Feature Articles: Food, Fitness and Cooking and Produce
Feeding Your Gut’s Good Bacteria
Media ads show smiling women bragging how their yogurt has improved “their intestinal transit time” and “digestive health”, what’s the fuss over products claiming to “keep you regular”?. It’s amazing, gut health is now a topic for polite conversation!
You’ve probably heard of probiotics – those “friendly”
bacteria found in fermented foods that may have potential
health benefits, such as improved digestive function,
reduced inflammation caused by bowel disease, reduced bouts
of constipation, improved cholesterol and triglyceride
levels, and reduced risk of colon cancer. More than 100
trillion bacteria live inside your body – most of which
reside in the digestive tract. The field of probiotics has
developed rapidly over the past 15 years and a variety of
products have popped up on the market boldly claiming them
as a “probiotic” food. Products such as Activia and
DanActive by the Dannon Company are two examples. Susan
Mills-Gray, Nutrition and Health Specialist with MU
Extension shares, “The good news is that any fermented
product contains this friendly bacteria, including the
following: aged cheese, microbrew beers, cottage cheese,
kimchi, miso, pickled ginger, pickles (brine-cured without
vinegar), sauerkraut, tempeh, tofu, wine, and all yogurts.
So you don’t necessarily need to spend money on the
specially enhanced products you see heavily advertised.”
Mills-Gray adds, “Now the new trend is to add “prebiotics”
to food products – for example Yo-Plus from Yoplait, Post’s
LiveActive cereal and Minute Maid’s Digestive Wellbeing
juice.” What’s prebiotics? The term refers to food
ingredients that nourish probiotics. Typically they are
fibers and certain sugars that we don’t digest or absorb,
but that the good bacteria in our intestines feed on,
thereby stimulating their growth and activity.
Prebiotics occur naturally in small amounts in many
carbohydrate-rich foods -- whole grains, legumes, fruits and
vegetables. Prebiotic –rich foods include: asparagus,
bananas, barley, dried beans, microbrew beers, berries,
cherries, dark chocolate, eggplant, garlic, fresh herbs,
Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, oats, onions, peanuts, peas,
red wine, soybeans, tea, whole rye and whole wheat.
Probiotics and prebiotics look promising, but will consuming
them in enhanced foods or capsules make a notable difference
to your health? There isn’t conclusive research at this
time. Also, large amounts of probiotic and prebiotic rich
foods can cause abdominal pain, gas, bloating, and diarrhea
– which is what they are suppose to combat in the first
place! So remember moderation is the key and normal foods
can provide adequate “friendly bacteria” and the “food”
those bacteria desire.
For more information contact your local MU Extension Center
or this faculty member directly at
mills-grays@missouri.edu.
Sources: University of California-Berkeley
Wellness Letter, Medical News Today, Linda Douglas of GTC
Nutrition, Elizabeth Lipske of Digestive Wellness and Denise
Mann of PineMedia.
Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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