Olives - Stomach Microbiome Bacteria Probiotics
I adore olives. They are incredibly tasty and healthy for you in so many different ways. Did you know olives are natural probiotics and support a healthy gut microbiome?
Olives are such a core part of many healthy diets that research studies have been done solely on how eating olives impacts people. Olives help reduce inflammation and build immune health.
For people who are looking to build or rebuild their stomach gut microbiome, perhaps after having a round of antibiotics, olives are delightful. It turns out most olives contain about 1.5 million Lactobacilli apiece - often specifically Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus.
Lactobacillus plantarum is a delightful beneficial bacteria that can help with anything from stomach issues to seasonal allergies. It's even a wonderful community member in your gut microbiome, supporting the gut lining directly so that all of the other beneficial bacteria can survive more easily.
Lactobacillus pentosus is less well known in the probiotic community. It is good at helping with general digestion and avoiding constipation.
Both of these are wonderful to have in your digestive system.
It's not that you have to eat olives every day, although I of course am all in favor of this technique. Rather, if you eat olives regularly enough to get a colony started, then that colony will thrive in your system and help you maintain your health every day. Just be sure to eat enough prebiotic foods to supply these bacteria with the nutrition that they need to keep going.
As far as nutrition goes, an olive has no fiber, no protein, and 1g of carbs (more or less). So eat them in moderation. Ten olives is fine for most low carbers. 100 olives? Probably less fine.
Also, note that olives can often be VERY salty. So be sure to drink a lot of water with them and to manage your overall salt intake.
Enjoy those olives!
Olives image from Pixabay / user Ulleo
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22475936/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/lactobacillus-plantarum-benefits-uses-side-effects-4152035
Olives are such a core part of many healthy diets that research studies have been done solely on how eating olives impacts people. Olives help reduce inflammation and build immune health.
For people who are looking to build or rebuild their stomach gut microbiome, perhaps after having a round of antibiotics, olives are delightful. It turns out most olives contain about 1.5 million Lactobacilli apiece - often specifically Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus.
Lactobacillus plantarum is a delightful beneficial bacteria that can help with anything from stomach issues to seasonal allergies. It's even a wonderful community member in your gut microbiome, supporting the gut lining directly so that all of the other beneficial bacteria can survive more easily.
Lactobacillus pentosus is less well known in the probiotic community. It is good at helping with general digestion and avoiding constipation.
Both of these are wonderful to have in your digestive system.
It's not that you have to eat olives every day, although I of course am all in favor of this technique. Rather, if you eat olives regularly enough to get a colony started, then that colony will thrive in your system and help you maintain your health every day. Just be sure to eat enough prebiotic foods to supply these bacteria with the nutrition that they need to keep going.
As far as nutrition goes, an olive has no fiber, no protein, and 1g of carbs (more or less). So eat them in moderation. Ten olives is fine for most low carbers. 100 olives? Probably less fine.
Also, note that olives can often be VERY salty. So be sure to drink a lot of water with them and to manage your overall salt intake.
Enjoy those olives!
Olives image from Pixabay / user Ulleo
References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22475936/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/lactobacillus-plantarum-benefits-uses-side-effects-4152035
You Should Also Read:
What Are Probiotics?
Stomach Gut Microbiome Bacteria
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