Make your own probiotic yogurt and save money

Probiotics are essential in your Wheat Belly lifestyle, especially in the initial weeks and months of engaging in the program (longer if you have gastrointestinal conditions). They are essential because prior wheat/grain/sugar consumption disrupts composition of bowel flora and restoration to something closer to normal is part of your recovery. While we still have plenty to learn—what species, what combinations of species, inclusion of fungi like Saccharomyces boulardii, which species help control/reverse small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and methanogenic species, etc.—there are unquestioned benefits to taking probiotics. But they’re expensive. It’s not uncommon to spend $40 to $70 dollars per month for quality products. Is there a way to reduce costs? One way is to take a probiotic for a finite period of, say, 2 months, while continuing enthusiastic consumption of fermented foods (that contain many of the same species as probiotics) and prebiotic fibers. Another way would be to space out dosing, e.g., take them every other day or every several days. While probiotic species typically do not colonize the colon permanently, they do reproduce and populate for up to several weeks. Yet another way is to cultivate the various species in probiotics in yogurt. The conversion of thin liquid of, say, organic half-and-half or whole milk or coconut milk to thick, rich yogurt means that tens of billions of organisms at the start are multiplied to hundreds of bi...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle gluten-free grain-free grains microbiota prebiotic probiotic reuteri yogurt Source Type: blogs