DIY Deliciousness: Revitalize Your Gut with Homemade Yogurt
Today we will discuss some specific strains of beneficial microbes and the great things they can potentially do for your body.
We are currently working through Dr. William Davis’ book Super Gut and his theories and research about healing the gut. He believes that by using his process we can heal from many chronic ailments that we may have.
Lactobacillus reuteri:
This is Dr. Davis’ “star” microbe that caused him to perfect the art of making high-potency yogurt, years before publishing the book. Its benefits include smoother skin, increased skin moisture, increased dermal collagen, accelerated healing, restoration of youthful muscle, and increased feelings of empathy (it boosts oxytocin), and less cortisol. So its effects are anti-aging. It also prefers to colonize the upper GI tract and releases natural antibiotics called bacteriocins that are “effective against undesirable bacterial species that ascend into the small intestine where they don’t belong.” In other words, it fights against SIBO and SIFO. Fun fact: only 4 percent of Westerners now carry this microbe, which is not good! The specific strains proven to be associated with all these benefits are DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 6475.Bacillus coagulans:
Benefits include reducing inflammation, arthritis, and pain, reducing symptoms of IBS, and accelerating muscle recovery after strenuous exercise. It also produces its own bacteriocins and will colonize the upper GI tract, helping to protect it from unwanted invaders. The specific strain we want is GBI-30,6086.Lactobacillus gasseri:
Benefits include reducing waist size, reducing symptoms of irritable bowel, and reducing blood and urinary levels of oxalate. It produces vigorous amounts of bacteriocins. The specific strain we want is BNR17.These are the three main strains in Dr. Davis’ Super Gut SIBO Yogurt and the ones that I am focusing on and culturing at home.
There are several other strains listed in his book and their benefits range from fighting viral illness, to reducing anxiety and depression, and also one specifically for pregnant and breastfeeding moms, so if that interests you please go directly to the book for the details.
There are two ways of culturing these at home: you can either get a sous vide device/machine, or you can get a yogurt maker. The key is to make sure that the device you get will go down to the low temperatures required, and will also let you culture for 36 hours.
The machine I chose is a basin-style sous vide machine by Dash (the Dash Chef Series, get it here). It was reasonably priced, and I like that it is an all-in-one machine that is easy to keep clean, with a basic, easy-to-program front panel that does not require an app. I didn’t even need the instructions to quickly figure it out. Also, it is big enough to fit four quart-sized jars in, which means I can make two batches at once if needed.
I also use Organic Valley’s half and half. I am not a big fan of Organic Valley in general, their heavy cream has added gums (ew) and some of their other products have questionable ingredients, but their half and half is just milk and cream and it produces a thick, rich, Greek-style yogurt that is simply delicious, no matter which strain of microbe you use. Wouldn’t it be better to use a raw half and half? Yes of course, but that gets super pricey real quick with all the yogurt to be made. Plus you are culturing the pasteurized dairy back to a state of “life” so it regains its title of “FOOD.”
Other things you will need:
Prebiotic fiber to feed the microbes:
The three specific strains of the microbes I mentioned above can be ordered here:
BioGaia Gastrus tablets (L. reuteri DSM 17938, ATCC PTA 6475)
Mercola Market Biothin Probiotic (L. gasseri BNR17)
Schiff The Digestive Advantage (B. coagulans GBI-30,6086)
To begin each strain, you will need to use enough live microbes to get your culture to grow.
For the Gastrus tablets, it is 10 tablets, crushed.
For the Biothin, it is 1 capsule (open it and pour it in).
For the Digestive Advantage, use 5 capsules
(the instructions say 1, but when I used 1 it did not grow at all).
Here is the basic recipe:
1 quart half and half
2 tablespoons prebiotic fiber
Microbe of choice
Here is the way I do it:
I first measure out 2 cups of half and half into a glass measuring cup and set that aside. I then take a one quart Mason jar and add to it my microbes and the prebiotic fiber. Then I pour in a few tablespoons of the half and half. With a wire whisk, I stir until I have a slurry with no clumps. Then I add to it the rest of the half and half and then pour it back and forth between 2 quart Mason jars to mix it. I add another 2 cups of half and half and continue to mix back and forth about 6 times.
Then I split the liquid evenly between the two jars.
They should line up even if the jars are different shapes!
I then cover them (loosely, I use plastic wrap and a rubber band, do not use the lid) and place in my Dash. You want the water to be at least a half-inch to an inch above the line of your mixture in your jars.
Set your machine to the right temperature, each microbe is different:
L. reuteri is 100 deg F
L. gasseri is 109 deg F
B. coagulans is 115-122 deg F
Set the time for 36 hours, then go!
Once you make your yogurt, for the next batches you don’t use the capsules or the tablets again. All you need to do is use 2 tablespoons of the yogurt (curds or whey) from a previous batch! Super easy.
To make the SIBO Super Gut yogurt with all three, just combine all three microbes (the capsule and tablet amounts listed above) into one batch. If you already made these three individually (which is what I did) you just add 2 tablespoons of each single-strain yogurt into one batch. Ferment at 106 deg F (which will allow all three to grow) for 36 hours. You will need to eat 1/2 cup of this yogurt every day for at least four weeks straight so make sure you are planning ahead and making more before you run out!
All of these yogurts are delicious! Don’t worry if your first batch is a little runny, the next batch (when you use your previous batch as an inoculation) will be great. Enjoy it plain, with fruit, or even with a little raw honey if you prefer it sweet.
