Tracy Olgeaty Gensler - Probiotic and Prebiotic Recipes for Health: 100 Recipes that Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders

100 Recipes That Battle Colitis, Candidiasis, Food Allergies, and Other Digestive Disorders

TRACY OLGEATY GENSLER,

M.S., R.D.

I am deeply grateful to the following people

for their dedication to this project:

Michelle Hering Kennedy, M.S., C.P.T.,

Amy Anderson, Ph.D. candidate,

David A. Mark, Ph.D.,

Z Altug, M.S., P.T., C.S.C.S.

Some people say you are what you eat. And maybe theyre right. After all, every bit of bacteria that sets up camp in your digestive system is there because you ate it, drank it, breathed it in, or touched it. Its well established that much of our immunityour ability to fight the common cold, the stomach flu, and maybe even cancer and a host of other diseasesis linked to the bacteria that harbor in the large intestine. Smoking, gastric bypass surgery, and even drinking alcohol can alter intestinal bacteria, allowing bad bacteria to triumph over the good, leaving you vulnerable to digestive upset and illness.

We seek out opportunities to make dietary changes to improve our chances of staying healthy, missing less work, enjoying vacations, and living well into our retirement years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, Its no secret that good nutrition plays an essential role in maintaining health, with campaigns focusing on eating well for the healthiest body weight. The American Heart Association offers diet tips for preventing sudden heart attacks and managing blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and body weight. The USDA Dietary Guidelines include simple, health-promoting guidance that mirrors the probiotic and prebiotic recipes included in this book, which

emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat milk and milk products;

include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts;

are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Eating healthfully for disease prevention is the cry heard around the planet, and functional foods such as probiotics are gaining popularity as people strive to improve their health. Health professionals such as gastroenterologists, nutritionists, and researchers are recommending probiotic and prebiotic foods to help alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms and improve immunity. By choosing a probiotic- and prebiotic-rich diet, the millions of people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, and other digestive disorders can get some relief from symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, and discomfort.

The research regarding the health benefits of probiotic and prebiotic foods is limited but very promising, with literally hundreds of current studies on the topic. The press is also hot on the probiotics trail, with frequent features on television, in newspapers, and in consumer magazines. In addition to the delicious recipes inside, this book spells it all out for you: how the digestive system works and why the correct balance of bacteria in your digestive tractencouraged by probiotic and prebiotic foodsleads to better defense against many illnesses. Youll also learn how easy it is to choose probiotic and prebiotic foods from the grocery shelf and the four important questions to ask to make sure the products are right for you. In addition, this book offers suggestions for understanding how to read research studiesan important skill moving forward on your path to optimal health.

While there is growing interest in natural, health-promoting diets, it can be hard to translate this to food selection and preparation. In this book, youll find easy recipes for weaving probiotic and prebiotic foods into your daily meals. One hundred recipes await: breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, including delicious dishes such as Waldorf salad (with toasted walnuts and thinly sliced tart green apple over a bed of baby greens, tossed in a creamy yogurt-poppy salad dressing), blackberry smoothie, fresh purple and green cabbage salad topped with sauted tempeh cubes, and whole-wheat pasta with an olive and garlic marinara sauce. The ingredients are minimal, which makes this book a recipe for success!

Like many of the bodys systems, your digestive system is a medical marvel. Digestive juices, enzymes, and bacteria live in your digestive tract and help to digest food. When youre born, your digestive tract is a clean slate with no microbes or bacteria at all, but nature solves this problem right away. The moment you took your first taste of milk and put your thumb in your mouth, both good and bad bacteria started to make their homes in your intestines. Bacteria are microbes that can live just about anywhere. They reproduce often and easily and move about effortlessly via thread-like attachments that look like a tail. The bacteria in your digestive tract are a complex ecosystem harboring about 1,000 micro-organisms composed of nearly 400 bacterium species.

New research shows that a balance of bacteria is critical to overall health, with reported health benefits such as fighting diarrhea and improving your immune function. Good bacteria are vital for development of your immune system. The vast majority of the time, as a result of this well-maintained balance, you dont get sick when youre exposed to illness-causing germs. When the delicate balance of good-versus-bad bacteria is overthrown, however, disease-causing bad bacteria can take over the good bacteria and upset the normal, healthy balance in your gut. Yeasts, fungi, and parasites can also contribute to this unhealthy balance.

Bacteria in your digestive tract also help you digest fiber, which your digestive tract is not otherwise equipped to do. Plant foods that provide these indigestible components are particularly healthful; in a strange turn of events, as your bacteria help to digest fiber from plant foods, the by-products of digestion actually feed your intestinal cells. This keeps your digestive system fueled and running smoothly and is why health professionals around the planet strongly recommend a fiber-rich diet, which will be easy to get with the recipes in this book.

A healthy balance of digestive flora can also help produce lactase, an enzyme that digests the milk sugar lactose. Certain probiotic bacteria help alleviate the symptoms of lactose intolerance, relieve diarrhea and constipation, and treat colitis. Research suggests that maintaining a healthy balance of bacteria through a diet rich in probiotic and prebiotic foods can help you

increase nutrient bioavailablity (your bodys ability to use a nutrient);

treat food allergies, suppress tumors, and detoxify carcinogens;

treat rheumatoid arthritis;

improve urogenital health;

lower blood cholesterol LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and triglycerides, reducing your risk for heart disease;

lower blood pressure in people with hypertension;

reduce risk of colon or bladder cancer;