Bifidobacteria help modulate the gut microbiota, prevent inflammation and protect from many diseases, including colorectal cancer, enteric infections (of the intestines) and diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis), and even depression.

In addition to broad-ranging health benefits, these bacteria are omnivores that enjoy a number of foods you can include in your diet. And they’re also instrumental in creating delicious fermented dairy products like yoghurt and kefir, so they’re also present in these foods.

We’ve organised this list into probiotics and prebiotics. Remember, probiotic Bifidobacteria food sources already contain these microbes and can help supplement levels in your gut (though these effects can stop when you stop taking the probiotic). Prebiotic foods contain compounds that nourish the Bifidobacteria that are already in your gut, encouraging their levels to increase and thus, stimulating their beneficial activities.

The only current way to reliably track how your Bifidobacteria are responding to prebiotics and probiotics (supplements and foods) is to do a microbiome test like we do at Atlas Biomed. Using DNA sequencing technology, we can assess with 99.8% accuracy who is in your gut, and help you understand what they are doing.

We also offer a microbiome subscription so you can track changes to your gut microbiome over the long-term and see how your microbes respond to changes in your diet and lifestyle with fresh recommendations to help keep this ecosystem balanced.