Walk down the food and beverage section of any supermarket and chances are you will see many probiotic products lining the shelves. Fermented milk, probiotic beverages and yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, etc, are becoming the new urban cool.
With increased health-consciousness and awareness among people, more and more consumers have woken up to the myriad benefits that probiotics (living bacteria or microorganisms considered beneficial for health due to the part they play in promoting gut health) offer. So no wonder that these products are selling like hot cakes. FMCG companies and supermarkets, too, have been quick to respond to consumer preferences and have a slew of products offering the health advantage of probiotics.
Take, for instance, Foodhall at The Chanakya, a recently-opened luxury mall in the national capital. Situated on the lower ground floor, the upmarket grocery is a one-stop destination for any lover of food. As you enter the plush store, you are welcomed by row after row of imported ingredients, fresh or packaged goodies and condiments.
Frequented by expatriates, the store also houses a dedicated section for perishable items. And it’s here that you will find a vast variety of probiotic products—yoghurt, fermented milk, lactose-free juices, Japanese miso soup and paste, etc.
The perishables, especially probiotics, move fast, says store manager Nikunt Jairath. Not surprisingly, he adds, several brands are now making inroads into the urban Indian market with probiotic-fuelled products. Take, for instance, RAW Pressery. The cold-pressed juice-maker, too, is coming up with a fermented probiotic drink that may hit shelves soon, Jairath reveals .
A customer, the spouse of an Australian expat, joins the conversation, saying she has been consuming probiotic drinks for many years now, but she makes her own miso, as she feels there isn’t much variety available in India.
It is this gap that many high-end grocery stores are looking to fill. “We started selling probiotic products when our customers raised the demand… we receive orders from across the NCR region… more so since probiotics are in vogue now,” says the owner of one such store in Defence Colony, Delhi, adding that the most popular probiotic products are yoghurt and fermented milk.
“People want to give probiotics a shot because there is an increased incidence of stomach problems these days owing to the processed food that we consume,” offers Mumbai-based Moina Oberoi, who founded MO’s Superfoods, a natural probiotics foods company, in 2016. Talking about the reason behind launching the company, the entrepreneur says she wanted to introduce more natural probiotic foods in the market.
The company’s primary offering is kefir, a fermented eastern European milk, which it offers in different variants.
Kefir, Oberoi explains, was a chance discovery by the villagers of Caucasus Mountains—a mountain system in west Asia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region— who would trek to the mountains with sacks made of goat intestine, filled with milk. “By the time they would reach the villages, it would coagulate and make the milk into what we now know as kefir. The villagers intuitively knew it was good for them,” says Oberoi, who trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute, New York, and consults as a health food chef.
Kefir, which is made by inoculating cow, goat or sheep milk with kefir grains (a bacterial fermentation-starter), is good for overall digestive health, including irritable bowel syndrome, acidity, bloating, autoimmune diseases, etc.
In India, Oberoi asserts, we have hardly any active bacterial cultures because a lot of our food is cooked down—our probiotic drinks are lassi and chaas, which are made out of curds that tend to have one-three strains of good bacteria. In comparison, kefir “has 40-50 strains of good bacteria,” notes Oberoi.
Order of the day
Not just supermarket shelves, restaurants across the country, too, have begun incorporating gut-friendly food—through varied techniques, such as fermentation and preservation—in their menus. Take, for instance, Olive Qutub in New Delhi, which is run by chef Dhruv Oberoi. The chef, who acquired a passion for cooking from his mother, works with kombucha (a variety of fermented, lightly effervescent sweetened black or green tea drinks), black garlic, miso, etc, all fermented carefully under professional expertise. “Our ancestors recognised and predicted the health benefits of probiotics such as yoghurt long ago, but the current generation only woke up to the ancient wisdom seeing the adverse effects of their harmful food habits,” he says.
Once people started showing interest in diverse sources of probiotics, the chef says he stylised some probiotics to create fresh alternatives such as kombucha-infused citrus and kalamata anti gazpacho. “We have started using ingredients such as kombucha, kefir, fermented drinks, sauerkraut, etc, in interesting ways,” he remarks.
