How To Make Your Own Probiotic Food
Most of you have heard the term “probiotics.” So today, let’s discuss them, specifically what they are, why you need them, and how to get probiotics from your food, as people have been doing for ages. I mean, really, we constantly say “eat some fermented foods,” but how hard is it to do that? Let me show you how easily you can do this in your own kitchen.
What Are Probiotics?
Here’s a term I know you’ve heard: antibiotics, those substances we use to kill off bacteria. Well, probiotics are basically the opposite of that. They are substances that promote bacterial growth. In the words of the WHO,
Probiotics are: “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host”
To cut to the chase, they’re the bacteria that sit in your intestines. And there are lots and lots of these little buggers in your guts. In fact, there are far more of them than there are cells in your body, to the tune of 10 times as many.
Why Are Probiotics Beneficial?
Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to believe that bacteria are bad. From antibacterial soaps to doctors handing out antibiotics like they’re candy, we pretty much make sure as many bacteria as possible are wiped out. But that’s not a good thing. Sure, antibiotics are a necessity when the risk of infection is high, such as during surgery, and therefore have helped increase our life span markedly.
The reality is that we overuse antibiotics majorly. From antibacterial soaps to doctors passing out courses of antibiotics every time you step through the door with a sore throat (mostly so you’ll go away), it’s safe that most of us have pretty well taken care of all of the bacteria in our lives. But they don’t selectively kill off the bad bacteria. They are “anti” all bacteria and your intestines pay the price for our overuse.
Basically, the bacteria in your intestines handle a few minor jobs for you, such as:
- Digesting your food
- Fighting off pathogenic bacteria before they actually enter the body, i.e., front-line immune system defense
- Keeping things, umm…moving in the bathroom
Basically, these little guys in your guts are out there fighting for you and freeing up the nutrients you eat so your body can absorb them. Just minor things like that. Given their importance, it’s pretty obvious that you better be doing something to keep them happy.
What Foods Contain Probiotics?
Start with a load of vegetables or a beverage like milk and allow the bacteria to do what they do. Specifically, they ferment sugars and excrete lactic acid (and alcohol if using specific types of yeasts, as in brewing), which brings about several beneficial enhancements to food:
- enrichment of the diet through development of a diversity of flavors, aromas, and textures in food substrates.
- preservation of substantial amounts of food through lactic acid, alcohol, acetic acid and alkaline fermentations.
- biological enrichment of food substrates with protein, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, and vitamins.
- detoxification during food-fermentation processing.
- a decrease in cooking times and fuel requirements.
- produce important nutrients or eliminate antinutrients.
- can make dairy products tolerable for lactose-intolerant people.
There are numerous foods you can eat with probiotic properties. A few of the more common that you’ve probably heard of are:
- Sauerkraut
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Kombucha
- Kimchi, pao cai, and other cultural forms of pickled vegetables
These foods and beverages are all so ridiculously simple to make that you’ll hopefully start including them in your diet and skip the store-bought versions, which are often pasteurized, which pretty much defeats the purpose since pasteurization kills off the bacteria.
As a final note, if you make these fermented foods at home, do not use metal containers for the fermentation as the acidity can leach materials from them.
How To Make Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is exceedingly easy to make. At it’s most basic, it’s just salted cabbage that’s left to ferment, though I usually add some other vegetables, like onions, radishes, or carrots; various herbs and spices, like basil, fennel, thyme, oregano, coriander, or dill; and sometimes even some apples. Kimchi and other fermented vegetables are made similarly and you can find recipes for them all over Google.
I’ve detailed one of my sauerkraut making adventures previously. I still use a similar process, though in much larger quantities, as I now have a huge glass jar with an opening about 9″ across that holds 4-6 heads of cabbage, depending on their size. As such, there is no need to use rolled cabbage leaves to hold the kraut under the brine. I just press a bowl or plate down in the middle to weight the kraut and push it down such that the brine level rises above the top.
