L. reuteri yogurt for travel

I previously suggested using commercial kefir + L. reuteri starter as a way to take your L. reuteri on the road, a cumbersome and imperfect method, to be sure. I’ve done it a number of times and it did indeed allow me to enjoy the benefits—especially deep sleep—of this microbe.

So it was a pleasant surprise when nurse Rene Oswald of the Grateful Way Health Center and Wellness Retreat came up with a better idea: freeze-dry the yogurt into a powder. Rene sent me several packets she made by freeze-drying at 100-105ºF. I used one batch to make yogurt out of it, just as we do with the microbe itself, and it made a fine batch of L. reuteri yogurt. This tells us that the microbes survived the freeze-drying process. I then, per Rene’s instructions, added 120 ml (¼ cup) of filtered water to reconstitute the yogurt, which it did.

So Rene’s method means that, if you are planning to travel for an extended period but wish to preserve all the spectacular benefits of L. reuteri, here is a way to take as many batches as you need along with you. (It’s probably worth labeling and/or placing in an opaque container to avoid hassles with security at the airport.)

Microbes are very good at surviving the process of freeze-drying but you do need to stay in the range of human body temperature. Heating to higher temperature will accelerate the process but will kill the L. reuteri, especially if you exceed around 114°F. After all, when we purchase microbes from probiotic manufacturers, they provide the microbes after freeze-drying in large commercial devices called “lyophilizers.” Rene used a real high-end freeze-drying device priced >$2000 (https://harvestright.com/). I am no expert in such devices, but I did find a number of “freeze-drying” (but rally food hydrating) devices on Amazon that were more affordable for less than $100. Should you choose to follow Rene’s idea, please share your experience and what device you used here.

The original IHB post is currently found on the: ⎆Infinite Health Blog, but accessing it there can require an unnecessary separate blog membership. The copy of it above is complete, and has been re-curated and enhanced for the Inner Circle membership.