Another chef promoting healthy eating habits through his menu is Rishim Sachdeva of Olive Bar & Kitchen, Mumbai. The restaurant has had probiotic offerings—such as Trio of Beetroot Salad (pickled, braised and roasted beetroot paired with coconut carpaccio and topped with fermented coconut yoghurt and serrano chilli pepper salsa), Sweet Potato Gnocchi (roasted organic sweet potato gnocchi served with a sweet potato purée, chive crème fraiche and seasonal peas, and topped with fresh herbs), etc—on the menu for over a year now. “The most important reason behind incorporating these was to find a umami flavour with the right kind of acidity to complete our dishes,” explains Sachdeva. “The incredible flavours that these probiotic ingredients bring to the table help set us apart (from others) and fulfill our guests’ expectations,” remarks the chef, adding that when it comes to serving probiotics, they focus more on the technique as opposed to the recipe.
“We have such incredible produce, some of which is only available for a short period of time, so preserving and incorporating probiotics has become an integral part of our technique and menu,” he says, citing their BBQ Chicken as an example, which uses fermented plum (instead of treacle) for the richness and sweetness. The dish is balanced by adding kefir—the fatty- and sweet-tasting notes are cut with the tartness of kefir, says the chef, who has also worked at the renowned The Fat Duck in the UK.
Then there is Misha Grewal Soni, a Delhi-based nutrition expert, who is soon going to open her café, Fermented Kitchen, in Delhi’s Mehar Chand Market. Soni’s café will serve fermented vegetables (prepared by lacto fermentation that uses salt and water instead of vinegar), plant/nut-based milks (rice, almond, walnut, etc) and dairy-free yoghurt, among other things. With Fermented Kitchen, Soni aims to encourage a healthier approach to nutrition.
Go with your gut
As per experts, probiotics serve an important role in rebalancing the gut flora and creating equilibrium in terms of how the gut barrier and immune system function. Probiotics reduce gastrointestinal discomfort, improve immune health, relieve constipation, among many other benefits.
Nutrition specialist Khushboo Thadani, who runs a nutritional consulting business called K Weigh in Mumbai, believes everybody should incorporate probiotics in their diet. “Upto 80% of the immune system is found in the gut. Poor gut health can lead to a variety of health issues such as chronic diseases, inflammation, nutrient deficiency, acne and difficulty in weight loss,” she says, adding that probiotics are essentially the ‘good’ bacteria that optimise gut health.
Thadani, however, advocates consuming probiotics through food rather than artificial supplements, as the synergistic nutrient value offered by the former is greater. “Treat pills as a solution only if you’re not able to meet your needs through your diet. However, pay attention to the ingredient labels of the probiotic foods you consume to ensure that they don’t contain an excess amount of sugar and additives,” she says, adding that it’s best to consult a medical practitioner before starting a regimen of artificial probiotics.
Nutrition expert Soni, who recommends plant-based products (soy milk, etc) instead of animal-based ones (eggs, meat, dairy, etc), warns against an overdose of dairy and gluten (wheat) in one’s diet. “So many people across the world are already showing signs of intolerance towards these products because of the extent to which these have been modified. Our systems don’t have all the enzymes to break them down fully,” she says, adding that pesticides and herbicides in farm produce, and hormone injections/antibiotics fed to cows impact the quality of the food we consume everyday, causing a systemic intolerance in our systems. The remedy, Soni says, is to “give yourselves a break from these food items (wheat and dairy) so that you can heal your digestive systems.”
The ultimate goal should be a happy gut, says Lucknow-based nutritionist Akanksha Khanna. “I always encourage those who consult me to eat clean and fresh, but sometimes, even that’s not enough, as individual digestion also affects the intake of nutrients,” she says. As a solution, she suggests a regular intake of digestion boosters, of which she marks probiotics to be the most wholesome and effective.
Here’s to a happy gut.
Our ancestors recognised and predicted the health benefits of probiotics such as yoghurt long ago, but the current generation only woke up to the ancient wisdom seeing the adverse effects of their harmful food habits
—Dhruv Oberoi, chef, Olive Qutub, New Delhi
People want to give probiotics a shot because there is an increased incidence of stomach problems these days owing to the processed food that we consume
—Moina Oberoi, founder, MO’s Superfoods
So many people across the world are already showing signs of intolerance towards dairy and wheat because of the extent to
which these have been modified. Our systems don’t have all the enzymes to break them down fully
—Misha Grewal Soni, a delhi-based nutrition expert
Up to 80% of the immune system is found in the gut, so poor gut health can lead to a variety of health issues such as chronic diseases, inflammation, nutrient deficiency, acne, difficulty in losing weight, etc
—Khushboo Thadani, a Mumbai-based nutrition specialist
