Silage – not only cabbage. Sauerkraut and cucumbers – traditional Polish products – are the best we can give the intestines. They contain lactic acid bacteria (most often of the Lactobacillus genus), thanks to which vegetables ferment, changing their taste and nutritional value, fulfill several important functions in the intestine: They produce essential enzymes, lactic acid – which lowers the intestinal pH – and protect the intestinal epithelium from the growth of harmful bacteria.
Remember that you can also pickle other vegetables: beets, carrots, and even peppers or garlic. If we do not want to eat the native pickles often, let’s try Asian cuisine. It is worth trying, for example, miso – fermented soybean soup or paste, also containing Lactobacillus bacteria, and also B vitamins or wholesome protein. We can also find bacteria beneficial to the intestines in kimchi – it is a spicy Korean dish, which mainly consists of fermented Chinese cabbage.
Dairy, but fermented. Kefirs and yoghurts are also, next to silage, a great source of lactic acid bacteria. This does not mean, however, that if we eat milk and fruit desserts from the market, we can sleep well. Most often they contain a large amount of sugar, and instead of fruit – ordinary fruit juice, watered with synthetic aromas and dyes. Meanwhile, sugar – as discussed below – does not help our intestines at all.
So is it enough to buy natural, unsweet yogurt? This is definitely a better solution than eating sweetened products, but it is also worth paying attention to whether we are dealing with what is best for our intestines. A good yoghurt is one that contains as few unnecessary additives as possible – i.e. powdered milk or milk proteins, used by producers to make the yoghurt thick and smooth.
To make yogurt, you just need milk and the right bacteria. Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis or Bifidobacterium lactis are most often used for the production of yoghurts. Yoghurts containing only milk and the right strains of bacteria are available in stores, especially health food stores. Their price may be higher than the most common yoghurts with milk powder, so – if the cost is a barrier for us – it is worth learning to produce this tasty source of probiotics yourself.