Improve your Intestinal Flora

The microbiota is the community of live microorganisms, bacteria that are found in our intestinal tract, it is shown that having a healthy microbiota prevents diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, lactose intolerance, gastroduodenal ulcer, respiratory tract infections, skin diseases and eczema, vaginitis, cancer, so it is very important that we take care of our microbiota and keep it healthy.
Functions of the microbiota:
• Metabolization.
• Production of energy, vitamins, absorption of calcium and iron.
• Protects and prevents the invasion of pathogens.
• Development of the immune system.
How can we keep our microbiota healthy? Consuming pre and probiotics, prebiotics are non-digestible foods that stimulate the development of bacteria that are beneficial for our colon, improving the functions of the intestinal flora, controling the absorption of fats, facilitating the absorption of calcium and collaborating in the synthesis of B vitamins and vitamin K.
Probiotics are live microorganisms that stabilize the intestinal flora, stimulate the production of antibodies and reinforce the immune system, help metabolize carbohydrates and absorb vitamins. Two of the probiotics with the best benefits are bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Here is a list of some probiotics you can add to your diet:
Miso is a paste of soybeans and some fermented cereals; depending on the time of fermentation and the type of cereal we can find different types:
• Genmai miso: soy and brown rice fermented for a year and a half, mild flavour.
• Mugi miso: soybeans and barley fermented for one or two years.
• Shiro miso: soy and white rice fermented for two weeks, sweet taste.
• Natto miso: soybeans and barley fermented with Kombu seaweed, ginger, barley syrup and salt, for one or three months.
• Hatcho miso: fermented soybeans for three years. Of all it is the one that contains more proteins, fats and minerals, less salt and carbohydrates.
It can be used in sauces, adding a spoonful to your homemade sauce or soup, adding it at the end of cooking, without boiling the water.
Tempeh is fermented soybeans presented in a compact form, it is very rich in protein and it is important that you buy it organic as all products made with soybean so that they have not been made with transgenic soy.
You can eat it raw in salads, cooked in soups or grilled to give it a crunchy touch.
Tamari is also fermented soybeans but presented as a sauce, if you like soy sauce better use tamari. You can add it in your sauces, salads, rice, vegetables, added at the end of cooking.
Kimchi or Sauerkraut is usually fermented cabbage although it can also be made with other vegetables.
In this post I talk about two of the best probiotics, in my opinion, kefir and kombucha.