Bugs in My Breakfast

As I was eating my breakfast this morning, I was thinking how happy my gut would be when my breakfast finally arrived. That may sound like an odd thought, but you should first know what I had for breakfast. I started out with 1/2 of an orange and 1/2 of a banana, which took care of the fruit portion of my breakfast. Then I had 1 cup of cooked steel-cut oatmeal with 1/4 cup of Greek style plain yogurt with active cultures. I added 1/4 cup of 1% milk to moisten the cereal plus about 1 tablespoon of a flavored non-dairy coffee creamer.

Now you may be wondering why my gut would be so happy. The yogurt with its active cultures is considered a probiotic. As per wikipedia.com - "Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: ‘Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’.[1] Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, an ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. Claims are made that probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.So now I have these great little microorganisms running around in my gut. But these little critters like to eat the same as you and me.

The oatmeal I had is very high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, something which these microorganisms love to feed on. The more good guys I can have swimming around in my gut the better.

The idea of eating foods high in probiotics and prebiotics is to increase the number of beneficial microorganisms in the gut in an effort to push the harmful ones out. Research is pointing to inflammation as a participant in such diseases as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating probiotics and prebiotics can potentially decrease inflammation in the body. It's so simple to do so much for yourself. Give my breakfast a try. If nothing else, you will find it is so satisfying and filling that it keeps you going until lunch.

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