Lactobacillus

The microbes also produce heat, which can reach 122 Fahrenheit or 50 Celsius, and is enough to kill the plant embryo and basically any unwanted microorganisms.

Among the wanted microorganisms are Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is the same species that brewers and bakers use for beer and bread, and various species of Lactobacillus, aka lactic acid bacteria.

The yeasts help break down the pectin covering the seeds, which lets two bitter compounds leak out and allows the alcohol created by the yeasts to seep in, along with all kinds of flavor compounds that are also excreted by the microbes.

You want to stop the process before microbes begin growing in or on the beans instead of just the pulp, because those bacteria and fungi can break down some of the fats in the beans and cause weird, off flavors.

Some kefir grain lineages have been propagated this way for generations, which means the microbes inside have been evolving in their own little world the whole time.

What lives in a kefir grain? Typically, lactid acid bacteria dominate, especially lactobacillus species like Lactobacillus caferinificiens and Lenta lactobacillus caferi, along with Lactococcus, Leukostoke, and acetic acid bacteria like Acetobacter.

Then there are yeasts, often Saccharomyces and Cluveromyces.

That bacteria plus yeast partnership is what makes kefir different from yogurt.

If you think of them as a symphony, you need all of the instruments playing, but some of them are contributing greater than maybe the tambourine in the background.

So the keystone bacteria are bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Fecal bacteria and protein C.I. And I would say another one that we find is kind of punches over its weight is acromantia muciniphila.

It's not as abundant as the others, but it's really integral to the mucosal barrier.

And so that's really important for health outcomes.

You can, like you mentioned, support these through probiotics, especially lacto and bifido.

But fecal bacterium pertinensiae doesn't have a probiotic now.

Acromantia is now newly available as a probiotic, but we can also think about what feeds these bacteria, right? Lactobacillus really likes polyphenols.

Bifido really likes polyphenols.

So the most common and beneficial bacteria for the vagina are these strains.

Lactobacillus crispatus, lactobacillus jenseni, lactobacillus gasseri, and lactobacillus iners, as well as lactobacillus rhamnosus.

So those five key strains are really beneficial.

And lo and behold, those strains are important to the bladder.

This is lactobacillus.

People call it lab.

Lactobacillus is the long rod bacteria that's safe, that's in all our ferments.

It's one of the things that makes the lactic acid that makes it so that the ferment stays under biocontrol and stays safe.

Okay.

It's probably something you want to know, especially if you are having any challenges down there.

Lactobacillus bacteria helps to create and maintain the environment inside your vagina.

And it's one of the most important jobs it has is producing lactic acid.

So here's something that maybe a lot of you don't realize, but your vagina is actually supposed to be acidic.

Yeah, such a good way of explaining.

So step one is to taking the probiotics, which is a wonderful, diverse blend of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, which are needed commensal bacterias, good bacterias that every body needs, and these are protective bacterias.

These are anti-inflammatory bacterias.

These are wonderful bacterias that need to be in balance in our gut at all times, that are going to fluff up our microbiome, and then we need to feed them, so that's where you get your plant-based foods, fruits and veggies, and which can come in the form of supplements like the Juice Plus gummies and, and capsules.

It feeds the bifido and the lacto, and it also supports that end product, those short-chain fatty acids that we talk a lot about here at Gut, on Gut First, where you need those short-chain fatty acids to protect the gut lining.

The other two, chicory root fiber and acacia gum, again, are both soluble along with the fructooligosaccharides.

They quickly feed the bifido and the fermentable fuel so that the bacteria, the bifido and the Lactobacillus can, can grow and proliferate.

The acacia gum in particular actually helps in the distal colon, in the end portion of the colon, and is gentle on gas and bloating and, again, also supports the production of short-chain fatty acids.