Probiotics: Your Gut’s Tiny Allies

The beneficial bacteria that support our health are known as probiotics. These microscopic allies play a vital role in our well-being by:

• Producing essential vitamins and anti-inflammatory compounds
• Protecting our gut from harmful infections
• Supporting our mood and mental health
• Powering up our immune system—70% of which resides in the gut

Unfortunately, modern lifestyles have disrupted the delicate balance of our gut microbiome. Poor diets, overuse of antibiotics, pesticides, and an obsession with sterility have reduced our probiotic populations and allowed harmful microbes to thrive. This imbalance has been linked to a wide range of health issues—from obesity and inflammation to dementia and mental health disorders.

I’ve touched on probiotics throughout this website and in various blog posts, and I hope by now it’s clear: probiotics are essential for your health.

These beneficial microbes primarily live in our digestive tract, where they feed on components of the food we eat and transform them into powerful compounds our bodies can’t produce on their own—like vitamins and anti-inflammatories.

Some strains are so effective, they act like natural antibiotics, producing substances that kill harmful bacteria. Others strengthen the gut lining or even produce compounds similar to oxytocin, helping us feel calm and relaxed.

We live in a symbiotic relationship with these tiny organisms. Together, we’ve evolved over millennia. The microbiome—the vast community of microbes living inside us—is crucial to nearly every aspect of our health.

Today’s world is tough on our microbiome. Major disruptors include:

• Highly processed diets
• Overuse of antibiotics
• Pesticides in our food
• Excessive cleanliness and fear of bacteria

With refrigeration, we’ve lost touch with traditional food preservation methods like fermentation. We throw away anything that shows signs of bacterial or fungal growth, forgetting that many of our favorite foods—yogurt, cheese, wine, beer, even chocolate—are the result of fermentation.

Ironically, in trying to avoid harmful bacteria, we’ve created the perfect environment for them to flourish inside us.

While we can’t undo the past, we can take steps to restore and support our gut health. One of the most powerful ways to do this is by reintroducing cultured and fermented foods into our diets.

By re-learning the art of fermentation, we can begin to repopulate our gut with the probiotics we’ve lost—and reclaim our health in the process.