We’re well-versed in the benefits of probiotics by now, and how ensuring good gut health effects our overall sense of wellness in a very real way. Which is all well and good, until you fall foul to the havoc that sugary desserts can unleash on your gut microbiome.
You might unwaveringly take your probiotic each day and make sure you consume a variety of prebiotic foods (not to mention postbiotics, if you’re into that), but all of that goodness can be undone by the consumption of the sweet stuff, as the bad bacteria in your gut literally feeds off of sugar. When you eat a high-sugar diet, the undesirable bacteria thrive and start to grow out of control, while the beneficial bacteria dwindle in number. Hardly ideal, huh?
That is, until cultured ice cream became a thing, meaning you can have your cake (aka ice cream) and your gut health all at once. Here’s the deal with this new, go-to healthy treat:
What it is
Cultured ice cream is pretty much what it says on the tin—it’s gelato that has been made with a cultured water kefir coconut cream, which luckily for us, contains a hell of a lot of good bacteria for your gut.
Why it’s good for you
The Cultured Ice Cream Company’s gelato is dairy-free, grain-free, sugar-free and made from 30 per cent cultured water kefir coconut cream—which may contain around four billion colony forming units of good bacteria and yeast strains in every 100 gram serve. Basically, it’s a probiotic powerhouse.
“Cultured ice cream contains a plethora of floral probiotic strains, achieved using a water kefir culture. Probiotics build the colonies of flora within our digestive tract which in turn boost our immune system and strengthen our first line of defence against pathogens,” says Healthy Life Naturopath and store manager, Charlotte Williams.
Charlotte contends that in addition to being a great source of prebiotics and probiotics, cultured ice cream such The Cultured Ice Cream Company’s is also made with natural sugar alternatives, is plant based, and contains superfoods such as berries. The result is an alkaline and nutrient-rich dessert that is true to the saying ‘food is medicine’ as it looks after the body and its health requirements, as well as feeding the mind and meeting our cultural needs—perfect for if there are allergies or food sensitivities at play.
How to make your own
Fancy trying your hand at making your own? Cultures For Health swears by this healthy, straight-forward recipe for kefir-based, cultured vanilla ice cream:
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 cups milk kefir
- 1 cup kefir cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method:
Beat eggs well; add in honey. Start with a conservative amount of sweetener and add in small increments to taste; keep in mind that the finished ice cream will be slightly less sweet than the kefir mixture before it’s frozen
Blend in milk kefir, kefir cream and vanilla.
Pour the ice cream base into a freezer-safe shallow pan. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Remove from freezer and mix with a fork to break up all of the ice chunks. Fewer ice chunks means smoother ice cream.
Repeat every 20 minutes until ice cream has firmed up to your liking, around 2 to 4 hours.
ENJOY.
