It is believed that about 100 trillion microbes live in the human body, and these microbes are everywhere, from the skin to the guts, nose, etc. Human skin alone has about 1000 species of bacteria. Microbes are microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi, which can be broadly classified into two main categories: good microbes and bad microbes. While good microbes help in digestion, boosting the immune system, warding off bad microbes, protecting against infections, neutralizing toxins, producing Vitamin K, helping in reproduction, etc., bad microbes hamper our bodily functions and make us sick.

Foods we eat also contain a lot of microbes, while eating foods with good microbes will help us, eating foods with bad microbes will make us sick and ill. Interestingly, knowingly or unknowingly, we also use good microbes in our foods to make them taste better, for example, we use yeast in bread and cakes, yeast contains microbes, milk becomes yogurt when microbes are activated, fermented foods like pickles, kimchi, soy sauce, etc. contain good microbes.

Try Natural Probiotics Instead of Probiotics Supplements

These days probiotics are getting very popular among nutritionists, dietitians, dieters, and health-conscious people. Unless you are taking probiotic supplements, you might not know much about probiotics. If you are wondering about probiotics, in this article we will try to explain them briefly.

• What are probiotics?
• What are the benefits of probiotics?
• What are probiotics supplements?
• What are the natural sources of probiotics?
• How long do probiotics last?

Probiotics, What are They?

Probiotics are good microbes that you can take in the form of natural foods or as a supplement for various health benefits such as improving the digestive system, boosting the immune system, etc.

There are numerous benefits of probiotics. One of the major benefits of probiotics is they provide nutrients for the body, for example, probiotics are also a source of various B vitamins like B6, B12, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, etc.

Probiotics supplements are living bacteria and fungi manufactured in laboratory conditions and made available as nutritional supplements to improve your digestive system, and immune systems, and release toxins from your body.

Once you consume probiotics as a supplement or food, how long do they last in your body? Well, probiotics are microorganisms, and they have a very short life span. Interestingly, they work pretty fast. have you noticed sliced apples changing their color within a couple of minutes? That’s due to microbes. In a similar manner, probiotics also begin to function immediately and their life ends quite sooner. The life cycle of probiotics is not only dependent on the species of the probiotics but also according to the body type of the person, his/her medical conditions, etc. The life of probiotics is also dependent on the temperature and moisture inside your body etc.

Natural Sources of Probiotics That You Can Include in Your Daily Menu

Generally speaking, probiotics do not harm your body even when you are taking probiotics as nutritional substances. However, in some cases, probiotic supplements can cause bacterial and fungal infections. Have you noticed that you experience nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea after eating a certain food? That’s because the bacteria and fungus in the food reacted badly inside your body. This also can be the case when you take probiotic substances. Therefore, the best way is by taking foods that contain probiotics. All the milk products like milk, buttermilk, and cheese contain probiotics. Any drinks made by fermenting foods for instance beer and wine also contain probiotics. Fermented foods like pickles, kimchi, sauces, etc. also contain probiotics.

Try to include dairy products, or fermented fruits and vegetables in your menu. The best food for natural probiotics is yogurt or cheese. Eat cheese and yogurt to balance the healthy bacteria in your guts. Drinks like Kambucha, Apple Cider Vinegar, which are basically made through the process of fermentation, are rich in probiotics. It is better to consume probiotic-based drinks and foods instead of taking probiotic supplements.

Probiotics are heavily present in the foods we eat, in fact, we are eating probiotics every day without actually knowing about it. For example, we eat, bread, cakes, milk, buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, pickles, sauces, beer, etc. These foods contain probiotics. In fact, any food or drink that is made by fermenting contains probiotics. Are there any side effects of Probiotics? Sometimes eating too many probiotics can upset your stomach and this is perfectly ok.