Sometimes our system has an imbalance where bad bacteria outnumber the good. Antibiotics are notorious for accidentally clearing out some of the good bacteria along with the bad. Therefore, it’s recommended that we take probiotic supplements, either in food, powder or capsule format, to restore the good bacteria again. Here’s a rundown of the most common probiotic foods and probiotic products on the market.
Activa probiotic yogurt is one of the most widely accepted probiotic supplements. The idea of bacteria living inside dairy products has been around for years, so Americans aren’t so “creeped out” by it. You can eat one four-ounce yogurt containing bifidobacterium each day for a month for $20. This product claims to reduce gas and bloating, while restoring digestive regularity again. Dannon says that their research indicates the the average time for food to travel from one end of the GI tract to the other was reduced by 10-30 hours. Activa made by Dannon is by far the most popular probiotic product in the USA.
Kashi Vive Cereal is another one of the probiotic supplements you may try. For $27/month, you’ll get a daily dose of lactobacillus probiotic acidophilus. The cereal’s manufacturers promise “digestive balance and immunity.” Even though this is the first probiotic wellness cereal on the market, skeptics argue that there’s no demonstrated evidence that the probiotic acidophilus strain has these health benefits. The Kashi spokespeople argue that this probiotic survives digestion, which is why they chose to include it, even if survival doesn’t equate with end results.
