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Building Up The All-Important Bifido Bacteria
Missing Microbes
One of the most important bacteria you have is called Bifidobacteria. It is the one your mother gave you at birth. Bifidobacteria become the predominant (95%) microorganism in the intestine within a week after birth. [1,2,3] They call it the young bacteria and it is extremely important for adults too, although it often diminishes when it doesn't have to. These beneficial bacteria digest dietary fiber, help prevent infection, activate your immune system to fight pathogens, and produce vitamins and other important chemicals. Having lots of Bifido feeds your other bacteria too. Low counts of Bifidobacteria have been linked to many things such as diabetes, obesity, autism, and cancer. [4,5,6,7,8,9]
The American Journal of Gastroenterology [10,11] has shown research done by Dr. Sabine Hazan MD. Her research has found that Bifidobacteria has been shown to be critical in inflammatory diseases such as severe COVID-19, obesity, and the aging process. The latest peer-reviewed research suggests that the COV-2 vaccine decreases levels of Bifidobacteria and not just a little, but can be cut in half or more months after the vaccine. I want to be clear — this is not a debate about the vaccine. This is me helping you take care of one of the most important microbes that will in turn take care of you. There is a powerful prebiotic (HMOs) like the one you got at birth and we have two new cultures with Bifidobacteria in them because this is so important. Consuming prebiotics and these delicious cultured foods is one of the best ways to get your microbes to grow and stay thriving. You can build Bifidobacteria back and it is not hard. The researcher herself did it with fermented foods after her Bifidobacteria dropped to zero. She experimented on herself and a bunch of other medical colleagues who wanted to make sure they took care of their microbiomes. I want to encourage you to take care of this important microbe. Let me show you how. HMOs are a great place to start.
What Are HMOs?
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are specific carbohydrates and essentially super prebiotics occurring naturally in mother's milk. Consuming HMOs is one of the best ways to make more Bifidobacteria. And no, you're not drinking human milk, but rather a prebiotic (specifically made by a process of fermentation) that creates more Bifidobacteria. Once you take HMOs, you'll have a lot of Bifidobacteria which will feed your other good bacteria too.
When you consume HMOs, they not only help to promote the growth of Bifidobacterium but also Akkermansia muciniphila, which will help heal, seal, and protect the gut lining. It's one of the foundations of a healthy gut.
HMOs help improve the immune system by stimulating innate immune system responses, inhibiting pathogens like E.Coli, and reducing inflammation. Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis (B. infantis) also boosts the production of proteins that close gaps between gut cells to keep microbes out of the bloodstream and increase anti-inflammatory molecules that boost the immune system. To achieve those beneficial results, B. infantis has to feed on HMOs.[12,13,14]
They also help with cognitive health. The metabolites in HMOs promote brain development, neuronal transmission, and cognition.
Get More Bifido bacterium
You should always start out slowly with HMOs. You're building a lot of good bacteria in your gut and they work in numbers so they'll want to do their job going after pathogens and basically cleaning house. Go slowly and take breaks if you need to. Read my article on the Healing Crisis for more help.
I took one scoop of HMOs every day and placed it in my kefir smoothie with frozen or fresh berries for about 12 days. Kefir feeds HMOs so that is how I started consuming it.
After two weeks, I added two scoops to my smoothies every day and also made sure I consumed berries in my smoothies too, along with Red Phenol powder which also feeds Bifidobacteria powerfully. Check out this article for recommendations on berries: Why You Should Eat Berries Every Day — 50+ Recipes
I did this every day until the jar was empty. Continuing to feed this bacteria is very important and easily done. Having a kefir smoothie every day with berries (frozen or fresh) and even Red Phenol Powder is one of the easiest ways to keep it fed and happy. It's so important to eat lots of fibrous vegetables and fruits to keep your microbes happy and thriving. Remember, you can change your gut in a short amount of time just by changing what you eat. This goes both ways, good and bad. Eat a lot of garbage and your microbes will suffer and so will you. You want to have the ability to steer immune populations toward health, and feeding good bacteria does the job quite effectively.
