There are a number of unseen roadblocks you can hit when attempting to loose weight. One of them is your gut. Mouse studies have shown that a change in gut bacteria alone can trigger weight gain (or loss), independent of caloric intake/use (here is one example, that group has done other studies on it). So too can consumption of artificial sweeteners trigger pre-diabetic states which are only reversible through reintroduction of probiotics.
For the mouse skeptics amoung us, these studies simply demonstrate what I've personally witnessed in people around me. For example, though type 2 diabeties is common now, it was not even a generation ago very rare. Changes in modern diets made the difference and I've known many people kick the need for insulin just by cutting fast food out of their diet.
But how to fix your gut bacteria and get probiotics?
I avoid pills and focus on real foods. Pills are fine in a pinch but a good diet is better. They contain more benefitial properties than just live bacteria, contains a broader spectrum of bacterias and help with the continual maintenance of your gut biome. And avoid foods that will damage your gut: food likely to be contaminated with antibiotics, processed foods, chemicals, fake sugars, HFCS, fast food, etc.
One of the biggest problems in loosing weight is a build up of yeasts in your digestive tract, which will actually trigger sugar cravings in you if you attempt to go off carbs and sugars. It is helpful to go no-sugar and low-carb for a time period in your diet to deal with them, and your weight. It is also good long term to for your health to kick the sugar habit and only use mineral rich, non-processed sugar sources like maple syrup, honey, and backstrap sparingly.
Your best probiotic foods in the grocery store will be kefir (if it's real kefir, not fake cultured stuff which is what you'll usually find), kombucha, yogurt with a package live bacteria rating, yogurts made from mother culture (only 1 US brand I know of, White Mountain) and organic yogurt (watch your sugar levels, many yogurts are worse than candy bars). For foods you can make at home look first to kefir (highest live colony count known to man). Other excellent foods are raw milk, kombucha, fermented vegies (kimche, kraut, etc), and clabber (h/t to the southerners amoung us). Oh, and I shouldn't forget Apple Cider Vinegar; although thats generally treated more like a health tonic than probiotic; but I think it is considered a live product if you get one with a mother (braggs is the only store brand I know of with a mother).
These foods are more than just generic 'good for your digestion'. I've seen kombucha keep severe food poisoning down to the level of a minor tommy ache. Kefir I've repeatedly seen have numerous unexpected health affects (such as intractable exzima). Same for raw milk, which is also the best thing to make kefir from. And kimche is a good example of the benefits of a live diet. A small serving of it, like soup spoon or two worth with your meal, will not only aid your digestion, but is incredibly filling. Nutrient dense foods are on average more filling; but I've found kimche to be unexpectedly so; outsized in its affect on satiety.
Nutrient dense eating is very important for loosing weight. You get full when your body gets sufficient micro (and certain macro) nutrients; or when you physically can't eat anymore. Eating nutrient dense foods means you hit satiety before physical fullness. Whereas a fast food diet leads to the later and lots of extra sugar for your body to pack away in fat cells.
One last note. Most American's suffer from leaky gut syndrome and this also messes with your digestion. Nutrient dense stocks and bone broths are key for helping that. For really hard cases, look up the GAPS diet.
[re-purposed from another thread for posterity]
For the mouse skeptics amoung us, these studies simply demonstrate what I've personally witnessed in people around me. For example, though type 2 diabeties is common now, it was not even a generation ago very rare. Changes in modern diets made the difference and I've known many people kick the need for insulin just by cutting fast food out of their diet.
But how to fix your gut bacteria and get probiotics?
I avoid pills and focus on real foods. Pills are fine in a pinch but a good diet is better. They contain more benefitial properties than just live bacteria, contains a broader spectrum of bacterias and help with the continual maintenance of your gut biome. And avoid foods that will damage your gut: food likely to be contaminated with antibiotics, processed foods, chemicals, fake sugars, HFCS, fast food, etc.
One of the biggest problems in loosing weight is a build up of yeasts in your digestive tract, which will actually trigger sugar cravings in you if you attempt to go off carbs and sugars. It is helpful to go no-sugar and low-carb for a time period in your diet to deal with them, and your weight. It is also good long term to for your health to kick the sugar habit and only use mineral rich, non-processed sugar sources like maple syrup, honey, and backstrap sparingly.
Your best probiotic foods in the grocery store will be kefir (if it's real kefir, not fake cultured stuff which is what you'll usually find), kombucha, yogurt with a package live bacteria rating, yogurts made from mother culture (only 1 US brand I know of, White Mountain) and organic yogurt (watch your sugar levels, many yogurts are worse than candy bars). For foods you can make at home look first to kefir (highest live colony count known to man). Other excellent foods are raw milk, kombucha, fermented vegies (kimche, kraut, etc), and clabber (h/t to the southerners amoung us). Oh, and I shouldn't forget Apple Cider Vinegar; although thats generally treated more like a health tonic than probiotic; but I think it is considered a live product if you get one with a mother (braggs is the only store brand I know of with a mother).
These foods are more than just generic 'good for your digestion'. I've seen kombucha keep severe food poisoning down to the level of a minor tommy ache. Kefir I've repeatedly seen have numerous unexpected health affects (such as intractable exzima). Same for raw milk, which is also the best thing to make kefir from. And kimche is a good example of the benefits of a live diet. A small serving of it, like soup spoon or two worth with your meal, will not only aid your digestion, but is incredibly filling. Nutrient dense foods are on average more filling; but I've found kimche to be unexpectedly so; outsized in its affect on satiety.
Nutrient dense eating is very important for loosing weight. You get full when your body gets sufficient micro (and certain macro) nutrients; or when you physically can't eat anymore. Eating nutrient dense foods means you hit satiety before physical fullness. Whereas a fast food diet leads to the later and lots of extra sugar for your body to pack away in fat cells.
One last note. Most American's suffer from leaky gut syndrome and this also messes with your digestion. Nutrient dense stocks and bone broths are key for helping that. For really hard cases, look up the GAPS diet.
[re-purposed from another thread for posterity]
