Do you suffer from colitis, IBD, IBS, SIBO, Crohn's, celiac or other disorders? Do you take daily probiotics? What are the best probiotics for stomach conditions and disorders?
What They Are
Does your doctor ask you if you take probiotics every time you go in for an appointment? It's one of the questions my gastroenterologist always asks me. But when I ask what type I should be taking I seem to get mixed answers. Some of my doctors have recommended live probiotics as being better for my stomach and others seem to have a "anything is better than nothing." Others recommend trying to take probiotics from food sources as much as possible.
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Benefits
Probiotics have many benefits including:
- balancing the friendly bacteria in your digestive system--something that can be off balance when you have stomach issues.
- help ease, prevent or treat diarrhea
- can improve mental health
- can help with heart health
- could help ease some allergies and skin conditions
- could help stomach condition symptoms
- may help your immune system
- could possibly help you lose weight and reduce belly fat
(Brown, 2016)
Types
What are the best probiotic sources for your stomach? There are several including natural food based sources, live probiotics and more!
Food Based
Ready to break out the yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha? Here are some natural food based sources you can find probiotics hiding in. Just a note: Some people may not tolerate fermented foods. check with your doctor if you have any questions. One of my family members gave me the suggestion to try kombucha and I realized after a trip to the ER that kombucha does the OPPOSITE to my system because of my colitis. So proceed with caution.
Great sources of natural probiotics are:
- Sauerkraut
- Fermented foods
- Kombucha
- Yogurt
- Miso
- Food products labeled as containing live and active cultures
Live
Live probiotic supplements can usually be found in the refrigerated section of health food stores. They may also be in the foods above.
Supplements
Gummies, tablets...there are so many different types of probiotic supplements on the market that can be found at your local store or health shop.
Testing
When trying to figure out what the best probiotics are for your stomach, first consult your doctor. Then figure out what will be the best to incorporate into your lifestyle. I found that fermented foods probably weren't the way to go for me when I had a nice visit in the emergency room. I got tired of live probiotics after a time. So I went back to my tried and true. I'm a pop a pill and get on with my day kind of person.
Finding out if your probiotics are good for you takes a little bit of knowledge on product testing. I found a couple of different sources:
- A simple at home test for telling if your probiotics are good
- Telling if your probiotics have gone through testing
This article is for information purposes only. Please consult your personal physician.
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Pictured: BioKult Original Multi Strain Formulation. Capsules can be swallowed whole or pulled apart with contents sprinkled into food or mixed in drinks. Save 20% by using the code MOMSMEET20
Disclaimer: I was given samples to try and photograph. All opinion of the product are my own.
References:
Brown, M. J. (2016, August 23). 8 health benefits of probiotics. Healthline. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-health-benefits-of-probiotics
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