Probiotics are a human-friendly microorganism (bacteria and yeasts) which enrich the food and improves food consistency. They also can prevent food spoiling. In symbioses with the prebiotics (oligosaccharides in the fruit, vegetables or milk), probiotics can synthesize flavor components. Also, the probiotics can synthesize food additives such as lactic, citric and gluconic acids, amino acids and vitamins.
About Lactobacillus bulgaricus
A lot of people have lactose intolerance and they cannot consume milk because of the large concentration of lactose in it. Lactose or milk sugar is oligosaccharide, which contains galactose and glucose. Friendly Streptococcus thermophiles and Lactobacillus bulgaricus “eats” (ferment) the lactose in the milk and produce lactic acid. As a result of this, people who have lactose intolerance can consume fermented dairy products, especially yogurt.
Which foods have probiotics?
People’s everyday diet includes a wide range of food products prepared with probiotics. Good examples are alcohol beverages (beer, wines, vodka, brandy, and whiskey), coffee, vinegar, soy sauce. Other good examples are dairy products such as yogurt, kefir cheese, quark (low-fat cream cheese). Sauerkraut, pickles, olives are also probiotic foods. Fermented food is rich in probiotics, it’s tastier, easily digestible and contains more vitamins and minerals.
Wine is made by fermentation of the grapes. Whiskey is produced from cereal, fermented with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Vinegar is produced by fermentation of the wine, malt or ethanol with the Acetobacter aceti and the Acetobacter hansenii bacteria. The popular soy sauce is made by fermentation of soybeans, rice, and wheat with the bacteria Aspergillus oryzae.
Neutralization of the natural bitterness of the olives happens during the fermentation process with Lactobacilus sp. and Pediococcus sp. So thanks to the probiotics, olives get great flavor. Olives are full of antioxidants, carotenoids, vitamins ( A, E, and K) and minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and iodine).
Lactobacillus bulgaricus in dairy products
Sour milk, bifigurt, bigurt, acidophilic milk and yogurt are great dairy digestive balance products.
Sour milk is rich with the good bacteria Streptococcus lactis, while bifigurt is rich with Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophilus. Bigurt is rich with Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Furthermore, acidophilic milk is rich with Lactobacillus acidophilus. Yogurt is the most famous dairy product rich with good bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles.
Kefir is a dairy product made by fermentation of the milk with the yeasts (Sacharomyces cerevisiae and Candida kefir) and bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus brevis). Also, it’s a rich source of good microorganisms and increases the human immunity. It also takes part during the process of cholesterol decomposition and relieves inflammatory processes in the body.
Other foods high in probiotics
Fermented vegetables (cabbage, gherkins, beetroot, cauliflower, papers) are rich with good bacteria and have greater nutritional value compared with the raw vegetables. Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) has more vitamin C compared with cabbage and it contains vitamin B3, B6, and B12. This is especially important for the vegetarians because vitamin B12 naturally is present only in the animal products. The good bacteria in the pickled food make a balance in the intestinal microflora and improve the digestive system.
Probiotics healthy effects
Probiotics can be very helpful for the following health problems: slow metabolism, diarrhea, and bloated stomach. Furthermore, they are powerful antioxidants and give us strong immunity. Also, they are cleaning our body from the toxins and keep us young and beautiful.
Never eat or take probiotics on empty stomach, because the pH level on empty stomach is very low (pH=1-3). So this condition will kill all probiotics. The best time of the day to take probiotics is during dinner. Also when you are on antibiotic therapy you must take probiotics two or three hours before or after the antibiotic pill.