| Fermented foods and beverages have played an | | | | sugar found in most unprocessed plant foods like |
| important role in human diets in many different | | | | garlic, onions, bananas, nuts, and honey. They |
| cultures throughout the world for generations. | | | | have the ability to selectively promote the growth |
| First and foremost it was used as a food | | | | of healthy intestinal bacteria flora by feeding its |
| preservation tool before the advent of | | | | survival. |
| modern-day cold storage methods. | | | | Another added benefit of prebiotics are they also |
| Recently, within the last decade, modern nutritional | | | | enhance the absorption of calcium, possibly |
| research science is revealing just how important | | | | magnesium as well, by lowering the risk of |
| these type of foods, and their active related | | | | osteoporosis, suppresses the activity of cancer |
| bacterial ingredients, really are to human digestive | | | | causing enzymes in the large bowel lowering the |
| health. As with nearly anything else, and despite | | | | risk of colon cancer, and lowers blood triglyceride |
| what food manufacturers will try to conveniently | | | | levels by regulating blood sugar spikes. Plus, |
| mass market, mainly for taste, homemade is | | | | cultivating healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract |
| nearly always best. And, homemade fermented | | | | like bifidobacterium, which produces lactic acids, |
| food and beverages are no exception. From | | | | helps inhibit the over growth of pathogenic |
| yogurt to kefir, sauerkraut, and many possible | | | | bacterial germs that can cause illnesses. |
| others, you will surely find a type of fermented | | | | Fortunately, we do not live in a sterile |
| food that suits your taste. Besides, learning how | | | | environment. In modern medicine's quest, and |
| to make your own at home is not hard, time | | | | enthusiasm, to eliminate harmful pathogens that |
| consuming, or expensive at all, and it can really be | | | | causes sickness, we have inadvertently harmed |
| quite fun in keeping an old food preservation | | | | ourselves in the run. Those same bacteria killing |
| method alive. Involve your whole family, even | | | | drugs also destroy good bacteria colonies essential |
| kids love learning something new. | | | | to our survival. Therefore, it is especially |
| Our knowledge of these health enhancing germs, | | | | important to re-establish friendly germs back into |
| which are present in fermented foods and | | | | the intestinal tract after a round of antibiotic use, |
| beverages, is definitely increasing. Most everyone | | | | or after a severe bout with diarrhea or vomiting. |
| already knows that frequently eating a popular | | | | Weekly, or daily, replenishment is recommended |
| dairy food product, yogurt, can provide the | | | | for added protection, in the avoidance of future |
| digestive tract with extra beneficial bacterial flora. | | | | communicative illnesses like the common cold, flu, |
| As mentioned earlier, you will have to look | | | | or infections. If you think daily consumption may |
| beyond supermarket store varieties. Most, if not | | | | be a bit obsessive, consider this. If you by meat |
| all, are sweetened with sugar or high fructose | | | | at a local retail outlet, or eat out a lot, it is a safe |
| corn syrup. Questionable too, is how much | | | | bet that you are ingesting antibiotics, as this is |
| bacterial nutrition remains after pasteurization kills | | | | common in commercially produced livestock. It is |
| off, if not all, lactic acid producing bacteria. | | | | avoidable if you choose a cleaner meat product in |
| Researchers are now discovering that a healthy | | | | buying organic, or know the farm from which it |
| population of good bacteria in the gut may also | | | | came. |
| enhance nutrient absorption. Another study | | | | In conclusion then, it would seem like a rather |
| revealed that this type of nutrition increases blood | | | | wise, and obvious, idea to add fermented foods, |
| levels of several B vitamins. And yet, two other | | | | with their wide variety of beneficial bacteria, to an |
| investigations, one using only lactobacillis, the other | | | | already healthy food diet plan, along with bacterial |
| using lactobacillis and bifidobacterium (both of | | | | growth stimulating whole plant food sugar |
| which are found in yogurt) are associated with | | | | substances. Combine them with any daily added |
| higher blood consentration levels of antioxidants. | | | | vitamin/mineral supplements. Why not get as |
| What these last two investigations seem to | | | | much bang for your buck as you possibly can, by |
| suggest, is that adding a combination of probiotics | | | | putting in a little extra nutritional effort that will |
| (such as lactobacillis, bifidobacterium, and several | | | | help your body better assimilate the investment |
| others) with prebiotics may help lower the risks, | | | | you may be making in buying quality nutritional |
| or improve outcomes, of already established | | | | food supplements? |
| oxidative stress diseases like hardening of the | | | | Increasing water consumption, as to be |
| arteries, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, liver | | | | three-fourths of what to be drinking everyday, |
| disease, and other diseases associated with | | | | tremendously helps transport the prebiotics |
| inflammation. | | | | nutrients to help feed the probiotic bacteria. |
| Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) are classified as | | | | Water also carries away toxic residues away and |
| prebiotics. They are short and medium chains of | | | | out of the digestive system. Water is the ultimate |
| fructose, a commonly occurring form of natural | | | | energizing fluid fuel the body needs. |