Probiotics are the good bacteria you want in your gut. Food is the best source of probiotics for general health and wellbeing as food provides a diverse range of types of probiotic strains. Each different probiotic strain provides your body with different health benefits.
Known benefits of an optimal variety of probiotics in your gut includes improved mental health as well as optimal immune function. Probiotics also help with the absorption of nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. One nutrient which you may not have considered is iron.
Iron is an essential mineral needed to transport oxygen around your body and also plays other roles including supporting DNA replication and helps optimise your immune function with its antioxidant properties.
Probiotics when fed prebiotics release short chain fatty acids which cause a downstream effect on the health of your body. Two probiotic strains called Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus seems to have a positive effect on your body’s ability to absorb iron.
When lactobacillus is fed prebiotics such as galacto-oligosaccharide which is found in foods like lentils, chickpeas/hummus, green peas, lima beans and kidney beans cause a decrease in the acid level in your gut which assists with iron absorption. In addition to this benefit probiotics also seem to increase the amount of iron your liver and pancreas take up into your body.
The influence of probiotics is not minor as research has shown that the ability of this probiotic can increase the amount of iron your body absorbs by up to 50%!
Food sources of lactobacillus can be found in:
- Kombucha
- Some cottage cheese
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Miso
- Tempeh
Food sources of Bifidobacterium can be found in:
- Goat dairy products
- Yoghurt
- Kefir
- Seaweed
- Miso soup
A good lifestyle tip is to include 2 sources of probiotic foods each day.
Take home message: Your body’s ability to absorb iron is influenced by many factors. One which you may not have considered is the role of probiotics to support your body's ability to absorb iron. Take on board a food first approach to give your body the best diversity of probiotics to optimise your overall health status.
References:
- https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2015/10/20/Probiotics-increase-iron-absorption-from-fortified-drink-by-50-Study
- https://www.nutraingredients.com/Article/2015/10/20/Probiotics-increase-iron-absorption-from-fortified-drink-by-50-Study
- https://internationalprobiotics.org/probiotics-influence-iron-status/
