How are you doing? How is the new year going for you?
For my part, I spent my last week teaching classes. I now have 4 groups: two online, and two in person. It’s a real pleasure to share my knowledge with those who want to learn.
I will launch pretty soon an English version for those of you that would like to join me – stay tuned !
Today I want to talk to you about probiotics. I am asked almost every day: which probiotic should I take? What dosage? How long should I take them?
The first natural source of probiotics is lacto-fermented foods. What are they? These are foods that are left to marinate in their juices, in a hermetically sealed jar with salt and spices. Classically, we marinate vegetables such as cabbage (like sauerkraut), but we can ferment any vegetable such as carrots, radishes, beets, garlic, etc. and even fruits, (from which we will obtain chutneys).
Later on this week I will give you my recipe for fermented grated carrots. It’s delicious, easy, and a great way to get started, if never fermented food before.
But did you know that sourdough bread is also a fermented food? It is simply a matter of fermenting flour, mixed with water and salt.
What about salami? smoked ham? coppa? They too, are fermented food either in a brine or simply dried out with spices, which allows to preserve them.
Of course, let’s not forget cheese, which is the king of fermented food made with raw milk, ferments, or rennet. France… as you know if the King for cheese, and we have some 2,380 different cheeses. I am always amazed of how many different cheeses we can produce with only 3 kinds of milk: cow, sheep, and goat!
However, if you don’t have time to ferment your vegetables, fruits, meats, and milk… Or if you can’t tolerate dairy products, even fermented, then what would be the best source of probiotics? As there is a plethora on the market, how do you find your way around?
As a naturopath, I’m always on the lookout for quality supplements that are sufficiently dosed and sold by serious (and friendly) compagnies. For more than 20 years now, I have used Designs For Health products, because they manufacture their products based on scientific research. They offer several types of probiotics, so without knowing your individual state of health, I would recommend ProbioMed 50: 1 capsule per day. This will cover your basic needs for a good probiotic with 50 Billion CFU per capsule.
If this works for you, you may notice better digestion, more energy, less gas, bloating, or constipation, etc. The list of benefits is long and individual. In this case, you can take it every day for a long long time (months or years) since we all need to feed our little flora.
Iit’s worth a try, and it can’t hurt you, unless you suffer from SIBO: Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. In that case, I recommend Probiophage DF from Designs For Health, in order to reduce the proliferation of unfriendly bacteria in the small intestines.
To order these from Designs For Health, go to: www.designsforhealth.com and enter my practitioner code: BeatriceLevinson (all attached, with capital B and L).
I consider the intake of a good probiotics as an essential step to better health, as it will affect your entire body systems : cardiovascular, hormonal, digestive, metabolic, etc,.
Please give me your feedback if you decide to try them, but email, text message, or comment, to share your experience, or ask me questions.
Yours in Health,
Beatrice
Beatrice is very ample in these steps, and has beautiful solutions for challenges initially anticipated as difficult. I recommend Beatrice!
Mihaela Ciobanescu
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