Probiotics ("for life") are fermented foods cultured by beneficial micro-organisms. Probiotic foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut are the most familiar. Fermented foods have values beyond their original states. Fermentation increases some nutrients, gives foods a tasty zing and keeps food without preservatives. The beneficial bacteria in fermented foods helps keep the digestive tract healthy and protects against food borne illnesses. The typical Western diet makes the body vulnerable to these infections. The problem is compounded by our over-reliance on antibiotics and our increasing resistance to them. Unfortunately, antibiotics kill the beneficial micro-organisms along with the pathogens. Probiotic foods can prevent or alleviate many disorders - ranging from allergy and asthma to yeast infection and heart disease - that result from food borne infections and antibiotic resistance. In PROBIOTIC FOODS FOR GOOD HEALTH, you will learn about the special nutritional and therapeutic features of traditional probiotic foods. You will learn about the special contributions of yogurt and other fermented milk products. You will become an enlightened consumer, able to choose wisely among these food products that, through commercialisation, have undergone extreme modifications. You will learn about fermented foods based on vegetables, beans and cereal grains. Yes, there are vegetables other than cabbage that can be fermented! PROBIOTIC FOODS FOR GOOD HEALTH discusses more than forty types of fermented foods. and provides you with practical information about reliable sources for fermented foods.