Probiotic bacteria are beneficial for the intestines, for the immune system and thus for general health. We present the best probiotic foods, some of which you can also make yourself.
What are probiotic foods?
Probiotic foods contain probiotic bacteria. These are lactic acid bacteria or specific yeasts. The bacteria ferment the food. During fermentation, the bacteria metabolize the carbohydrates in the food. This produces lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
6 benefits of fermentation?
The fermentation of food has many advantages – both from a health point of view and from a taste and practical point of view ( 3 ):
1. Better taste and longer shelf life
The fermented food not only tastes refreshingly sour, it also has a longer shelf life due to fermentation. This is because the low pH value and the presence of lactic acid bacteria (and often also salt) deter putrefactive bacteria and molds.
2. Probiotic foods are easier to digest, better tolerated
Also, probiotic foods are often considered much healthier than the original unfermented variety. Fermentation has two benefits. It makes the food easier to digest by breaking down fiber. It also adds beneficial probiotic bacteria. These bacteria improve gut and immune health.
3. Probiotic foods protect against pesticides and heavy metals
Lactic acid bacteria also stop pesticides and heavy metals. They keep them from entering the bloodstream through the gut lining. They protect the person from exposure ( 2 ).
4. Probiotic foods with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects
Probiotic bacteria also have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. They stabilize the intestinal mucosa. This means they protect against leaky gut syndrome.
5. Protection against chronic health problems
Another benefit of probiotic bacteria is that they lower blood pressure and cholesterol. They also help with chronic diseases linked to the gut (e.g., allergies, eczema, or autoimmune diseases) (6) (8).
6. Probiotic Foods Contain Fewer Carbohydrates, Fewer Calories
In most cases, food becomes lower in calories during fermentation. It also becomes lower in carbs because they are broken down. For example, fresh white cabbage has 25 kcal and 4 g of carbs. Sauerkraut has only 11 kcal and 0.5 g of carbs. This depends on the fermentation time, of course.
Can Probiotic Foods Have Side Effects?
Sometimes diarrhea can occur, otherwise there are no known health side effects or risks of probiotic foods. If you are not used to fermented foods, start with small amounts (1 teaspoon – increase 1 tsp every week).
Who should not eat probiotic foods?
However, some people should avoid probiotic foods. For example, histamine-intolerant people. Fermentation greatly increases the histamine in these foods. This causes the symptoms of histamine intolerance in sensitive people. These symptoms include diarrhea, palpitations, and shortness of breath. They also include redness of the skin, a runny nose, and swollen eyes.
Also, eating more histamine can trigger a flare-up in one to two days in atopic diseases like allergies, migraines, asthma, and eczema. This includes Crohn’s disease.
What probiotic foods are there?
Basically, you can ferment almost any food, whether alcohol, juices, bread, sausage, meat, milk, cheese, nut butter, cereals, fish, fruit or vegetables. As a result, many people now practice fermentation as a hobby, fermenting all sorts of foods to make them more digestible and healthy (4) (5).
The Top 9 Probiotic Foods
Below, we present the most well-known traditional probiotic foods and explain how you can make them yourself – where possible. Since we propagate the vegan lifestyle, you will only find plant-based probiotic foods, i.e. no milk kefir and no conventional yoghurt:
1. Water Kefir
The water kefir can be made with water, juice or coconut water. Add sugar and the typical kefir starter culture (which contains probiotic yeasts and bacteria). Once fermentation is complete, you get a sparkling and refreshing drink with a probiotic effect (12).
2. Kimchi
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish, usually made from fermented white cabbage, reminiscent of our sauerkraut. But savoy cabbage, carrots or radishes can also be processed or even different vegetables can be mixed together. We explain how to make kimchi in our kimchi recipe.
3. Kombucha
Kombucha is fermented black tea that is fermented with the help of probiotic yeasts, such as Saccharomyces ludwigii, Saccharomyces apiculatus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) (11).
4. Yogurt
Cow’s milk or any other animal milk is not necessary to make yogurt if you want to enjoy the probiotic properties and benefits of yogurt. This is because it is not so much the milk that matters, but rather the probiotic cultures ( 7 ).
For almond yoghurt, for example, the usual yoghurt cultures are added to a homemade almond milk and in this way a purely plant-based but highly probiotic yoghurt is produced. We explain how you can make the almond yoghurt yourself in our almond yoghurt recipe.
5. Miso
Miso is made by fermenting barley (or another grain), soybeans, and salt for two or three years. Finally, a brown, strongly spicy paste is created, which can be used for soups, sauces and dressings or as a condiment for any other dish in which you like the typical miso aroma. Here you will find an original Japanese miso soup.
6. Sauerkraut
Probably the most well-known fermented vegetable and probiotic food is sauerkraut. It is produced when finely sliced white cabbage is salted and pounded so vigorously that liquid escapes and the vegetables are eventually covered by this liquid ( 1 ).
During a period of one to several weeks, cabbage usually ferments solely thanks to the lactic acid bacteria that are present in the air or have already been naturally present on the cabbage. So a starter culture is not absolutely necessary. We explain how to make sauerkraut in our sauerkraut recipe.
7. Fermented Fruits and Vegetables
Of course, you can ferment not only sauerkraut, but other vegetables (e.g. carrots, celery, parsnips) and even fruits, e.g. plums, apricots, mango, pineapple or peaches. In this way, they all preserve the effects and properties of the probiotic bacterial strains they contain, e.g. Lactobacillus plantarum, L. pentosus, L. brevis, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum and many more.
8. Tempeh
Tempeh is probiotic because it contains live microorganisms through fermentation with the mold Rhizopus oligosporus, which can help promote gut health and boost the immune system.
9. Bread Drink
The bread drink is made from water and organic wholemeal sourdough bread. The lactic acid bacteria and yeasts naturally present in bread, ferment the bread. The result is an acidic liquid that can be used as a seasoning similar to vinegar or diluted with water as a probiotic (10).
