little army in your gut helping to defend you from various ailments.
Besides eating fermented foods regularly, I also take a probiotic supplement. I like to take one as insurance, just to make sure that my body is getting all of the healthy probiotics that it needs. This is also super important when traveling, when fermented foods may not be as easy to come by and at least I know that I've got a probiotic pill as a backup.
That being said, not all probiotic supplements are created equally. Some on the market have been shown to have inaccurate labeling and may not contain all of the probiotics that they say they do. To gain more information on this, I reached out to Dr. Amy Shah, M.D., a member of my advisory council.
Dr. Shah shares how to choose the best forms and how to watch out for the fakes out there in a brand new post.
Read all about it here and spread the word!
Xo,
Vani
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