It takes about an hour or two of work for me to cut up the cabbage, salt it down, and pack it into the jar, then it has to sit for a couple weeks. During this time, my work is minimal, basically just making sure that the cabbage stays pressed below the brine level. So let’s be conservative and say that it takes me 2 hours of work to yield about 3 months of sauerkraut. Not a bad return on your time investment, eh?
How To Make Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented tea. Basically, you make a really sweet tea, then add it to a kombucha mother and let the magic begin. Here is how I do it using the recipe given to me by the guy that runs my co-op:
- Make a tea concentrate with a ratio of 2 cups water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tbsp each of green and black tea. Don’t worry, the bacteria ferments the sugar.
- Bring it all to a boil, dissolve the sugar, then skim out the tea.
- Once the tea is cool, add 3/4 of a cup of this starter liquid and 3 1/4 cups of water to your fermentation jar.
The only real requirements for making kombucha are to have a large fermentation jar, such as a vodka infusion jar, a kombucha mother (or “mushroom” or “scoby” as some call them), and the above ingredients for making tea. But where to get a mother?
Well, you can find a friendly person that makes their own kombucha and get them to rip you off a piece and give you some of their kombucha as a starter. That’s how I scored mine. But if you either don’t know any friendly people or don’t know anyone that makes kombucha, you can make your own mother.
I will take some pictures the next time I mess with my kombucha and walk you through the process. Once again, this is a minimal time investment, perhaps 10 minutes to make the starter concentrate and 5 minutes every few days to decant some finished kombucha and fill the jar back up. Fifteen minutes per week and I have kombucha everyday.
How To Make Yogurt
Yogurt is one that I’ve never made and don’t consume because I don’t eat much in the way of dairy. However, it also appears to be pretty easy. You basically take milk, add a yogurt culture, and voila. There are a few more steps in there, such as heating and stirring, but for the most part, it’s a straight-forward process that you already have the tools for. Here is a set of instructions to make yogurt from pasteurized milk. As far as I know, making it from raw milk is a similar process.
How To Make Kefir
Kefir is another fermented dairy beverage that lots of people I know make at home. Take some milk, preferably raw, add some kefir “grains” (a combination of bacteria and yeasts), and then wait. One to two days later, you have kefir and it cost you nothing other than the price of the milk.
As with kombucha, the only real problem here is securing some kefir grains. A quick Google search, however, turned up numerous websites and mailing lists where you can find people that will ship them to you, some for free, some for cost. This website has a list of sites including two Yahoo! mailing lists that will probably be helpful.
Get Ye A Probiotic Supplement
This one is more of a back-up than a front-line defense. While I try to keep kombucha and sauerkraut on hand all the time, I also keep probiotic supplements in my fridge. If I wake up feeling a bit less than awesome (hard to believe, I know), I pop 3 or 4 probiotic pills and let them do their thing and usually I feel at least somewhat better soon after. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a good back-up plan to have.
I also take them with me on trips since I can’t really cart bottles of kombucha (unless I want to take a bunch of 3oz bottles in a plastic bag) or containers of sauerkraut onto a plane with me. I spent the weekend in Chicago and took probiotic pills with me instead. You can find lots of different kinds of probiotics at Vitamin Shoppe, if you want to have some to keep on hand.
Adverse Effects Of Probiotics
Probiotics actually have very few known side effects. Until today, the only known adverse effect of probiotic supplementation I’d heard of was “loose stools” (yeah, diarrhea) and that only came with extreme levels. Apparently, there are a few others, such as:
Hypothetically, it is possible that these “friendly” bacteria could overcolonize the colon in people with severely compromised immune systems. While this hypothetical risk has never been recorded in medical literature, people with weak immune systems are advised to consult a physician before taking probiotics.
Common side effects are generally mild and resolve themselves without treatment. As the body adjusts its floral balance, the person may experience gas, bloating, or general discomfort.
From eHow
Wild Fermentation By Sandor Katz
A couple years ago, I looked at my bookshelf and realized that I never got around to re-reading any of my books and sold them all. One of the few that I’ve actually purchased to keep since then is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz
If you’re interested in getting into fermentation, it’s a good place to start, as Sandor has taken a lot of the trial and error out of the process. Though trial and error is a fun way to play too.
