Isn’t it Biotic? Unscrambling the Mess behind Health Food Lingo
by Gina LaverdeProbiotics… prebiotics… antibiotics… macrobiotics – the media is full of contradicting information on these topics. But, you don’t need to spend the next millennium decoding labels. Here, the biotic list is simplified.
- Probiotic
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These are living organisms that safely reside in your gut. They work to ward off infection and balance harmful yeasts. You can take these in the form of pills or food supplements in order to maintain a proper balance of them in your gut.
Probiotic foods are more bio available and can be assimilated more efficiently. Probiotic pills, on the other hand, can possibly be broken down and killed by your digestive acids before they reach their destination. Cultured veggies, raw milk kefir, coconut kefir, and raw kombucha tea are all healthy probiotic choices. All of these can be made at home with some effort. Kombucha tea is probably the most popular choice these days and is available at most health food and vitamin shops.
- Prebiotic
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These are food for the good bacteria that already resides in your digestive tract. Consuming raw apple cider vinegar and FOS (inulin) – a fiber taken from chicory root, empowers your friendly flora to do their job better. These can be taken in pill form as well. Florastor is a popular brand that can be purchased at any drug store. When the body has a hard time accepting probiotics, it is often a good idea to introduce prebiotics first.
- Antibiotic
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These were a God-send at their discovery. Antibiotics destroy all bacteria in the body, and can be very helpful during serious infections. If used only when absolutely necessary – and followed with a series of pro and/or prebiotics antibiotics can be a healthy choice. However, when over-used, antibiotics cause more pain than pleasure. They undo the benefits of the pro and pre biotics, and help manifest stronger diseases.
- Macrobiotic
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This is a diet plan that has proven beneficial to everyone from monks to modern celebrities. While, not directly related to the above three terms – it’s pros and cons have a direct affect on our digestive tracts. This diet groups foods based on their energy producing characteristics. The goal is to balance foods that cause our bodies to expand with those that cause our bodies to contract. This varies during times of stress etc. People who practice macrobiotics may need to take caution with meal combining. The word “macro” (large) refers to the consumption of staple foods (macronutrients). Suggested meals often contain heavy amounts of grains. Without a strong gut – one needs more vegetables and herbs to help break down grains.
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August 13th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Awesome article. To be honest, I wasn’t too sure about the term “macrobiotics.” It was labeled on a lot of the prepared food I purchased at Whole Foods, but just assumed that it was a certain way it was grown. Thanks, Gina!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
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January 13th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Thank you so much. I hear these terms so often. Recently mentioned on Oprah but I usually have no idea what they are or mean.
I am still a little unclear on macriobiotics. What kind of plan is it? Is it like the Atkin’s diet??
January 13th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Hey Meir,
Glad this helped you. Macrobiotics dates back to ancient China. While it does govern what foods we put in our bodies, it is much more of a way of life than something like Atkins. Macrobiotics is a vegetarian diet that teaches us to eat foods that are local, and that our diets will change during times of personal stress or climate changes etc. Its about keeping balance in our bodies by providing ourselves with the proper nutrition as our needs change. I found this website that offers some help — Wholesome Balance - Macrobiotics