Kathleen, that's interesting! Have you noticed any health benefits since making your own sauerkraut? I've never been able to find fresh sauerkraut hereabouts - the only stuff is in a jar & likely long dead!
Sunnydays - I think there have been previous threads on probiotics, so you could search if you're interested. The question of whether probiotic capsules are more effective than live fermented foods is controversial! I eat loads of live yoghurt & sometimes kefir, but also take capsules as I need all the help I can get & don't think anyone yet knows the answer for sure! The capsules do seem to keep my gastritis under better control that any medication has.
I think a lot depends on whether the bacteria from either foods or supplements reach the relevant sections of the gut alive & how long they are able to survive there. Some are said to be transient, but exert a beneficial effect on their way through, some are said to be able to colonise & replace less desirable organisms. Some people think that taking capsules represents a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the huge numbers of resident bacteria in the gut & therefore can't possibly have much effect.
Tbh I think it's a huge field and a lot more research probably needs to be done before we are sure how the many different strains affect us, either singly or when combined. I wonder whether there may also be differences between the sexes! There is also the question of safety for certain groups who are not in good health (immuno-compromised, pancreatic disease, serious gut disorders, immediately post-op etc). There's much written about how good for us probiotics are but you have to dig deeper to uncover articles that are more cautious, so I think we all need to bear this in mind & be vigilant, as with any other supplements we choose to take. Given they are said to exert widespread effects from influencing mental health to immune function, there seems a lot that could go wrong!
The probiotics industry would have us believe we cannot get anywhere near as many beneficial bacteria from fermented foods as we can from buying their expensive capsules, but there's a lot to be said for getting as many nutrients as we can from natural foodstuffs. Some of the commercial probiotics only contain one or 2 strains of bacteria, but the marketing suggests these are proven to promote gut health. They also sometimes make the claim that bacterial cultures used to make commercial yoghurt are chosen to make the yoghurt taste good rather than specifically to benefit gut health!
If we eat a variety of foods including live, fermented ones I think we can't go far wrong. Eating a range of complex carbs, fruit & veg, nut & seeds is said to supply the PREbiotic substances that feed good bugs in the gut & some people think this is the best way to influence what thrives there.
I think really it comes down to whether you feel happier getting all your nutrients from foods or like to see whether you feel any better cautiously trying capsules on top of a good diet.
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Topic: Too much or too little oesteogen? (Read 11041 times)