The best, easiest, and cheapest probiotic!

 

By Kim Marquardt, RN MSN

This blog post is from the Nurse Kim archives of myth busting. I want to share some "alternative" or maybe just lesser known health and wellness viewpoints for you to chew on.

*These posts are not intended as official medical advice.

They ARE meant to be fun, informative, and thought provoking, hopefully sparking an interest for you to do your own research (you can start with the links I provide!) and discover the marvels of the human body, and how it can function at its optimal performance level if we understand how it works and interacts with our environment and our diet.

I have a passion for health and wellness through lifestyle and nutrition and have done thousands of hours of research in addition to being a registered nurse for 23 years. I have done A LOT of self-experimentation in and around diet, lifestyle, body care, and supplementation and have spent a lot of time looking into the science behind it all (or lack thereof!). Check back weekly for the latest post!

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I recently discovered the absolute best, easiest, and cheapest probiotic EVER and I want to share it with you all! You may or may not have heard that we should be eating fermented foods for gut health. Fermented foods, unfortunately like organ meats, are something that have become lost in the Standard American Diet of ultra-processed, sugar coated, hyper palatable franken foods lining our grocery store shelves today.

Another option of course is to take a probiotic supplement, but 1) these can be pretty pricey, and 2) I always think, if possible, we are better off eating the whole foods version of something rather than taking a capsule.

A little history...

The reason the human gut adapted to functioning in the context of fermented foods is because for the vast amount of human history, there was no refrigeration or long term food storage. So, we ate LOTS of dried, aged, and fermented foods up until 1913 when the first home use refrigerator became available. That’s not very long ago!

Fermented foods help populate our gut microbiome, that is, all the bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses that live in the gastrointestinal tract and digest our food for us. These microbes, which outnumber our human cells 10:1, also facilitate and regulate our immune system and support our metabolism.

So… kind of important.

But even beyond helping us digest and fight illness, fermented foods have been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and inflammation. They have also been linked to better weight management, better mood and brain activity, increased bone health, and better recovery after exercise.

Best probiotic option ever!

And all of that is fine and well, but whenever I see a list of some of the best fermented food options, they aren’t really things I think to buy at the grocery store, or that are easily prepared at home, like tempeh, miso, kimchi, or sauerkraut. And a lot of store-bought versions might have additives or oils that I don’t want to consume.

So back to the topic of this post… I give you…

WATER KEFIR!!!

Never heard of it? Me neither until just recently!! Water kefir is, you guessed it, fermented water! Well, okay, okay, the fermentation process takes place with sugar placed in the water with the kefir grains. But it results in the most pleasant, easy to consume probiotic drink EVER!!! And the best part!? After the initial purchase of grains (which are $10-$12 bucks on Amazon!) you can make it FOREVER with the simple ingredients of water and sugar! Nothing else required!

Not only that, but you can provide grains to your family and friends to start their own water kefir fermentation because the grains multiply with every ferment (every 48 hours)!

It is literally the easiest and most approachable thing ever and when I tell you it has made a GIGANTIC difference in my gut health in the past few months, I mean it! (I will resist the urge to overshare!). I make the most basic water kefir EVER using just water and brown sugar but there are some REALLY fun recipe options if you are the adventurous type! 

Kombucha

What about kombucha you ask? Isn't it the same thing? No, it is not. Drinking kombucha for its probiotic properties is kind of like dinking beer for its probiotic properties. Kombucha (and beer) is fermented in a completely different way and does not boast the probiotic benefits of something like kefir. Plus a lot of the store-bought options are full of sugar and other additives. 

SO! Go get your kefir on and feel GREAT about your probiotic, fermented food including life! Happy week 2!

Until next week!