What Foods Contain Lactobacillus Reuteri?

You may have caught our previous Health Insiders Blog Post that began to list several foods containing “good” bacteria like Yoghurt and sourdough. Still, we wanted to follow up on the discussion in today's post and take an even deeper dive into Lactobacillus but this time on the Lactobacillus Reuteri strain and what it can do to your body. So let’s begin with discussing foods that DO contain Lactobacillus Reuteri, and yes Yoghurt is one!

Does Yoghurt contain Lactobacillus Reuteri?

Strains of lactobacillus (L.R) can be isolated from several dairy products and meat sources. Lactobacillus Reuteri, as you may already know if you’re a returning reader, is a probiotic culture as well as a part of the non-starter lactic acid bacteria group. Several varieties of cheese are very popular in this group, everything from Cheddar cheese to Parmigiano Reggiano. 

Reuteri-rich yoghurt is made with very different strains of bacteria than your conventional yoghurt and is therefore commonly referred to as a Superfood! The reason behind this is due to the beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus Reuteri) that can significantly increase their benefits to your health - your gut health especially as opposed to conventional yoghurts. Yoghurt, and other foods, that contain this strain of helpful bacteria have a significantly higher probiotic count and therefore can ensure the body bacteria are more evenly balanced. 

Although, the foods you eat, are not the only means of increasing the amount of Lactobacillus bacteria in your gut! 

How can I increase Lactobacillus in my gut?

We have previously mentioned how food like yoghurt and cheese (that are rich in Reuteri) can help increase Lactobacillus in the gut, but some more foods and options also contain live bacteria. You can increase and maintain a helpful level of Lactobacillus in your gut microbiota by adding prebiotic foods to your diet. For instance, foods that are naturally high in fibre such as bananas, garlic and even onions can all help to encourage and prompt the growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the gut. Therefore, having a balance of these prebiotic foods can help with digestive support as well as alleviate any painful symptoms you may have been experiencing due to a bacterial imbalance. 

What's more, these types of prebiotic foods are all safe to consume whilst taking a daily probiotic; so there is no need to worry about restricting your diet of them if you do want to also take probiotic supplements. It is very difficult, to near impossible, to over-consume “good” bacteria. So long as you have a healthy, balanced diet and take the recommended amount of probiotics each day, your gut health will improve in just a few short weeks. 

What does L Reuteri do to your body? 

Lactobacillus Reuteri, as you may know, is a species of probiotic bacteria that can benefit many health-related concerns you may be experiencing. For instance, if you are looking to:

• Improve your cholesterol levels
• Aid in treating Helicobacter pylori by reducing H. pylori levels
• Boost Vaginal Health
• Improve infant Gastrointestinal health 

Lactobacillus Reuteri is also known to help increase the number of T cells in the intestines, which can help be absorbed back into the blood; thus being able to benefit the rest of the body to help fight off bacterial infection and improve overall gut health. Probiotics are typically advised for people who suffer from regular discomfort and pain that stems from poor gut health; as probiotics can help provide live bacteria to the source of the issue and begin neutralising ‘bad’ bacteria relativity quickly.

Whilst this process is not overnight, it should not take too long for any issues your unhealthy gut may be causing to slowly improve. You may expect slightly more bloating when you first begin your probiotic supplements but this is nothing to be worried about and should only last a couple of days. This is a sign that the probiotics are helping to neutralise your gut bacteria and improve your overall digestive system and how it breaks down our food to ensure we are getting enough nutrients from them. 

Which probiotics contain Reuteri? 

The most common types of probiotics will contain a culture of Lactobacillus strains, the most common being a microbe culture of L.plantarum and L.rhamnosus as well as a combination of similar strains depending on the brand of probiotics you chose. 

Here at Wellgard, we have created three types of probiotic supplements: 

• VITAKID - for infants and children with 4 Billion live cultures per capsule
• VITAGUT - suitable for teens and adults with 12 Billion live cultures per capsule
• VITAFLORA - formulated for women with 20 Billion live cultures per capsule

All three of our probiotic supplements contain stable, potency and live bacteria that are intended to help improve your gut health as its primary function. Different probiotics will target different areas of improvement, but you can be expected that typically they will all be centred around neutralising bacteria in the mouth, gut and/or vagina. 

These areas, within the body, are where bacterial infections are prone to breed; that is why probiotics are popular to help keep the ‘bad’ bacteria at bay and prevent an infection from spreading. Furthermore, probiotics can help with stomach aches, pain and upset as well as help with hormonal activity if they constrain the appropriate high potency bio culture complex (LP, LRh and BL).

Understanding the various cultures, groups and strains of bacteria can be tricky so if you do have any more questions surrounding probiotics or how to support your gut health; then you may want to browse our extensive Health Insiders Blog catalogue. We may have already published a post that you may find extremely helpful in answering any of your remaining questions. We also have posts going live on our blog regularly, so if you do not see an answer to your question, it may end up being our next blog post feature. 

What's more, you can also connect with our experts via social media and drop us a DM on Instagram for immediate help or specialist advice.