Introduction To Probiotics

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You must be familiar with the term antibiotics (meaning "against life"), but what about probiotics (meaning "for life")? Probiotics refers to supplements that benefit desirable bacteria. Just as "bad" bacteria can make us sick, good bacteria can protect us from degeneration and disease.

Supplementing with good, friendly bacteria - probiotics - aids digestion, promotes natural immunity & resistance to diseases, and is crucial in regaining and maintaining your health and vitality.

Another term, prebiotics, has been used to describe food that supports and promotes friendly intestinal flora and fauna. Prebiotics include inulin and other fructo-oligo-saccharides (FOS).

Probiotic Supplementation
Balancing the Good and the Bad Internal Flora

Living inside your digestive system is a vast amount of good bacteria, which perform very important functions, from your mouth down to your rectum. This friendly bacteria exists along side potential disease causing organisms - the bad bacteria. When the bad bacteria overgrow, the resulting imbalance creates discomforts and symptoms of disease.

Many factors can upset this balance, such as the use of antibiotics, drinking chlorinated water, infections, stress, poor diet (see Introduction to Nutritional Principles), unbalanced pH (see Introduction to Balancing Your Body's pH), and poor lifestyle (see Care For Your Space, Mind and Soul). This balance varies among individuals, and changes with age.

A good intestinal bacteria balance provides protection against a broad range of pathogens, including certain forms of Clostridia, Escherichia Coli, Salmonella, Shigella and Pseudomonas, as well as yeasts such as Candida albicans.

The greater the imbalance, the greater your symptoms of ill health. The use of probiotics is a very natural and safe approach for regaining and maintaining your intestinal ecosystem, which supports your immune system, and your overall health and vitality.

Other Benefits of Probiotic Supplementation

Antibiotics kill bacteria, both good and bad. Probiotic supplements are critically important to recolonize your intestine after antibiotic treatment. This is of utmost importance in regaining and maintaining your health in the long run.

Regular ingestion of probiotic bacteria may help prevent vaginal yeast infection caused by candida albicans overgrowth.

Diarrhea flushes out your good intestinal microorganisms, leaving you vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Supplementation will replenish your beneficial bacteria and help prevent new infections. Research has shown that the incidence of traveler's diarrhea (from drinking water or undercooked foods) can be reduced by the preventive use of probiotic supplements.

Probiotics can promote healthy digestion in lactose intolerant people. The probiotic acidophilus is a source of lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk sugar, which is lacking in lactose-intolerant people.