So I want to build up my immune system, but what foods can I use to boost the healthy bacteria in my body? The first thing that comes to mind for most people is yogurt. Yougurt does make the top 10 list as a good source of probiotics, but what are some options for people who are lactose intolerant, trying to reduce sugars (which yogurt tends to have alot of) or are trying to stay away from dairy?

You can take advantage of the health benefits of probiotics from real foods. Below is a list to outline the top 10 best probiotic foods (8 which are not in the dairy family) you can add to your diet. It is also best buying the organic version of all these probiotic foods.

1.Yogurt One of the best probiotic foods is live-cultured yogurt, especially handmade. Look for brands made from goat milk that has been infused with extra forms of probitoics like lactobacillus or acidophilus. Goat’s milk and cheese are particularly high in probiotics like thermophillus, bifudus, bulgaricus and acidophilus. Be sure to read the ingredients list, as not all yogurts are made equally. Many popular brands are filled HFCS, articifial sweeteners and artificial flavors.

2. Kefir – Similar to yogurt, this fermented dairy product is a unique combination of goat milk and fermented kefir frains. Hich in lactobacilli and bifidus bacteria, kefir is also rich in anti-oxidants.

3. Sauerkraurt – Is etremely rich in healthy live cultues and is usually made from fermented cabbage. This veggie is rich in vitamins B,A,E and E and also aids in reducing allergy symptoms.

4. Dark Chocolate – probiotics can be added to high quality dark chocolate, up to 4 times the amount of probiotics as many forms of dairy. Chocolate is also high in anti-oxidants as well.

5. MicroAlgae – This referes to super-food ocean-based plants such as spirulina, chorella, and blue-green algae. These probiotic foods have been shown to increase the amount of both lactobacillus and bifidobacteria in the digestive tract.

6. Miso Soup – This is one of the main-stays of Japanese traditional medicine and is communly used in macrobiotic cooking as a digestive regulartor. Made from fermented rye, beans, rice or barley, adding a tablespoon of miso to some hot water makes an excellent, quick probiotic rich soup, full of lactobacilli and bifidus bacteria. Beyond its importnat live cultures, miso is extremely nurtrient-sense and is believes to help neutralize the effects of environmental pollution, alkalinize the boday and stop effects of carcinogens in the system.

7. Pickles – Believe it or not, the common green pickle is an excellent food source of probiotics. If you buy them off the shelf watch for added food colors, or try making your own home-made pickles in the sun.

8. Tempeh – A great substitute for meat or tofu. Tempeh is a fermented, probiotic rich grain made from soy-beans. A great source of vitamin b12, this vegetarian food can be sauteed, baked or eaten crumbled on salads.

9. Kimchi – An asian form of pickled sauerkraut, kimchi is an extremely spicy and sour fermented cabbage, typically served alongside most meals in Korea. Besides beneficial bacteria, Kimchi is also a great source of beta carotene, calcium, iron and vitamins A,C,B1 & B2. This is a great food to add to your diet, assuming you can handle the spice.

10. Kombucha Tea – This is a form of fermented teah high healthy gut bacteria. This probiotic drink has been used for centuries and is believes to help increase your energy, enhance your well being and maybe even help you lost weight.

I don’t know about you, but when I first looked at this list, the items on here were not regular staples in my pantry. While I know, probiotics are beneficial forms of gut bacteria that help stimulate the natural digestive juices and enzymes to keep our digestive organs functioning properly, I realized that my family was probably not getting enough of this good bacteria. As a result, I have slowly started to experiment with these other probiotic foods to have additional avenues of bringing in healthy bacteria into our home. You can buy these foods already in the store or learn how to ferment these foods yourself at home. Either way, they are both good options in helping to build the immune system.

How many of you think bacteria is bad for you? Doctors, media, schools, family etc… say that bacteria is bad. They have taught us that we need to kill germs. We see the example by the practices and routines performed in schools, hospitals, doctors offices, daycares etc…? They use anti-bacterial products to clean and in essence kill the good bacteria along with the bad. There is this wide mis-perception out there that bad bacteria creates disease.

What if I told you the way to stop fighting disease is to start promoting health? The way to fight illness is by adding good healthy bacteria and not killing the bad ones. It’s kind of like the theory when you want to change a habit, to focus on the thing that you WANT and not on the thing that you DONT WANT. When you use use anti-biotics or anti-bacterial products it not only kills bad bacteria but it also kills good bacteria.