Have I missed any major sources of probiotics? Have you improved your health with any of the above foods (or a supplement)?
22 Reader Comments
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Great article. I was having issues in the incontinence department until I jumped on the probiotic bandwagon a couple of weeks ago; I’m so consistent now, that I could set a watch to my bowel movements.
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My son quit breastfeeding a few months ago and since then each month he’d deal with a case of the sniffles and a chesty cough that would then turn into a smokers cough. The ND suggested that it might be an imbalance of Staphylococcus aureus so we dealt with the immediate complaints with a round of homeopathy specific for the smokers cough (worst case, it doesn’t work). A month later, chesty cough was back… Following on the S. aureus line of thought, I decided to go strongly on the powdered probiotics – likely he wasn’t getting mine anymore and the shift away from breast milk could have changed his internal environment, causing a shift in microbes. So, we did double doses of KAL’s “Multisaurus” for kids (high in the bifidobacteria, lactobacteria which kids need, with added spirulina). After a week, the cough was gone. I should add that my son eats homemade lactofermented dill pickles regularly, so I think sometimes probiotic supplements are needed to induce a substantial change in flora.
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Great, informative artclie, Scott! Thanks so much for taking the time to lay this out so thoroughly.
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This is interesting. My wife has trouble with her tummy, and has started taking a probiotic supplement, and I’ve recently discovered kefir as an excellent alternative to yogurt.
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Good stuff. I’ve been making my own yogurt for about a year. Once I accidentally ate my starter, or I’d still be using some from that first batch. it’s still weird to think I’m using yogurt that’s in it’s eighth generation! I’m eating some old food.
I’ve also made kim chi for years, but I’ve yet to make a batch that’s as good as I can get at the korean market. I have to figure out that secret.
Sauerkraut comes next!
Roland
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Winters, same here. Eat enough fat and good fermented foods and there’s no need for the fiber we’re told we need so desperately.
Jennifer, I agree with you that initially people probably need to do a loading dose of probiotic supplements since most of us have messed up our internal environments from pharmaceuticals, sugar, processed foods, etc. After that, hopefully fermented foods/drinks can manage it, though as I said, I do keep supplements as a back-up.
Greg, I’ve seen people make marked improvements in digestion and stomach issues with the addition of probiotics.
Roland, I haven’t tried kimchi since I try to avoid nightshades. But sauerkraut is pretty easy. Just shred the cabbage and let it ferment.
Cheers
Scott
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Have the book, few of my pics were on Sandy’s site. Great guy and fermented food rocks, right up there with Tongue and Heart.
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I’m on the specific carbohydrate diet, which is meant to treat digestive disorders. Some things I’ve learned about yogurt and probiotics:
– When I decide to make yogurt, I use an SCD approved dairy free starter (giprohealth.com carries a good yogurt starter) and I ferment my yogurt for 24 hours at the appropriate temperature. This effectively removes all the lactose, which is a primary cause of digestive troubles.
– Bifidus probiotics are very popular but can cause a lot of trouble in digestively imbalanced people. Plain acidophilus and S. boulardii are much better choices.
– Don’t buy that crap probiotic yogurt. It’s only some bifidus plus fiber, with plenty of lactose. I think it would cause more problems than it would solve.
– If you are going to use a store-bought yogurt as your starter, do not use several generations of yogurt to make more batches! Once removed is as far as you should go. There’s no telling what bacteria will make it into your “old” yogurt — bacteria is bacteria, and will multiply regardless of whether you want it to or not.
– You don’t need a fancy yogurt maker — a digital thermometer and a heating pad on the counter work just fine.
Hope that helps!
Susan
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Good article! Probiotics are the missing link between ancestral and modern diet… I think they go way back, probably predating most civilizations. What better way to store food without a fridge? Is beer probiotic
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Ha! This is a kick ass solution to pills. I’ve been making yogurt since I was a lil 8 year old brat. The best way is to leave it in the oven with the light bulb on over night. The mild heat from the light helps it get to the perfect temperature. You gota pre-stir this (Duh…).
I’m also not a huge fan of dairy but a cup of yogurt everyday is super important.
