Picture Source: The Biome Clinic

In my previous blog, I talked about healthy and unhealthy microbes, in the present blog I am going to tell you about all the different aspects that can impact our gut in a better way!

Let’s talk about different probiotic sources!

       (1) Yoghurt

• Yoghurt is a very good source of lactobacillus (The healthy microbe which we discussed in the previous article)
• Fermented from milk by adding probiotic bacteria

      (2) Cheese

          Well, processed cheese has no good bacteria but different cheese types like gouda, mozzarella, cheddar and cottage cheese are very rich in healthy gut microbes.

       (3) Miso

• Fermented foods are very rich in healthy gut microbes!
• Miso is a sauce which is made out of fermented soya beans and barley/rice malt

    (4) Sauerkraut

         This is finely cut cabbage which is fermented by lactic acid bacteria

(5) Kefir

• It is a milk drink which is fermented using lactic acid bacteria and yeasts.

(6) Kimchi

• It is a Korean dish which is made out of fermented cabbage, radish, spring onion and cucumber.

       (7) Apple cider vinegar

• Easily available fermented food
• Always prefer apple cider vinegar with mother culture.

         Let’s talk about prebiotic sources!

Prebiotic is a special plant fibre which human body can’t digest but this encourages the growth of good bacteria in your gut. So in short prebiotics are “Good Food “for probiotics. Good gut bacteria will turn that plant fibre into butyrate. This chemical butyrate works as an anti-inflammatory in the bowel. In short, they are fertilizers to cultivate good gut bacteria!

   Sources of prebiotics:

      (1)  Foods rich in inulin

      * Onions and garlic

• Chicory
• Dandelion
• Bananas
• Asparagus

  (2) Foods rich in resistant starch

• Unripe bananas
• Green peas
• Potatoes
• Cashew nuts
• Rolled oats

Which probiotics work for which issue?

Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus are 2 most common strains which are found in fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir and cheese.

These 2 common strains have different species which works on different issues.

Strain: Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus

 Constipation : Bifidobacterium longum

    *    Available in fermented foods or in the form of a capsule

• Helps in increasing the bowel movements in adults

(2) Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS):

Combination of Bifidobacterium + Streptococcus + Lactobacillus

• Bloating is the most common issue in people suffering from IBS and this probiotic combination helps in reduces bloating

 (3) Lung infection:  Combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus + Bifidobacterium

 *       Combination of these probiotics helps in reducing symptoms of infection like fever, cough, running nose

(4) Diarrhoea: Combination of Bifidobacterium + Lactobacillus acidophilus/ bulgaricus

• Combination of these probiotics helps in reducing diarrhoea frequency.

What to look for a product when you are buying a probiotic?

     *    High colony forming units (CFU) Count

*    Your microbiome contains about 40 trillion microbes so you need a probiotic which has lots of healthy microbes’ in short high CFU counts.

• Always look for a product which has at least 20 billion CFU and more.
• Probiotics available in the markets are not even close to this number but fermented foods will cross the number for sure!

(2) Multiple Strains

• You need different strains in your gut for good health so you should find a probiotic which has multiple strain.
• The best thing about fermented foods is vast diversity!
• When you purchase the probiotic supplement from outside make sure it has 6 different strains in it.
• Make sure you take care of the substrains in the supplement. Lactobacillus acidophilus is not same as a Lactobacillus casei so if the supplement just mentions lactobacillus then the product might not be that effective.

Gut-friendly Recipes :

1. Pumpkin porridge

 Ingredients:

     *  300 g of pumpkin (Make sure it is diced and cooked)

• 50 g of extra virgin coconut oil
• 225 ml of pure milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• Pinch of rock salt or himalHimalayan salt
• ½ tsp of cinnamon (dalchini) powder
• A handful of pomegranate/watermelon seeds

 Method:

• Blend all the ingredients except the seeds.
• Make a smooth paste
• Warm the mixture in cast iron pan.
• If you want to make it thin then you can add milk
• Serve it warm with seeds!

 (2) Cashew and banana pot

 Ingredients :

• 250 grams of unsalted cashews
• 1 medium banana
• 200 ml of milk (Depends on your preference)
• ½ tsp of cinnamon powder (dalchini)
• 2 tsp of peanut/almond butter
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Method :

• Take a bowl and soak cashews for 6 hours (prefer overnight)
• Drain the water and then blend it with all other ingredients
• Make a smooth paste
• Refrigerate it for 15 mins
• Serve it with some diced bananas

(3) Green gut-friendly smoothie

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of spinach leaves
• 250 ml of water
• ½ avocado (optional)
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp of tahini paste
• 1 tsp of ginger powder
• 1 tsp of lemon juice

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients together.
• Serve chilled.
• Top it with seeds as an additional topping.

(4) Turmeric latte

Ingredients :

• ½ tsp of ginger powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 300 ml of milk (prefer according to your choice)
• 2 cardamom pods (elaichi)
• 1 tsp of manuka honey
• 2 tsp of extra virgin coconut oil
• 1 pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

• Take a cast iron pan, add milk, cinnamon powder, cardamom pods and bring it to boil.
• Add rest of the ingredients and boil it for 10 mins
• Serve hot and sprinkle some cardamom powder.

(5) Rainbow hummus

 Ingredients :

• 250 grams of chickpeas (Kabuli Chana)
• 1 lemon juice
• 1 tbsp of tahini paste
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 5 tbsp of olive oil

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients in the food processor or with a hand blender till you make a creamy paste
• Store it in the refrigerator.

(6) Tahini paste

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sesame seeds
• 4 tbsps of olive oil
• Pinch of rock salt

Method :

• In a cast iron pan, add sesame seeds and toast it till it becomes light brown
• Sesame seeds can burn quickly so make sure you are extra careful about it
• Add sesame seeds to the food processor with 4 tbsps of olive oil.
• Blend it till it becomes smooth
• Make sure tahini is smooth, if required you can add some olive oil.

 “If it doesn’t come out of the bowels, it will come out of your skin so make sure your gut is healthy”!