Eating a diet rich in a variety whole foods is essential to healthy life. A whole food diet should include two uncommon components in foods: probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics and prebiotics help to digest and utilize food in the best way possible. Digestive health is a key pillar in the foundation for healthy life.
- 1 Liter of coconut water
- 1 packet of kefir starter (found at your local health food store)
- Twist of lime and a little stevia or organic sweetener of your choice
- Buy a glass jar. Take 1 Liter of coconut water (you may use the coconut water from tetra packs or fresh water from young coconuts. (If you use the 250 ml tetra packs it will take 4 to make a liter of water.) Add 1 packet of kefir starter (found at your local health food store) and place lid on jar. It will now take 4-5 days for the kefir to culture at room temperature. The coconut water will become cloudy as the culture grows and it will become “fizzy”. When the culture is done, add a twist of lime and a little stevia or organic sweetener of your choice. Then sit down and enjoy this delicious probiotic drink.
How to Choose a Probiotic Supplement Wisely
Be sure if you choose to take a probiotic supplement make sure it lists the genus, species and strain(s). Probiotics’ names are in three parts, listed in order. First is the genus name, second is the species and last is the strain. For example the label may say L. acidophilus NAS, which may simply be shortened to just Acidophilus. Be sure to avoid products that don’t list the genus, species and strain. Choose probiotics that are refrigerated, not pasteurized and say “contains live cells.” The supplement should contain at least a billion colony forming units (CFU’s). If you have recently taken antibiotics, be sure your supplement contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus CG and Bifidobacterium, which populate different areas of the intestinal tract; antibiotics kill bacteria in the entire intestinal tract. Vaginal yeast infection responds best to L.rhamnosus GR1 and L.ferment.