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I make my own version of kimchi, which is really just a cross between sauerkraut and kimchi. I do add just a little spicy pepper (small “finger peppers”, so mildly hot) but it isn’t anywhere near as hot as the real thing. However, I like the added flavor that kraut doesn’t offer. Here are the things I usually use, but I mix it up a bit from batch to batch.
Napa cabbage (a Chinese cabbage, more leafy than cabbage)
onions or scallions
carrots
radish or daikon radish (white and milder than red radishes)
minimal finger peppers (small, like jalapenos)
ginger
garlic
sea salt
You could easily leave out the peppers and be nightshade free. Some dishes lend themselves to regular kraut, but this is a great alternative. Lastly, experiment and add whatever YOU like, there are no rules.
I put mine in a two gallon crock, cover with a plate and keep it all under the liquid for a week or two. Occasionally a little mold appears and I just scrape it off. It is on the surface and not within the kimchi so it doesn’t ruin the batch. It is most common in warmer times of the year.
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We love our probiotics – I try to include something with every meal. We’ll have a batch of sauerkraut going tomorrow and hopefully some sour beets later this week.I really like water kefir as an alternative to kombucha.
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This is very helpful information. I love that you recommend making your own food. It will be so much healthier than food that could have toxins in it. Probiotics can help everyone fight off illnesses when they have enough in their system.
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Thanks for another great article. I had often wondered about making my own yogurt, thanks for the link to that recipe.
-Jess
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Interesting related story in the news, about Dannon being sued for the overstated benefits of their “healthy bacteria” Activia yogurt:
“The suit alleged that ads for both Activia and DanActive yogurt exaggerated their beneficial effects on human health. The ads promote the yogurt as improving digestion and have become well known for their goofiness; a recent Activia iteration features actress Jamie Lee Curtis, seated on a couch, noting that “our busy lives sometimes force us to eat the wrong things at the wrong times,” and promoting Activia as the solution to “digestive issues.”
A voiceover in the ad claims that Activia is “clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks” if eaten every day.
The ads credit Bifidus Regularis, a Dannon-created name for bacteria found in mammals’ large intestines, with Activia’s positive effects on digestion. ”
http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/09/21/dannon-settles-activia-lawsuit.aspx
and more suits to come….
“The firm is apparently confident in its legal strategy; it’s now pushing forward with a similar suit targeting General Mills’ Yoplait Yo-Plus yogurt. That item is similarly advertised as promoting good health by regulating digestive pathways. In its complaint against General Mills, Coughlin Stoia says that the company falsely claims to have “clinical proof” to back up its claims. That suit is being heard in Florida.”
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This is a really interesting article. I have been a huge believer in probiotics, and just recently started drinking Kombucha… Love it! Prefer the Synergy brand.
I also tried the Pop Culture Probiotic Bars. This company makes non-refrigerated probiotic granola bars. So yummy, and only 90 calories! I don’t know if I could make my own probiotic foods. I would be too concerned with it not turning out right… Good idea in theory though!
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Susan, great info. Thanks!
Mike, unfortunately the alcohol kills the bacteria. T’is unfortunate, indeed.
FitJerk, do you use raw milk or pasteurized? I don’t eat dairy other than the occasional raw cheese from my farmers, but I could get interested in kefir and yogurt that I could make at home.
Rodney, I actually never make just plain ol’ kraut. I always add various other veggies, fruits, and herbs. It’s not necessarily kimchi, but it’s not really “sauerkraut” per se either. It’s basically just a truckload of fermented stuff.
Jenny, what is water kefir?
Dr. Konarik, I’m a fan of making as much of your own food as possible.
Mike OD, very interesting. About time someone starts calling these manufacturers on their BS claims.
Elisabeth, it’s actually very easy. I’ve only had a couple batches of kraut that didn’t turn out properly. For the most part, it’s a pretty hands-off process. Kombucha is especially easy. Once you have the culture and get it started, the acidity keeps it from going bad. You should give it a shot. =)
Cheers
Scott
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I enjoy nice homemade Bulgarian yogurt. Awesome stuff! Thanks for this guide! You got a stumble from me!
