Probiotics are something I have written about extensively here on Nutrition By Mia and with good reason! When I was a student at Columbia and UC Berkeley, the microbiome was a hot and emerging area of research and incredibly fascinating to me.
Our bodies house over 100 trillion internal microorganisms which changes which each food that we eat. The key, is to eat foods that promote a diverse and balanced gut flora. A diet that embraces fruits and vegetables is known to support this while a diet characterized by refined grains, refined sugar and hydrogenated oils would do the opposite.
Breaking down probiotics
There are certain foods that promote a healthy gut moreso than others. One of those is foods containing probiotics.
Probiotics are live microorganisms that are beneficial and diversify the microbiome. In turn, they provide health benefit. Some of these benefits include ameliorating digestive discomfort, helping to absorb vitamins, improving immunity & even helping to prevent risk of chronic disease.
14-day kimchi shot challenge with wildbrine
Recently, wildbrine sent me their Kimchi Live Shots to try. As a dietitian and gut health advocate, I was more than excited. I love trying new foods that provide new strains of probiotics. After all, a healthy gut is one that has a diverse flora.
While I typically turn to sauerkraut, kombucha and yogurt as my probiotics of choice, I was curious to try their new product and was pleasantly surprised how much I loved it.
Their Kimchi Live Shots are made from the leftover brine of their kimchi batches that have been flavored with fruit and herbs. They are savory in taste and come in unique flavor profiles. My personal favorite was the Zesty Thai which is made with ginger, mint, basil and lime. Ginger is one of my favorite spices and may also help with digestion. They are offering coupons to Nutrition By Mia readers who are interested in trying them at this link.
Though you are encouraged to take the shots straight, I liked adding them to my veggies and grains which turned out to be a functional flavor agent.
Results
Health is holistic and made up of the bigger picture – diet being a huge contributor. I can vogue for myself and my clients, that adding more probiotics to our diet has resulted in improved digestion and energy levels. While it is hard to attribute one component to this result – whether it be diet or lifestyle, I can say that the science supports this.
Probiotics help with digestion by making nutrients more bioavailable to the body. As a result, your body is better able to utilize these nutrients which may very much be attributed to improvements in energy.
I encourage my clients to add more probiotics to their diet in various food forms and pay attention to the benefits you may feel. Some of my clients respond very well to adding a source of probiotics. It’s all about figuring out what foods works for you and what source of probiotics you will respond best to.
What probiotics are you loving? Share with me on Insta!
This post was made in partnership with wildbrine. As always, all opinions are my own.