Last week, I attended a bloggers meet conducted by Dupont, where I learned all the health benefits of using probiotics. It was an eye-opening session, and I thought I’d share some of my learnings with you.
What are probiotics, and why should I be interested in them?
Probiotics are good bacteria in our stomach that promote gut health. Doctors frequently prescribe them as medicines when you have a stomach upset or are on antibiotics. Learn more about all the health benefits of probiotics here.
But what I didn’t know until today was just how useful probiotics are for regular maintenance of health and how little we are getting of it.
Some common benefits of probiotics:
- Helps the digestive system run smoothly
- Keeps your immune system strong
- Boosts nutrient absorption
How can I improve my consumption of probiotics?
Just having a lot of curd and fermented foods isn’t enough. It makes sense to buy foods that contain probiotics. You may still need dietary supplements.
A real-life example of the value of probiotics
Recently, my son was diagnosed with a severe vitamin deficiency. It seems his body was not absorbing the nutrition from food properly. To deal with this issue, his doctor prescribed several vitamin supplements. In addition, she recommended a dose of probiotics every day. These probiotics would clean his gut and make sure that the vitamins are absorbed properly as they should be.
So, when Dr. Anders Henriksson spoke about how, in modern life, our bodies are not absorbing nutrition from food as they used to in the old days or that the food that we consume is lacking in nutrition because of our cultivation patterns, I was nodding my head in agreement.
Even if we had the perfect microbial start to life, our modern lifestyles inevitably lead to some depletion of our good bacteria. Fortunately, including more probiotics in your diet ensures that you are giving your gut the best chance to balance itself.
Dr. Anders Henriksson
How can I get my probiotics, and is there such a thing as too many probiotics?
Not to worry, it would be very, very difficult to overdose on probiotics. Even if there is excess, they are water-soluble, meaning any excess is excreted without damaging the body.
You can increase probiotics in your diet in many ways. Some of these foods are rich in probiotics.
- Yogurt
- Fermented foods such as idli, dosa, kimchi,
- Traditional buttermilk
- Some types of cheese
You can also check at the local chemist for supplements that contain probiotics.
If you’re still skeptical about probiotics, know that probiotics can help you lose belly fat and weight. I am sure now that you’ll be racing to educate yourself further on this wonder food 🙂
