by | May 30, 2024 | Healthy Living
Are Probiotics and Fermented Foods the Same?
Why settle for chips when you can reach for a crisp, juicy apple waiting in your fridge? Your body will thank you for it. And why stop there? Let’s turn apple picking into a seasonal tradition because that age-old saying about apples and doctors might just hold more weight than we thought.
Probiotics have been a buzzword for some time now, often associated with those “live active cultures” labels adorning products like yogurt and kefir. But what exactly are probiotics, and do fermented foods really pack them in?
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics consist of live microorganisms, encompassing bacteria and yeasts, which offer health advantages when ingested in adequate quantities. They can be utilized to prevent or rectify imbalances within your microbiome—the community of bacteria or microbes residing in your gut. However, not all bacteria qualify; the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics stipulates that probiotics must be specific strains validated through randomized clinical trials to be deemed effective.
The primary features delineating genuine probiotic foods include:
- Safety for human consumption
- Documented health benefits supported by research
- Presence of live microbes at the time of consumption
- Adequate levels of microbes to confer benefits
- Identification of microbes down to the strain level
- Availability of DNA sequences for microbial strains
Many commercial probiotic supplements fail to meet all these criteria. As they are regulated as foods or supplements rather than pharmaceutical drugs, their quality, precise labeling, and efficacy are not rigorously monitored.
What’s the Best Way to Get Probiotics?
Although probiotic supplements offer convenience, obtaining probiotics from food sources is considered the optimal approach. Genuine probiotic foods that have undergone scientific research include:
- Certain yogurts and milks
- Aged cheeses such as cheddar and gouda
- Unpasteurized fermented vegetables like kimchi
- Probiotic-fortified foods and beverages (ensure to check the label)
When purchasing foods advertised to contain probiotics, it’s essential that the labels specify the precise probiotic strains present and their minimum levels at expiration. Ambiguous terms like “live active cultures” do not guarantee the presence of probiotics.
In addition to incorporating probiotic foods into your diet, consuming prebiotic foods and fibers also contributes to nurturing the existing beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Prebiotic rich foods:
- Berries
- Plums
- Avocados
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans
- Seeds
- Black olives
- Beans
- Coffee
- Dark chocolate
- Red wine
- Oats and other grains
Do Fermented Foods Contain Probiotics?
This is a common point of confusion for many. While naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha are often presumed to be rich sources of probiotics, the reality is that the fermentation process alone does not yield probiotics that align with the rigorous scientific definition.
Fermented foods do contain live lactic acid bacteria utilized in the secondary stages of fermentation. However, these bacteria are typically undefined strains lacking proven benefits. Moreover, processes such as baking, filtering, and heat treatment, including pasteurization, can eliminate any live microbes present.
Exceptions exist, notably in certain yogurts and milk products where lab-tested probiotic strains are deliberately added during production to ensure adequate viable counts at the point of expiration. However, for most fermented foods, any probiotic content is either minimal or entirely absent.
Nonetheless, it’s important to note that fermented foods still offer health benefits. Depending on factors such as fermentation conditions, food type, and enzymatic activity, the fermentation process can enhance nutrient levels in foods. Additionally, fermentation contributes enzymes that aid digestion and generate beneficial bioactive compounds. Therefore, fermented foods remain valuable for promoting overall gut health, even though they shouldn’t be relied upon as a primary source of probiotics.
How Do Probiotics Affect My Digestion?
So why do we even need probiotics? The reason lies in the communities of bacteria living in our digestive systems or gut microbiota. This incredibly complex ecosystem of microbes plays a vital role in human health by:
- Aiding digestion of food and medications
- Producing vitamins and nutrients
- Maintaining the gut lining
- Training the immune system
- Preventing harmful bacteria from entering the body
- Potentially influencing weight, mental health, inflammation, and more
Having the right balance of bacteria in our guts is crucial for optimal health. Eating prebiotic fibers like inulin and polyphenols from plant sources “feeds” the existing beneficial bacteria. But probiotics help introduce new beneficial strains.
Probiotic Health Benefits
While more research is still ongoing, probiotics have shown promise in treating and preventing numerous conditions linked to gut health such as diarrhea, inflammatory bowel diseases, and urinary and vaginal infections. Probiotics are also shown to treat and prevent eczema in children, as well as lactose intolerance, certain digestive issues and IBS, antibiotic-related diarrhea, and respiratory infections.
Promising areas of study also include probiotics for weight management, oral health, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, mental health conditions, and even cancer prevention and treatment.
However, not all probiotic strains work for every condition. It’s important to match the probiotic to the specific benefit desired based on strain-specific research.
As ongoing research reveals the profound influence of the microbiome, ensuring optimal probiotic levels is poised to become increasingly vital for overall well-being. Adopt a discerning approach as a consumer—seek out precise strains validated for their efficacy in achieving your health objectives, rather than presuming all products contain probiotics. Embrace a diet abundant in prebiotic fiber. Additionally, contemplate incorporating a high-quality probiotic supplement into your routine alongside probiotic-rich foods, particularly when undergoing antibiotic treatment.
