10 Healthy Probiotic Foods You Have to Try

Probiotics are created from the good bacteria and yeasts that live naturally in your body and are beneficial to your health. Your body naturally contains both good and bad bacteria but good bacteria helps eliminate extra bad bacteria, can balance your system and help with your gut health. People with digestive issues are often advised by their doctors to eat probiotic foods or take probiotic supplements.

One of the best ways to introduce probiotics into your diet is by eating fermented foods which are rich in probiotics. The process of fermentation, which gives us foods like the sauerkraut that tops our hot dogs, is when one substance is converted to another, usually via yeast or bacteria. Evidence of fermentation dates back to the Stone Ages, and throughout history people have used it as a way to preserve food and drink. Read on to learn more about which probiotic food and drinks you should be consuming for their health benefits, and even how to make them yourself.

It feels like everyone is baking sourdough bread now, and the additional task of making a sourdough starter isn't as daunting as it sounds. The starter involves mixing flour and water together and then letting the mix rest until active yeast and lactic acid bacteria begin to ferment, giving sourdough bread its eponymous sour taste. The starter process takes a few days for the initial fermentation, then requires removing some of the mix and adding more flour and water every day for about five days. At this point you're in business to use some of the starter for sourdough bread. The payoff for all this work is that sourdough bread is high in protein, prebiotics and iron. Find out how to make sourdough bread from our friends at Food Network.

Kefir is a tangy fermented milk beverage that's commonly enjoyed as a smoothie or parfait. The consistency is similar to yogurt, but thinner. Unlike yogurt, it's made with kefir grains, which can be bought online if you're going the DIY route. Kefir's pretty straightforward to make if you have the grains. Simply add them to milk in a glass jar and then wait at least 12 hours for the milk to thicken to your desired consistency. The strained grains can be reused multiple times. Blend with fruit for a healthy smoothie or yogurt parfait, as kefir is said to help prevent osteoporosis. It also contains more probiotics than yogurt, a boon for digestion thanks to lower lactose levels that make kefir better tolerated than milk.

Miso is a salty fermented soybean paste commonly used in Japanese dishes, and in the US, miso soup enjoys mainstream status. Miso paste is made by using a mold grown on grains, such as barley or rice, which is then added to soybeans. The paste can be light or dark due to fermentation times, with white being the mildest and red the most intense. While the truly adventurous can attempt to make miso paste from scratch, the paste is readily available in stores for those who prefer to go straight to a miso recipe. You can also enjoy the health benefits faster: miso is loaded with vitamins B, E and K, plus folic acid. It's also a good source of protein and probiotics.