Healthy Gut Healthy Life

There is an amazing life-force in our gut!

Our gut health affects most functions of our body.  This is hardly surprising when you consider the gut is where you absorb all the nutrients to power your body, making a healthy digestive system central to your overall health.

Did you know that there are close to 2 kg worth of bacteria in your gut?  That’s literally billions of tiny micro-organisms living and growing inside you – collectively called gut ‘microbiota’.  It's like your own unique ecosystem or forest.  These beneficial bacteria encourage healthy digestion, support an efficient immune system and keep undesirable bacteria at minimal levels.

However, if undesirable bacteria begin to outweigh the beneficial bacteria this can lead to digestive symptoms such as constipation, wind and bloating, or immune conditions such as recurrent infections, eczema and allergies.  Rebalancing or maintaining a healthy microbiota in your gut can be achieved by eating and supplementing with beneficial bacteria in the form of a probiotic.  ‘Probiotic’ literally means ‘for life’ so by looking after your gut microbiota you are looking after your overall health by giving more life to your body.

My Favourite Probiotic Foods

• Coconut water kefir
• Fermented vegetables
• Kombucha (treat!)

I have sauerkraut and kefir most days and enjoy kombucha once or twice a week.  If you’re not keen to make your own, I highly recommend the Be Nourished range of fermented veggies and The Coconut Water Kefir Company for kefir.  Both use the Body Ecology starter cultures and provide a high quality product that will support your gut.

Choosing the Right Probiotic

If you're thinking of supplementing with probiotics or using kombucha, the answer depends on your individual health goals and challenges.

With literally hundreds of probiotic foods and formulas on the market to choose from, how do you know which one will best address your particular health requirements and support your overall wellbeing?  Select the most appropriate probiotic for you by keeping the following in mind:

The Right Bug for the Job

Different strains of probiotic bacteria perform very different tasks within the body; therefore it’s important to consider ‘strain specifics’ and select a strain that will be up to the task.  For example, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM® and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi-07 are particular strains that have been shown to promote the regrowth of many species of beneficial bacteria within the gut, whilst Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can assist with reducing eczema symptoms and diarrhoea.  Lactobacillus plantarum 299v is a specific strain researched to treat inflammatory bowel conditions such as medically diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

By choosing the right foods and/or a probiotic formula that features probiotic strains and doses based on clinical research, you can be confident you will get great results.

Quality and Consistency

When you read the side of a probiotic bottle you expect that the capsule inside will deliver the amount of viable bacteria stated on the label and that the active ingredients will be of the highest quality so the formula will deliver effective results.  I recommend probiotic formulas that are backed by real-time stability testing and microbiology laboratory testing for quality and consistency so you can be confident that your probiotic is of the highest quality and has the stated potency, right up to the expiry date.

More is Not Necessarily Better

You’d be forgiven for thinking that packing as many different probiotic strains into a capsule as possible will give you greater health outcomes.  Unfortunately this isn’t the case as the number of viable micro-organisms needed to achieve therapeutic doses of each strain simply wouldn’t fit into a capsule or would require very large volumes of powder to be taken each dose.  When looking at a probiotic, assess whether there are therapeutic levels of each strain present in the formula rather than just a ‘token’ amount.  Contrary to popular belief, single strain formulas or those containing only a few strains do not promote a ‘monoculture’ of micro-organisms in the gut.  Research has shown that strains such as L. acidophillus NCFM® and B. lactis Bi07 actually facilitate the regrowth of a diverse number of micro-organism colonies by altering the gastrointestinal environment to favour the proliferation of a number of beneficial bacteria, which is what you want for a healthy gut.  So it isn’t necessary to replace every strain of bacteria to achieve the best microbiota balance required for good health.

Get That Healthy Gut Feeling

Supporting an optimal balance of gut bacteria is key to achieving good digestive function along with overall health and wellbeing.  I can advise you on the best probiotic formula to support your overall wellbeing based on your specific health needs, and can recommend high-quality, scientifically validated strains of probiotics.

So for a healthy life, support a healthy gut with probiotic foods and supplementation.

Basic Sauerkraut

* I recommend approximately 1 - 3 tablespoons a day depending on the individual of course.

Basic sauerkraut is a great starting place!

Ingredients

Cabbage (reserve the outer leaves for the end)

Body Ecology Culture Starter (you can also use the salt method or whey)

Organic celery juice (optional)

Method

Shred your vegetables by hand or in the food processor.

Prepare the brine, there are instructions that come with your culture starter to make this very simple.  Add the celery juice to the brine, if using.

Pack the vegetables and brine into a wide-mouthed jar, layering each and then pounding it to pack the jar to make sure there are no air pockets.

Be sure all the vegetables are fully submerged in the brine and then finish it off by stuffing rolled up outer cabbage leaves, making sure all veggies are completely covered.  Again double check there is no trapped air, you can gently tap the jar on the bench to ensure all air bubbles rise to the top.

Seal the jar with the lid and store in a warm spot in the house, warmth helps the bacteria grow, heat kills the bacteria and if it’s too cold it will hinder the fermentation process.  Try to aim for about 20-23 degrees Celsius for optimal conditions for the bacteria to grow. It often helps to wrap the jar in a tea towel (you can keep it in a cupboard, pantry, in a cooler (without an ice pack of course)).

Ideally you want to ferment the vegetables for 7-10 day but these can be left for 7-8 weeks.

It helps to burp them once a day to let out any pressure that builds up.  This is a bit of a stinky job.

When you are happy with the taste, move them into the fridge.  They can be stored in the fridge for approximately 3 months, no double dipping though.

Tips

• When adding flavours, such as onion, garlic and/or ginger, a little goes a long way. The fermentation process multiplies the nutrition but also the flavour intensity as well. To give you a sense, 3-4 garlic cloves could infuse a dozen jars of sauerkraut with garlic flavour.
• Get creative with your vegetables but avoid soft ones like lettuce or other leafy greens - they will turn to slime.  Good bases include cabbage, carrots, kumara, beetroot, turnips and any other seasonal hard root vegetables.
• Add sea vegetables or seaweed to increase the mineral, vitamin and fiber content. I like to use Pacific Harvest Wakame.