Yavor
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I’ve got “Probiotics 12 plus” and “Primal Defense” on the way. Taking both of those daily give a big variety of different bugs. Interested to see the effects.
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Yours is the first website that I came to after Googling “How To Make Your Own Probiotics.” My husband and I, at this point, have typical yucky American diet and really want to change. I am fairly ill with constant migraines, have hypothyroidism and depression. My husband has issues of his own. We just watched a DVD by Brenda Watson and she recommended that once you’re at the maintenance level, getting approximately 5-6 Billion per day in probiotics. We want to try to make our own so that we do not have the expense of buying this stuff in capsule form in a bottle. Not cheap! My question is….how does one know how many billions one is getting with these different recipes? I personally would not have the foggiest idea.
Thanks so much for listing all of this. I’m sure that it will be a great help to us.
I would much prefer yogurt or kefer, but dairy triggers migraines in me darnit, so will try to figure out something else that we can easily and quickly take daily. Though we both like sauerkraut, I certainly cannot see us taking it daily, so will probably choose otherwise.
Thanks in advance to any help offered!
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skustes Reply:
Hey Mindy, I’m not sure there’s anyway to measure the amount of probiotic activity in fermented foods. I just know that they are good for me, so I eat them.
Have you tried real yogurt or kefir to see if they still trigger migraines?
Cheers
Scott
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Hi Scott,
Thanks so much for answering! I have not tried the real yogurt or kefir. Does the fermentation process eat up the lactose do you know?
I am a fairly ill person and have been told that until my body is well and at maintenance level I ought to be taking approx 50 billion per day in Probiotics which is why I asked if there is a way to gauge this in fermented foods. I am so new to this that I am unsure and wanting to make sure that I have enough if I go the way of fermented foods as opposed to the supplements. Might you know of where I can find this information out or do you have recommendations on how much one should eat daily in the way of these fermented foods?
Just a little nervous and confused about the whole thing, but soooo want to get well.
Thanks for your help and patience with me.
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skustes Reply:
Mindy, I think fermentation does breakdown some of the lactose. Regardless, it seems that fermentation into kefir and yogurt help with lactose digestion.
if you need that high of a probiotic intake, you’re likely going to need some supplements to ensure that you get there. I’m not sure you’d need to take them forever though, just to get your gut health back up to par and then smaller amounts from supplements and fermented foods. Obviously best to consult a doctor there.
Cheers
Scott
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I have had many health problems, recently I saw an herbalist since no doctor for years could figure out what was wrong. I started on a yeast kill off that includes other things too. ( bad bugs) then he told me to make and take probiotics. Much of the health problems have subdued, He said to put a grain in a bowl and water and let it sit then take the bubbled up water. any suggestions.
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MarkG Reply:
What are the other steps you are taking to kill off the yeast? I’d love go know.
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jojo mcglynn Reply:
black walnut husks soak in water then take some of the water (the greener and smaller walnut husk the better), plant enzymes, lower bowel formula http://www.drchristophersherbshop.com/search.php?zoom_query=lower+bowl+
, Soothing Digestion formula then the probiotics made from any grain sitting in water a few days
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jojo mcglynn Reply:
fen LB (lower bowel) has: wildcrafted cascara sagrada bark, wildcrafted barberry bark. wildcrafted golden seal root, fennel seed, cayenne 40 MHU, wildcrafted red raspberry leaf, organic turkey rhubarb, organic ginger root, & wildcrafted lobelia herb
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jojo mcglynn Reply:
oh black walnut husks sit in water best if green then take the black water
fen LB (lower bowel) has: wildcrafted cascara sagrada bark, wildcrafted barberry bark. wildcrafted golden seal root, fennel seed, cayenne 40 MHU, wildcrafted red raspberry leaf, organic turkey rhubarb, organic ginger root, & wildcrafted lobelia herb.
I’v been taking each one for two days then move on to next thing after I stop the one I was just taking.
after I take the probiotic at the end of the week I start over again for another week.
As a starter, I take what works for me. I took less of each and worked up.