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If you are looking for information on the best probiotic supplements for you, you won’t find that here. I say that because there is significant research to suggest probiotic supplements have very little effect on your microbiome and gut health. In other words, don’t waste your money. Probiotic supplements are expensive and ineffective. Instead these cost effective foods, loaded with probiotics will have your digestive health thriving.

Probiotics

Commercially, over $40 billion of probiotic supplements have been sold to date. Doctor of Pharmacy, Nancy Williams, describes probiotics as live, active microorganisms, or lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. Additionally, she says they help support the balance within the gut and the gastrointestinal tract.

Gut health is the source of all health. Mood disorders, chronic fatigue, acne, rashes, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, and even allergies are associated with an unhealthy gut says Mark Hyman, MD.

Now that we know probiotics are essential to better health, how do we go about getting these good bacteria in our diet?

Well, to start, these 4 foods are rich in probiotics, inexpensive, and easily accessible. Incorporate these fermented foods into your diet, today!

4 Foods Rich in Probiotics

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is probably the most well-known probiotic. But I have to be very clear here. When we talk about gut-friendly sauerkraut, we are talking about the fermented or refrigerated kind. This kind has living bacteria, as we previously discussed.

If you aren’t familiar, sauerkraut is basically fermented cabbage. There is also non-refrigerated sauerkraut that can be bought in the canned vegetable section of your grocery store. The difference here, the canned non-refrigerated kraut was once heated (or pasteurized). This is done during the canning process to keep it shelf stable for a long period of time.

To get the most out of your sauerkraut, buy it refrigerated and eat it raw.

Yogurt

Yogurt is another type of fermented food associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome. This gut friendly bacteria is not present in all yogurt. Instead look for the ingredient “active cultures” or one of those longggg bacteria strings mentioned above. A lot of times Greek yogurt contains these ingredients. Kefir is another dairy option with probiotics.

If you are like me and don’t indulge in dairy products, there are also plant-based yogurt brands loaded with good bacteria!

Kombucha

If you aren’t familiar, kombucha is a fermented tea that originated in China over two thousand years ago. I believe it is an acquired taste, but personally I love it.

Known for its “invigorating and detoxifying effects“, Kombucha is loaded with healthy probiotics and aids in digestive health.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a variety of Korean-style fermented vegetables. Similar to sauerkraut, Kimchi is primarily cabbage and also eaten raw. While sauerkraut is 100% cabbage, Kimchi can include many different vegetables such as garlic, carrots, scallions, radish, ginger, and chili flakes, to name a few.

This cabbage based mixture is also slightly spicy giving it its uniqueness. If you have never tried Kimchi, I would highly recommend you give it a try.

While it may seem easy to just pickup a probiotic supplement, the research suggests they are ineffective, not to mention expensive. Choosing whole foods given to us by nature will help better support your gut health and your overall health in general.

Happy eating!