The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics recommends the consumers to avoid using supplements that list the number of CFUs as ‘at the time of manufacture’ as this information does not take into consideration the decline in CFUs over the supplement’s shelf life.

Fermented foods such as yogurt which is produced from milk using live cultures such as L. bulgarius, L. acidophilus, and S. thermophilus, are rich sources of live and beneficial microbes. In addition, these products are good sources of vitamins such as vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, protein, and calcium.

Most live bacteria survive well in food products throughout the shelf life. However, they may not survive the highly acidic environment in the stomach, and consequently, fail to colonize in the alimentary track. On the contrary, certain fermented foods such as yogurt, buttermilk, cottage cheese, and sour cream, contain the beneficial probiotic strains that survive in the intestinal tract.

Other fermented foods such as sourdough bread and commercial pickles do not contain live probiotic cultures because they do not survive the processing step after fermentation. Many cheeses, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, miso, pickles, and raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar contain live cultures.

Tip: Incorporate food that contains probiotics into a healthy, well balanced diet to maintain a healthy microbiota and obtain benefits from nutrients present in the food.

There are several probiotic products available in the market. Yogurt, kefir, traditional buttermilk and cottage cheese are good sources of probiotics. In addition to probiotics, these products are good sources of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, phosphorus, selenium, and protein. Here is a quick, nutritious, and tasty alternative to ranch dipping that also includes a probiotic serving to our diets.