When you think of yeast, you might think of bread, beer, and many other foods.
Or you might think of yeast infections like Candida. Yeast infections cause all kinds of health issues and are very difficult to get rid of.
But you may not think of yeast as actually being good for your digestion. Well, today I’m going to tell you about a type of yeast that is good for your gut and has other health benefits too.
This yeast acts just like a probiotic – only better. And since it’s a yeast and not a bacterium, it can survive in stomach acid. What’s more, antibiotics won’t kill it.
This yeast is saccharomyces boulardii, or S. boulardii for short. You may have heard of it because it’s been around for a long time.
It was discovered in 1920 by a French microbiologist. He was wondering why some people were getting sick in the cholera epidemic and some weren’t. When he investigated, he found that the people who didn’t catch cholera were drinking fermented tea.
When he analyzed the tea, he found it had a very unusual kind of yeast in it. He called this yeast saccharomyces, which means “sugar fungus.” But don’t let the name turn you off. This fungus has all kinds of health benefits.
Studies have found that it:
• improves and relieves many different types of diarrhea (including chronic diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea)
• stops bleeding caused by common pain pills
• keeps arteries from becoming hard
• helps relieve indigestion
The last point is interesting because regular probiotics don’t help with indigestion. But S. boulardii fixes the cause of indigestion – inflammation of the stomach lining. It also helps with inflammation in the intestines.
When your stomach and intestines are inflamed, it causes all sorts of issues. It causes poor digestion, gas, ulcers, and low stomach acid. It even causes leaky gut, which allows food particles and pathogens to leak into your bloodstream. This can cause food allergies, inflammation, and even autoimmune issues.
S. boulardii can heal the lining of your stomach and intestines. It might take a few days or a few months to heal, depending on how damaged your lining is. But you’ll begin to see a noticeable difference in your indigestion, stomach pain, and digestion.
What’s more, it can help reduce and sometimes eliminate the number of inflammatory flare-ups in certain bowel diseases. If you’ve ever suffered through one of these flare-ups, you know this is a big deal.
As you can see, S. boulardii is a great addition to your probiotic regimen. It’s not a substitute for regular probiotics, as your body needs a host of good organisms to be healthy. But taking S. boulardii along with regular probiotics gives you even more benefits. You can find it online and in most health food stores