Wellness Wednesday: Alice Approved explains probiotics
Last updated: June 26, 2024 11:45 AM EST
A local vibe. I always love this. So, in our favorite segment this morning, we learn about a new topic that we haven’t covered on the show yet. We hear about probiotics from our next guest and friend of the show, Alice Smith. So, let’s say good morning to Alice Smith. She’s the owner of ALICE APPROVED, she’s a registered dietitian and she’s also a friend of the show. Alice, good morning. And before I say good morning, let’s ask you what probiotics are and why you need them. We had a pre-show meeting this morning and we discussed today’s topic. We’re excited. Your audience is very enthusiastic. I have to say. Yay! Oh, I’m so excited that you guys are excited because this is such an important topic for everybody. It’s kind of trendy and getting more popular lately. And speaking of importance. So, what is it and why do we need it? When you hear probiotics, you probably only think of yogurt and digestive health. But this is just a small part of what probiotics are. And how probiotics work is just a small part of it. Probiotics are live microorganisms that provide numerous health benefits. They are also called good or friendly bacteria because they help keep the gut flora in balance. I don’t know if you’ve heard the term before, but gut flora is in your vocabulary now and it’s very important for overall health. In fact, the majority of immune cells originate in the gut. So it’s not just about digestive health, it’s also about the immune system. Inflammatory responses, mood regulating chemicals. Probiotics are certainly important. Yeah, there are a lot of factors that affect gut health that you don’t even know about. Like, why you feel certain pains. And it’s actually because of the gut. Now that we know the importance that the gut plays in health, let’s give some examples of getting good bacteria into what we eat. Yes. So you want to consider getting probiotics into the foods that you’re eating. Yogurt is the most common one. But you want to make sure that it has live bacteria in it. So, you want it to have live bacteria in it and it’s low in sugar. I don’t know if you guys drink or consume kefir, but kefir is a fermented dairy product. It’s like yogurt. But you can pour it. It’s like drinking yogurt. You can drink it, you can put it in a smoothie, you can put it in your oatmeal, you can make it into fermented vegetables. Fermented vegetables are a great source of probiotics. Why don’t you try sauerkraut? Do you guys eat sauerkraut? Yes. Audrey loves sauerkraut. Yeah. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of sauerkraut. I wish I was, but I use kefir in my smoothies and I drink it pretty regularly. And I eat sauerkraut right out of the jar. Hooray! Perfect. Refrigerated sauerkraut? Yes, hooray! That’s the key. You have to make sure the cultures are live. You can find it in the refrigerated section. The kind that lines the shelf aisles is still a great vegetable. It’s still cabbage. But you have to make sure it’s kept refrigerated with live cultures to get those beneficial bacteria. Jackie, try kimchi. Have you ever had kimchi? It’s like sauerkraut, but it’s a little bit spicier, a little bit tangy. I prefer kimchi. Yeah, I’ve had kimchi before. I feel like I’m topping something on it, but I don’t know if I’m eating it straight out of the jar. We’ll see. Yeah. So that’s a great place to start. I wasn’t eating it straight out of the jar to begin with. First off, I’ll start by just putting a little bit of sauerkraut or kimchi in my salad and mixing it up. Just mix it up and it tastes just like cabbage. It doesn’t taste like it. It’s not that strong, it’s not too vinegary. I’ll just top my salad with miso, and miso is a spice. Miso is fermented soybeans. It’s a spice that’s used in a lot of Japanese cuisine. Japanese cuisine, or tempeh. Do you guys eat tempeh? It’s also soybeans. It’s high protein. Do we eat tempeh? I’ve never heard of these terms. Alice. This has Greek yogurt in it. We talked about this earlier. I love Greek yogurt. I’ll talk about this. OK. Brian, this. Maybe this. How about kombucha? Yeah, yeah. Have you ever seen kombucha? How effective is kombucha? It feels like kombucha is everywhere. So what are the actual benefits of drinking it? It’s a fermented tea. It’s fermented. It’s really good for your gut flora. But make sure it doesn’t have a lot of added sugar. Make sure it’s fermented. Fermented tea is a natural sugar. I love the Synergy brand. This is probably my favorite. But the key here is variety. Your gut flora loves variety. Your gut flora loves a variety of foods and probiotics. Brian, as great as Greek yogurt is, there are a few other things you might want to add. It just helps. It’s not just helpful for your digestive system, but your mood and your brain. It helps relieve anxiety and depression. So let’s think about how to try kombucha. How about adding a little bit of sauerkraut to your salad? How about putting kefir in your smoothies or oatmeal and incorporating some probiotic-rich yogurt into your diet as well? Okay, I liked it. I learned a lot of new vocabulary. Yeah, it’s a really interesting topic. I’ve been reading a lot too. Alice, it’s been so great to hear from you. This morning. And I’m sure you at home enjoyed it too. If you want to hear more, go to ALICE APPROVED DOT COM or follow me on social media. The tag is ALICE UNDERSCORE APPROVED so follow me.
Wellness Wednesday: Alice Approved explains probiotics
Last updated: June 26, 2024 11:45 AM EST
