Alternative Cures

Continuing on with this mini series on keeping your gut healthy, we carry on looking at diet and some of the good foods you should eat to keep everything balanced and, well, healthy!

This instalment in Alternative Cures looks at yoghurt, or more specifically “live” yoghurt.

Nutritionist Nigel Denby tells us, “The foundation for a healthy gut is a healthy diet and lifestyle, both of which help maintain your gut flora. However when you take antibiotics this upsets the balance, so having a probiotic drink or live yoghurt after illness is a great way to replenish your body’s store of good bacteria.”

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are healthy, naturally occurring bacteria found in live foods such as yoghurt. When this is ingested, it helps to fight infection as well as aid digestion and maintain that healthy balance in your gut. To obtain the full benefits of probitics, you should take them daily. This can be done with live or “bio” yoghurt, a bio drink or even a probiotic multivitamin that can be obtained through health stores and pharmacists.

On their own, probiotics only do half the job. To do a complete job of balancing your gut to regain its full healthy state, you also need “prebiotics”.

Prebiotics encourage the growth of the good bacteria because they act as a fuel for the probiotics.

Clinical research fellow in clinical bowel diseases at King’s College in London Dr Charlotte Hedin says, “Prebiotics enhance growth of the good bacteria in your body rather than than importing foreign good bacteria.”

Prebiotics are found to occur naturally in fresh fruit and vegetables, in particular the tubular shaped varieties. Better stock up on bananas and leeks, then!

Terry Didcott
Alternative Cures