I have recently been working with my colleague, Dr. Morgan, on nutritional testing, and low and behold- I have come to find out I have too much bad bacteria in my gut!  Aaahh!!  She said this is in part due to some minor adrenal fatigue (who knew starting my own business would be so stressful?!), and also in part due to a history of antibiotics earlier in life; before I went down my alternative health path and learned about all of this!
    So in learning more about all of this, I have been working on incorporating more probiotic-rich foods into my diet.  Things like raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut, cultured veggies, kefir, and kombucha can help to keep your gut full of good bacteria and yeast.

     It can, however, get a bit pricey to buy all of that from the store.  I recently learned how to make some of my own fermented foods at home, and not only is it much cheaper, it’s also fun!  I have made sauerkraut, ginger carrots, and ketchup using lacto-fermentation.  Kefir and kombucha both require starters:  a “grain” (really not a grain at all, but more of a squishy blob) for kefir, and a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) for kombucha.  If you know someone who already ferments these at home, they can most likely give you kefir grains and a SCOBY.  Otherwise you can order kefir grains from a place like this.  A kombucha SCOBY can be ordered online too from the same place.  They also provide instructions on how to make your own from a bottle of kombucha you purchase from a store.  Here is the recipe I used for making my sauerkraut.
    If you suffer from candida and are nervous to ferment using lacto-fermentation on your own, you can check out place like Body Ecology, and order starters.  They aren’t cheap, but you will know the exact strains of bacteria and yeast that you are culturing. 
    Try fermenting your own foods today, and let me know how it goes!  Have fun 🙂

***The picture is of my homemade goodies!  From left to right: kefir, ketchup, kombucha, sauerkraut, and ginger carrots.