We need the good bacteria in our body in order for our immune systems to be healthy. Probiotics are beneficial forms of gut bacteria that help stimulate the natural digestive juices and enzymes that keep our digestive organs functioning properly. You would be amazed at how many of the everyday products people use have anti-bacterials or anti-biotics in them.

So why do we need healthy bugs? 80% of our defense mechanisms are in our gut. Our immune system is driven by the amount of good bacteria we have in our bodies. All types of bacteria can enter our bodies through food or through contact with skin. I know alot of moms who are very concerned about germs and constantly use anti-bacterial products. Their kids end up having, asthma, allergies, or other health related problems. Why is that? Science has been proving that a large reason is because they are not only killing the bad bacteria, but also killing the good bacteria, which compromises the immune system.

We need to continually add good bacteria to our bodies daily. This is becoming even more important, as some of the foods that we eat are tainted with anti-biotics which actually turn into poisons in the body. So if someone has a weak immune system and they continue to consume foods with toxins without replacing good bacteria, the immune system will continue to be compromised. This impacts the ability to absorb nutrients as well, and can be a factor in the obesity problem we face in society today.

One of my professors at school gave a talk and said if you have a weak immune system, that you can’t have any gluten or dairy products. As these foods tend to weaken an already compromised immune system. I continue to be amazed at the number of people who take dairy, gluten and wheat out of their diet and see amazing results. I have more information to share on these topics in future blogs as well, but tune in next week for the Top 10 Priobiotics Foods to add to your diet.

10 Foods You Should Never Eat!

The Center for Science in the Public interest shared in a Nutrition Action Health letter the top 10 foods you should never eat. They are not afraid to call out product names of foods that are extremely unhealthy for us. Listed below are these top 10 foods.

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html

1. Chicken Pot Pie – Eat the entire pie, as alot of people do, and you’re talking 1,180 calories, 26 grams of saturated fat (more than a day’s worth), and 1,860 mg of sodium. While this might be a quick tasty meal, it is not the healthiest of choices.

2. Parkay – Land O’Lakes declares it is an excellent source of ALA Omega on the margarine box. Could margaine really be heart healthy? It isn’t. Each tablespoon of the spread has 2½ grams of trans fat (more than an entire day’s limit) and 2 grams of saturated fat. And beware of other trans-filled sticks by Blue Bonnet, Parkay, Country Crock, and Fleischmann’s. At least those brands don’t imply that a bit of ALA outweighs the harm caused by the margarine’s trans and saturated fat.

As you can see from the list there is a wide variety of foods that have been identified on the “Not Good To Eat List” and were all chosen for different reasons. But the main reasons are:

1) that they have way too many calories
2) they are packed with lots of sodium,
3) they are made with tons of saturated or trans fats

So yesterday was the official first full day with the kids home from school. I always do a scavenger hunt of some sort for the boys to start off the summer. It’s always alot of fun and something they look forward to every year. I write little poems with clues of where they can go to find the next treasure. It’s fun to see them work together as a team to find each clue.

They usually each get some small gifts like their favorite snack and a pack of gum. I also stock up on summer items that we always seem to lose like tennis balls (for playing baseball in the front yard) and raquet balls (for off the bricks). I am always amazed how each year I buy boxes of balls and by the end of the year they disappear. I have no idea where they go, but I think ‘The ball thief” must be hanging around with “The sock thief”. It wouldn’t be the start of summer without silly string. I usually go to the dollar store and buy each one a can. They have a blast spraying each other.

We also usually get type of big gift that they can all share for the summer, which will keep them active, occupied and out of trouble. This year we bought a basketball hoop for the front yard. With four boys, this should be a good investment.

Lastly, they each then get a special gift they have been wanting. For Chris (14) a gift certificate to his favorite custard shop, (when you get to be a teen, it’s hard to by them something that isn’t hundreds of dollars, but they love a GC) Matt (11) a special water bottle filled with gum, Andy (4) chalk, crayons, coloring books, and Danny (9) as a blackhawks fan I am somewhat ashamed to admit this, but my hockey fan got an LA Kings Dustin Brown T-shirt, #23. Yes my hockey player is a Kings fan. I can tell you it is very interesting in my house in this hockey series. Danny is my son that has decided even though he lives in Chicago, he is going to be different and pick a non- Chicago team. He does this for all sports, so its not a fad and it just so happens this year his favorite team is playing the blackhawks.

After day one, they haven’t killed one another and played really nicely together. And the hockey game last night was an interesting experience and creates for some fun in our household. I can only hope that the rest of the summer will be as good as Day 1.