What are some healthy foods that contain prebiotics & probiotics?
Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at
7:50 pm
My toddler daughter went through a horrible period of time when she was only able to go to the bathroom while on laxative and stool softeners. We’ve finally weaned her to go on her own after almost a year but this weekend experienced a minor setback. I read on several sites that introducing prebiotics and probiotics will help aid digestion and keep her from getting constipated.
Can someone please direct me to a site, or name a few foods that contain prebiotics and probiotics. I am willing to special order foods if I have to, but I first need to know where to find them.
Thanks in advance!
Filed under: Detoxification And Cleansing
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The word probiotic comes from the Greek ’for life’, and it refers to ‘friendly bacteria‘ that live naturally in the gut. Probiotics promote good digestion, facilitate the absorption of nutrients, boost the immune system and help prevent an overgrowth of more harmful organisms in the digestive tract.
Probiotics can be taken as a daily supplement as they help build a healthy digestive system by replenishing levels of ‘good’ or ‘friendly’ bacteria in the gut. If your child has had a course of antibiotics, give them a regular dose of probiotics over the following two weeks to replace the beneficial bacteria lost.
Diarrhoea flushes out the intestinal bacteria, including the ‘good’ ones, this can leave the body vulnerable to infections – so boost your child’s immune system by replenishing the ‘good’ bacteria that have been lost.
Allergies, thrush, colds and flu are all signs that the immune system is functioning below par. Topping up the levels of ‘good’ bacteria in the gut will help boost the body’s immune function.
Most probiotic food is fermented at least partially. A short list of probiotic food choices includes miso soup, some soft cheeses, yogurt products like kefir, sauerkraut and many pickles. However, it is difficult to know how many live bacteria are in these foods and how much will reach the digestive tract. By using a supplement, you have a more accurate measure of what and how much you are giving. These are available in powder, liquid, capsule, and tablet form.
Supplements that are in powder form are easy to get past even the most resistant of kids. These can be sprinkled on food or mixed into juice, water, or even smoothies. Capsules and tablets, some are chewable, are usually recommended to be taken with food. Liquid supplements are usually in the form of a dairy drink.
Those who feel probiotic food is beneficial are now also interested in prebiotic food. It does not generally contain bacteria but appears to help healthy bacteria grow in the intestines.
The best known prebiotics are Fructo-oligosaccharides – which you may find in the abbreviated form (FOS). These naturally occurring carbohydrates are found in certain foods, such as bananas, wheat, honey, onions, and tomatoes. Prebiotic foods include Jerusalem and regular artichokes, oats, honey, many fruits, and goat’s milk. Human breast milk is also thought to have prebiotic properties that may explain why it so benefits the human newborn.
Fructo-oligosaccharides cannot be digested or absorbed by humans, but support the growth of good bacteria. Put simply, prebiotics feed up the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut.
There have been no reported side effects – even when taken in large doses.
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Bifidobacteriuam logum are the three main ‘friendly’ bacteria. As most good probiotics contain a combination of these bacteria and may also contain a prebiotic, it is not necessary to take different probiotics. Any additional types of friendly bacteria contained in a supplement can be regarded as a bonus.
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hope you find some then that can help.
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yogurt. yakult by japan.
Yogurt contains cultures of these bacterias.
If you can get to see a good Ayurvedic or Chinese doc they could prescribe dietary recommendations that would help a lot. I’ve had tremendous health turn arounds due to following my Ayurvedic doc’s dietary advice (they tailor the recommendations to the individual).
There are good Ayurvedic clinics in Los Angeles (Surya Spa), New Mexico (Dr. Lad), Iowa (Fairfield — Maharish Ayurved).
Docs of Chinese Medicine are a bit more common.
Good luck to you!