I grew up eating fermented foods, which my mom or grandmother used to make all the time.

“Pickles?” you might ask. No, most pickles have no probiotic benefit. Fermented foods actually have live bacterial cultures that are so beneficial to our health.  When I stop eating them, my digestion suffers and I feel more bloated.

Our intestinal passage holds about 2 to 3 pounds of bacteria. We cannot live without them and many things affect their well-being, such as antibiotic intake, stress, and processed foods.  Here are some ways that we know these little bacteria benefit our bodies:

– enhance immune function
– decrease inflammation
– prevent allergies
– provide energy by producing B12
– decrease bloating and constipation
– help with depression and weight loss

My recommendation is to have a serving of fermented foods daily: kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut (the fermented kind, not the one with vinegar), kimchi, kombucha, miso, natto. If you don’t like any of these, not to worry!  You can take a daily probiotic capsule to make up for it.

I recommend 10-20 billion daily of a probiotic with at least 10 different kinds of beneficial bacteria, and make sure they are from the refrigerated section.  I personally use Klaire Labs Therbiotic Complete, but there are other great brands out there.  A great new drinkable probiotic is BioK, with 50 billion in each dose.

Cheers to the little friendly probiotics who are protecting us against the bad bugs!

In great health,
Dr. Sanda

Want more tips from an award-winning periodontist and nutritionist? Contact Dr. Sanda Moldovan to scheduled a consultation.