What To Look for When Taking HMOs
We tend to start noticing the best gut health effects when our Bifidobacteria populations soar upwards of 80-90%. This is when we can say we have achieved good overall gut health.
So what are some signs to look for to know if we’re on the right track?
Here are some signs:
▶️ 1-3 bowel movements a day
▶️ Bowel movements have little to no odor
▶️ Energy levels are very high
▶️ An overall lack of GI-related issues
The gut microbiome can change extremely quickly. This is also why you tend to notice a positive result from taking HMOs in just 3 days. Depending on your current gut health status, the time it takes to achieve a healthy gut can vary. It’s important to start slowly on the journey, be consistent, and track your progress.
For best results, we recommended starting with HMOs combined with Bifidobacteria-promoting foods.
▶️ Polyphenols: Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pomegranates, cherries, and Red phenol powder.
▶️ Resistant Starch: Cooked and cooled potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown rice, black beans, chickpeas, lentils, Oat Milk Yogurt Plus.
▶️ Inulin and Beta-glucans: Bananas, steel-cut oats, Jerusalem artichokes, lightly cooked asparagus, mushrooms, seaweed, garlic, Prebio Plus, and onions.
▶️ Raw/lightly cooked green veggies: Bok choy, cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, spinach, kale, and arugula.
▶️ Fermented foods with Bifido: Yogurt Plus, Kefir Soda. See below.
Building Bifido Bacterium
Where to find HMOs
The good people at Layer Origin have made several fabulous products with HMOs. You can find HMOs in powder form or capsules. I am so appreciative of this company. They're great people who have done a great service with not only their HMOs but also their Apple Peel products and Simple Reds which I sell and use personally.
Here are links to get them on Amazon and Layer Origin, and I also have them available in my store:
Yogurt Plus with Bifido Bacterium
I love this product, and lately I have been obsessed with having yogurt plus made with homemade oat milk. It only takes a little bit to make this yogurt, and wow is it good. It not only has Bifido bacteria but is loaded with resistant starch that feeds Bifido like crazy. You can make Yogurt Plus in all kinds of ways with different kinds of milk and even cultured cream which is to die for! I have lots of ways to make this wonderful yogurt and I have more recipes coming!
New Ways to Keep Bifido Strong — Kefir Soda
We have a new product that we made with Cutting Edge Cultures. It contains some of my very favorite good bacteria and yeasts, and Bifido is one of them!
This kefir soda contains beneficial bacteria strains and good yeasts to help you make a fun, bubbly, and healthy replacement for soda! Each package can make you dozens of liters of kefir soda if you make it often.
The strains and yeasts metabolize the natural sugar found in fruit juice or coconut water, resulting in an effervescent drink that is loaded with probiotics, and it's super fun to make.
This is something I put in my kefir smoothies, and what a difference it has made. My energy went through the roof and even my husband and kids started consuming it. They, too, noticed a huge change in energy. Red phenol powders are a combination of berries and fruits that is food for the good bacteria in your gut, such as Bifidobacteria and Akkermansia muciniphila.
Simple Reds contains organic whole beetroot powder, organic whole cranberry powder, organic goji berry powder, organic whole strawberry powder, and organic apple peel powder.
You can get red phenols in many places. This is the one I use, but there are many different brands to choose from. Highly recommended!
Listen To My Podcast
One of the most important bacteria you have is called Bifidobacteria. They call it the young bacteria which is extremely important for adults too, although it often diminishes when it doesn't have to. Bifdio helps to activate your immune system and more. Learn how to build it up and keep it strong.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4923077
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6200668/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4350908/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4448301/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3829625/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215189/
- https://cancerci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12935-021-01971-3
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263109
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.631140/full
- https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2022/10002/s227_messenger_rna_sars_cov_2_vaccines_affect_the.227.aspx
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20587384211059677
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5082288/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5722804/
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1921223117
- https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2022/10002/s227
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