A life with cystic fibrosis means a life with antibiotics. In a world where antibiotics are over prescribed for many of us they are absolutely necessary. Many of us are on more than one antibiotic at any given time, whether they be oral, intravenous or inhaled.

Just last month I was on three IV antibiotics, an oral antibiotic and an inhaled antibiotic. They did the trick. My sinuses felt the best they had in over a year and my lung function was the highest it had been in years. But along with the good comes the not so good.

The thing about antibiotics is they kill bacteria, ALL of it. The bad and the good, and we need good bacteria in our guts. The good bugs in our gut help with the digestion process and they help keep our immune systems strong. Interesting fact: 80% of your immune system is located in your gut!

If you’ve ever been on antibiotics I’m sure you’ve experienced some major gut dysfunction; nausea, stomach cramping, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, etc. It’s not fun.

The good news is that we can lessen these side effects and re-inoculate our guts with good bacteria pretty easily. How? Probiotics.

CF or not, antibiotics or not, we should all be ingesting probiotics daily. They come in pills, powders and occur naturally in fermented beverages and foods. Here are my top picks for getting good bacteria back into your system:

1. A good probiotic pill or powder. One of my favorites is Prescipt Assist (you can find it on Amazon). The important thing is to take it daily and switch up the probiotic every few months so you’re introducing new strains of good bacteria into your gut. Variety is key! If you take a powdered probiotic just blend it right into a smoothie or shake.

2. Kraut. I’m not talking about the canned stuff which has almost no nutritional value. You can find kraut (a raw fermented food) in your health food store in the refrigerated section. I’ve noticed that most ‘regular’ grocery stores near me are also starting to carry probiotic rich kraut! You want to look for a kraut that is not only refrigerated but says right on the package that it’s ‘raw, fermented, and organic’. It should also mention it contains probiotics or is a probiotic rich food. Some of my favorite brands are:

Farmhouse Cultures: They have a variety of fun and delicious flavors as well as raw fermented and probiotic rich kimchi and a new product called ‘Gut Shot’.

Bubbies: In addition to kraut they have fermented pickles, which are bomb!

Trader Joe’s: TJ’s now also carries their own brand of raw probiotic rich kraut.

I try to eat a quarter cup of kraut three times a day with my breakfast, lunch and dinner, especially when I am on antibiotics.

3. Kombucha. To put it simply kombucha is a naturally fermented tea. It’s raw and full of probiotics. There are a ton of great brands out there now and it can be found in almost all grocery stores these days. There is even a brand that flavors their kombucha to taste like popular soda flavors.

Note: Kombucha does contain a trace amount of alcohol which is a byproduct of the natural fermentation process. I get asked all the time if it’s safe for kids. The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. It’s a decision you as a parent have to make. If you decided you are okay with letting your wee one drink kombucha start out with 2 tablespoons and see how they tolerate it. If they tolerate it well then bump it up to a quarter cup a day. I don’t have kids, but if I did I would feel fine giving them a small amount kombucha daily. Also there are some brands that have kombucha labeled for those only 21 or older, avoid those when it comes to kids as they have a higher alcohol percentage.