PROBIOTICS AND GUT HEALTH
The health of your gastrointestinal system is extremely important to your overall well-being. Largely responsible for the critical functions of the body’s digestive and immune systems, beneficial bacteria in your digestive system have the capability of affecting your body’s vitamin and mineral absorbency, ability to eliminate toxins, hormone regulation, digestion, vitamin production, and immune response. It's believed that up to 70 percent of the body's immune capacity may reside in these tissues.
Symptoms related to poor gut health can be as obvious as abdominal pain, bloating after meals, reflux, or flatulence, but also less obvious like headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and immune system weakness.
Generally speaking, the health of your GI system is determined by the levels of bacteria in your digestive tract. Ideally there is a balance of bacteria, however, an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria results in gut dysbiosis.
Most often, dysbiosis is the result of too many bad “bugs,” including bacteria, yeast, and sometimes parasites, and not enough good ones. Any use of antibiotics or pharmaceutical drugs can upset the balance as well. This imbalance causes damage to the mucosal layer of your GI tract; the normally smooth, intact mucosal layer becomes permeable, allowing food proteins to enter into the blood stream. This consequently activates your immune system, causing inflammation, food sensitivities, and a myriad of symptoms both in the GI system, and throughout the whole body.
Probiotics may support the immune system by stimulating the production and activity of immune cells located in the tissues that line the GI tract, as well as the mouth, respiratory system and urinary tract. These bacteria can enhance gastrointestinal (GI) health by blocking and killing germs in the colon. They also act as a front-line defense against a wide variety of germs.
Probiotics are used to increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. They can help to keep the digestive system in balance and functioning optimally, restore normal flora, especially when taking antibiotics, and support the immune system.
When it is not sufficiently available in edible foods, then a good probiotic can be purchased as either a refrigerated or shelf-stable product. It is best to buy a high quality, broad-spectrum organic supplement from your local health food store. It should have a minimum of 5-10 strains or more of bacteria, including several “lactos”, several “bifidos”, and possibly some sacch B’s (Saccharomyces boulardii). It should have a minimum of 10-50 billion cells (CFU’s) or more. Most good formulae are gluten-, dairy-, preservative- and soy-free, non-GMO, vegetarian, and grown on live cultures.
In addition, there are several food sources rich in prebiotics, plant fibers that foster the growth of good bacteria, and probiotics. They include legumes, vegetables, blueberries, apples, pears, onions, garlic, leeks, bananas, chicory, and artichokes; also, fermented foods such as kefir, natural pickles and sauerkraut. Be sure to include them liberally in your diet.
Symptoms related to poor gut health can be as obvious as abdominal pain, bloating after meals, reflux, or flatulence, but also less obvious like headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and immune system weakness.
Generally speaking, the health of your GI system is determined by the levels of bacteria in your digestive tract. Ideally there is a balance of bacteria, however, an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria results in gut dysbiosis.
Most often, dysbiosis is the result of too many bad “bugs,” including bacteria, yeast, and sometimes parasites, and not enough good ones. Any use of antibiotics or pharmaceutical drugs can upset the balance as well. This imbalance causes damage to the mucosal layer of your GI tract; the normally smooth, intact mucosal layer becomes permeable, allowing food proteins to enter into the blood stream. This consequently activates your immune system, causing inflammation, food sensitivities, and a myriad of symptoms both in the GI system, and throughout the whole body.
Probiotics may support the immune system by stimulating the production and activity of immune cells located in the tissues that line the GI tract, as well as the mouth, respiratory system and urinary tract. These bacteria can enhance gastrointestinal (GI) health by blocking and killing germs in the colon. They also act as a front-line defense against a wide variety of germs.
Probiotics are used to increase the number of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. They can help to keep the digestive system in balance and functioning optimally, restore normal flora, especially when taking antibiotics, and support the immune system.
When it is not sufficiently available in edible foods, then a good probiotic can be purchased as either a refrigerated or shelf-stable product. It is best to buy a high quality, broad-spectrum organic supplement from your local health food store. It should have a minimum of 5-10 strains or more of bacteria, including several “lactos”, several “bifidos”, and possibly some sacch B’s (Saccharomyces boulardii). It should have a minimum of 10-50 billion cells (CFU’s) or more. Most good formulae are gluten-, dairy-, preservative- and soy-free, non-GMO, vegetarian, and grown on live cultures.
In addition, there are several food sources rich in prebiotics, plant fibers that foster the growth of good bacteria, and probiotics. They include legumes, vegetables, blueberries, apples, pears, onions, garlic, leeks, bananas, chicory, and artichokes; also, fermented foods such as kefir, natural pickles and sauerkraut. Be sure to include them liberally in your diet.
