Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are beneficial and essential for health, specifically healthy digestion (gut health), and strong immune system.

If you’re like most people, you have been taught that yogurt is an excellent source of these beneficial gut bacteria. But don’t be fooled into thinking you’re getting your healthy bacteria you need from store bought commercial yogurt, because you’re not.

Yogurt (even Greek yogurt) you find in stores is what I call flash fermented. This means yogurt manufacturers are short cutting the fermentation process down from 24 hours to 1 hour (or less) to speed up the process. As a result you are cheated out of the beneficial bacteria that in nature take 24 hours to culture. No one can fool nature into growing all those wonderfully healthy bacteria in 1 hour. That’s just crazy.

Commercial yogurt is also pasteurized, homogenized, mucus forming (which exacerbates sinus or any other congestion), and contains thickening agents and other additives that can actually destroy any healthy bacteria the yogurt once had in it. So as you can see I’m not a huge fan of commercial yogurt.

All of this means you’re not getting the healthy bacteria you think you are from your store bought yogurt. 

Honestly, I don’t even consider store bought yogurt real food because food is anything that nourishes the body. Pasteurized, homogenized, mucus forming, pus filled milk in a pool of chemicals, is not food.


So now that I’ve ruined your beloved yogurt, lol, let’s look at some Probiotic Super Food Alternatives 🙂

  • Fermented Kombucha Tea – a fermented tea (probiotic beverage) brewed with a SCOBY (culture) that provides beneficial gut bacteria, improves digestion, increases energy, alkalizes, detoxifies, and boosts your immune system.

  • Water Kefir – a probiotic drink made from kefir grains (cultures), and contains a wide variety of beneficial bacterial strains and yeasts that promote healthy digestion and immune system.

  • Cultured Vegetables – fermented cabbage and other vegetables made with a starter culture. They are not diverse in probiotics, but are high in organic acids (what gives food its sour taste) which support the growth of good bacteria.   Kimchi and sauerkraut are two examples of cultured veggies.  Both of the fermented formulas are also high in enzymes, which can aid digestion.


10 Things That Destroy Beneficial Gut Bacteria

  1. Prescription drugs
  2. Antibiotics
  3. Birth control pill
  4. Sugar
  5. Artificial Sweeteners
  6. GMO foods
  7. MSG
  8. Processed foods – chemicals, preservatives, and additives
  9. Conventional meat – due to antibiotics, growth hormones, and genetically engineered grains fed to the animals.
  10. Fluoridated and or chlorinated water

All the best to your health!



Catherine Rudolph, CNC
Certified Nutrition Consultant
FoodsThatHealYou.com