There are more MICROBIAL DNA cells in  your body,
than HUMAN DNA cells !!!!
​Bacteria make you who you are!!!

What is probiotic rich food? ​​
     Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are necessary for you to survive.  They live and grow in your digestive system which is from your mouth to the end of your colon. When present in the right amount, probiotic bacteria promote optimal health and wellness for our body.  We used to think of bacteria as something that caused disease, but our body is full of bacteria and depending on the quantity and quality, they are typically good.  Probiotics and probiotic rich food are called the “good” or “helpful” bacteria because of the assistance provided to maintain your healthy life.
     Probiotics naturally come from whole food.  This is not the food we would buy in a bag or in a box, rather the food that we would grow and cook in your kitchen.  If we slice open a green cabbage and throw some non-iodized salt on it we will see our cabbage begin to weep and become wet.  In this juice, are thousands of live probiotics or microbes that are now coming out of the structure of the cabbage.  If we place our sliced cabbage with salt on it in an anaerobic (no-oxygen) environment (like a ball jar with lid, or in our gut), these microbes will continue to live and do amazing things for our body. 
     Starting in the mid-1900’s people became interested in probiotics and health benefits.  This led to probiotic supplements which we can now find in our drug stores and pharmacy shelves.  They have also begun to advertise probiotics in food such as yogurt and beverages.  Homemade probiotics will be about 8-10 times stronger than the probiotics you can buy in the store.  Your body will notice the difference and you will see results in your energy level, mental clarity and metabolism..  

What can probiotics do? ​
Presently, research is occurring across the country to identify all of the functions of the microbes in our gut. Here are some of the ways we know they can keep you healthy:

• Probiotics replace "good" bacteria in your body. (like after you take antibiotics) 
• Improve the pH of your body from acidic to alkaline to prevent disease and Cancer. 
• Make digestive enzymes to help breakdown and metabolize your food.
• Prevent viral, bad bacterial strains, cancerous, and fungal infections from invading or growing.
• Manufacture the B Vitamins, and Vitamin K, to help your body detox and prevent degenerative disease such as osteoporosis. 
• Synthesize your Seratonin hormone – responsible for keeping you happy.
• Provide optimal body weight by balancing your "good" and "bad" bacteria.

Types of Probiotics
Most of the probiotics on the market today come from two specific families, however, there are many more families of bacteria that you can make at home and that are not available in supplement form.  The probiotics that are most abundant in supplement form are helpful for the upper GI tract or gut.  These would be your Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families.  Many problems or diseases exist however, in the lower gut and this is often more challenging to address, because of the nature of the bacteria and their need to be “anaerobic” or without oxygen.  To make probiotics in a lab without oxygen has been very challenging for our scientists and this is why we do not have very  m any of them.  Fortunately, we can get these microbes from our food and if you are not ingesting some kind of probiotic rich food today, you will need to start soon as it is essential to your health! ​

Human Microbiome Project

The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) was a United States National Institute of Health (NIH) initiative with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms which are found in association with both healthy and diseased humans.  Launched in 2008, the program has made significant discoveries over the past few years. (1)

On 13 June 2012, a major milestone of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) was announced by the NIH director Francis Collins (2). The announcement was accompanied with a series of coordinated articles published in Nature and several journals in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) on the same day. By mapping the normal microbial make-up of healthy humans using genome sequencing techniques, the researchers of the HMP have created a reference database and the boundaries of normal microbial variation in humans.

Source: http://www.serestherapeutics.com/our-science/microbiome-overview

(1) "Human Microbiome Project Diversity of Human MIcrobes Greater     Than Previously Predicted." ​ScienceDaily. Retrieved 8 March 2012.          (2) "Human Microbiome Project." The NIH Common Fund. Retrieved 8 March 2012.

One of the most fascinating revelations is that Microbes contribute more genes responsible for human survival than humans' own genes!  It is estimated that bacterial protein-coding genes are 360 times more abundant than human genes.​ Additionally, the microbiome works to return to a state of equilibrium, even though the composition of bacterial types has changed.  This has huge implications for our human lives as it is  now understood that microbial DNA coding is more abundant than coding of our own human DNA.  Making the saying: "you are what you eat" very appropriate! ​

Diseases That Probiotic Rich Foods Will Help

• Diarrhea/Constipation
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Autoimmune Disease (Hashimoto's, Lupus, etc.)
• Skin Disorders
• Immune System Disorders (HIV, Chronic Infection)
• Lung Disease
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
• Sinusitis/Allergies
• Common Cold
• Oral Health

• Depression
• Arthritis
• Dementia/Alzheimer's
• Heart Disease/Hypertension
• Cystitis/Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Food Sensitivities
• Acne
• Overweight and Obesity