Gut health and Lactobacillus Reuteri
One of my close friends had been experiencing some health issues as of recent and has been trying to figure out a natural way to help herself out. Not wanting to use doctor prescribed medicine if she didn’t have to, which almost always makes you feel better on one hand but gives you side effects and other issues to deal with which keeps the medicine flowing and pharmaceutical companies rich while you continue to feel like crap.
She did a lot of research and found something I had never heard of but was super curious about. L Reuteri yogurt. Have you heard of it? I never had and neither did she. This was found on websites from Dr. William Davis and Dr. Eric Berg. Both are very focused on gut health and healthy gut biome. If all is working harmoniously, your body performs better and you feel better.
Basically, if you have ever had an antibiotic for an infection of some sort in which most of us have in the United States, the Reuteri bacterium is destroyed in our system. This is one of the lactic acid bacterium in our natural system that can help prevent leaky gut syndrome. There’s a bunch of good info on the inter web so I’ll let you research on your own time if you are at all interested.
After doing her research, it seemed like an easy process to try and hopefully get results naturally. Normally, her activity levels are high and she is in good shape and very fit and active. What was concerning was how throughout the day normal activities and work became hard to get through and just became very frustrating. In her research and from what I read, this yogurt could have the beneficial ingredients needed to help out.
The yogurt is very basic and easy to make. Here’s the initial recipe.
1 capsule L. Reuteri powder
2 tablespoons Inulin powder
1 quart organic half and half
Yogurt maker or immersion circulator
Mix the two powders together and add 2 tablespoons of the half and half to make a paste. Let stand to activate for about 10 min. Add the rest of the half and half and whisk together. Fill sanitized jars and cover with fresh bands and lids. Set your yogurt maker to 99 degrees or have your circulated water bath at 99 degrees and add your jars. I use 8 oz Ball jars. Set your timer for 36 hours and that is it. Once the 36 hours has finished take your jars out of the water bath and refrigerate. The first time you make this it will separate, so don’t be upset if it looks that way. It’s supposed to and there isn’t much information on that. It makes it seem like you will get amazing yogurt right out of the gate. Basically what you are doing is making your starter. It’s edible and tastes good, but texturally it will be a bit more like cottage cheese. Below I will show you what to do after this phase. This is the part that is hard to find or know about unless you dig deep on the web or know a little about food.
So basically it’s ver similar to sourdough starter. You take a bit out, feed it and so on and so forth. After you get your first batch made you will take two heaping tablespoons of your base and add it to a clean bowl. You will do the same thing as you did with your powder but this time it’s just yogurt base and no powder. You mix about 2 tablespoons of Organic half and half to this and whisk smooth.
Add the rest of your half and half to the bowl and whisk until smooth. The more you make this the more you’ll see bubbles and foam on top. That is ok. Again, it’s just like bread starter and it starts to feed on the sugars in the dairy..
Pour your finished base into your clean jars and then cover them. Do not over tighten the bands to allow for a bit of expansion. Very similar to water bath canning of jams and jellies. Next, place the jars in your prepared water bath at 99 degrees and let it ferment for 36 hours. After 36 hours, refrigerate for 4 hours to cool and set up. It is ready to consume at this point. If you wish to keep making the yogurt just make sure to use 2 tablespoons of finished yogurt as your starter for each additional batch. Pretty easy and cost effective.
The biggest difference in this base and fermenting time compared to regular yogurt is about 30 hours. Normal yogurt ferments for about 6 hours. It results in billions of CFU per serving. With L. Reuteri yogurt you are getting in the trillions. The length of time and temperature makes the bacteria reproduce at an unprecedented rate which is amazing and beneficial for our health.
What you yield is a super creamy, tangy, slightly fizzy jar of really delicious yogurt. I would say it has a texture and flavor of crème fraîche, the fizz like get in a jar of Kim Chi and the nice buttery soft finish on your palette like mascarpone. These are all things I have always enjoyed eating so I have enjoyed it thus far.
Some of the benefits that are discussed that most folks have said they have seen the results of are as follows. Better digestion, decreased inflammation, slimming waistline, increase in overall energy, less brain fog and better mental clarity, positive mindset, increased muscle mass and strength, increased blood flow, increased libido, decreased food cravings for sugar. These are just a few things that people have said you can possibly see just by trying to add this to your diet.
From what I have seen on my end after a month of eating this and incorporating it into my diet are as follows. Digestion has been good, less brain fog, energy and strength are really good and I have added mass. I have always been good about eating ferments and trying to keep gut health as good as I can so my benefits might be less apparent than a lot of peoples but I think everyone can benefit from it to some degree.
In closing, I just found this fascinating to dive into and learn about. I keep learning something new about this every week as there are so many questions, thoughts and success stories of everyday people trying to feel better without taking medicine. Health and healing is amazingly simplistic but yet so complex at the same time. We have the answers and always have. Our bodies are amazing at healing and producing if you take care of it and give it the things it needs. If you choose synthetics and prescribed medications or if you decide to choose a natural approach with things those are your choices to make. Modern medicine has its place but I also believe that paying attention to what your body and mind need can keep you out of modern medicines way. I don’t know about you but I like the sound of that.
Scott (The Traveling Ungulate)