You’ve probably been prescribed antibiotics throughout your life to fight infections – and you’ve definitely seen antibacterial soaps and detergents. That must mean all bacteria are bad, right?
The truth is that many bacteria are actually very good for the body. Antibiotics don’t just kill off bacteria that cause illness, they also get rid of the bacteria we need for good immunity and digestion. As a result of killing off all the bacteria, we can actually experience a different set of diseases.
It’s critical that you have plenty of healthy bacteria in your body. One of the best ways to introduce these healthy bacteria is through probiotic foods. These are also called cultured foods or fermented foods.
Fermented foods are those that have been exposed to bacteria. The bacteria are allowed to eat the sugars from the foods and grow. In turn, it helps to break down the nutrients in the food and make them easier to digest. At the same time eating these foods gives you a healthy dose of probiotics bacteria and the related enzymes.
While you can purchase probiotic supplements from just about any pharmacy or health food store, your body can use them much more readily when they come from sources of food.
Probiotics can reduce your risk of yeast infections, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, colds, flu, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even heart disease. It’s imperative that you find ways to add them to your diet, and it’s a lot easier than you might think.
Foods that contain probiotics include yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, and kefir. These are products you’ve probably seen in your grocery store and even consumed on your own. You can also find probiotics in foods that are a little more obscure such as kimchi, miso, and kombucha. These are foods that are enjoyed around the world but are less commonly known in the West.
However, as the health benefits of probiotics become more evident these foods have been afforded a place of honor. If you take a trip to your local health foods store you’ll no doubt see many of them available on the shelves.
In addition to purchasing them commercially, you can also make many of them at home. However, you’ll need starters to help get the cultures developing. Eating probiotic foods is a great step toward improving your wellness and reducing your risk of disease.
So there you have it! There are some bacteria that can cause damage to you, but many bacteria are necessary for you to enjoy good health.
