Probiotics - The Beneficial Intestinal Bacteria

PROBIOTICS
The Beneficial Intestinal Bacteria
The Answer To A Healthy Digestive Tract The word probiotic is taken from the Greek meaning "for life." The human gastrointestinal tract is home to more than 400 types of resident probiotics, also known as "friendly" or "good" or beneficial bowel bacteria, gut microorganisms, or intestinal flora. These "friendly" microorganisms protect the GI tract and keep us healthy by protecting us from "unfriendly" microorganisms such as bacteria, parasites, viruses, yeasts, and fungi that cause disease. Probiotics also help to improve immune system function, and probiotics have many other health benefits. Scientific research makes it very clear that friendly probiotics are of vital necessity and immense benefit to humans. Probiotics not only collectively provide many health benefits, such as vastly improved digestion and nutrient absorption, but probiotics also provide protection against the invasion of foreign pathogens and other infectious agents.

improve digestion and nutrient absorption.

dramatically improve human immune function.

lower cholesterol by metabolizing it;

control bowel toxicity and decrease the risk of bowel cancer; and reduce gas production by non-disease-producing microorganisms

protect against invasion of foreign pathogens and other infectious agents and enhance the immune system's ability to fight infections;

provide a main source of Vitamin K;

protect the body from the potentially devastating effects of accumulated toxins and carcinogenic substances.

produce short chain fatty adds that are converted into energy. help protect against unhealthy cholesterol buildup that could lead to cardiovascular disease and even death. Antibiotics, one of the wonder drugs of the 20th century, have helped overcome many diseases that previously may have resulted in death or disablement. However, we now know that antibiotics have limitations and their use and misuse has frequently led to poor health. There are a number of bacteria that have developed partial or total resistance to some antibiotics. Furthermore, broad-spectrum antibiotics don't distinguish between "bad" and "good" bacteria. They kill the probiotics along with the bad bacteria and this may be one of the worst side effects of using antibiotics. The pathogenic bacteria will invade the digestive tract and multiplies in high numbers. This disturbs the delicate balance between the good, beneficial probiotics and bad bacteria. This delicate balance is also upset using oral contraceptives, steroids, exposure to x-rays and radiation therapy, excessive ingestion of chlorinated water, the consumption of refined sugars and other refined foods, poor digestion, poor elimination of waste, stress, and an unhealthy diet. There are negative effects resulting from loss of probiotics:

Loss of probiotics lead to the overgrowth of detrimental, disease-causing bacteria & yeasts e.g. Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Clostridium dificile, Yersinia enterocolitica, etc.

Loss of probiotics contribute to digestive problems such as leaky gut syndrome, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, crohn's disease, diverticulitis etc.

Loss of probiotics allow specific detrimental bacteria to thrive that have been proven to cause severe health problems. E.g. E. Coli may lead to problems with insulin and blood sugar function. Yersinia enterocolitica, a pathogenic bacterium, produces substances that cause the over-production of the thyroid hormone. This detrimental bacterium, reportedly, contributes to autoimmune diseases.

Loss Of probiotics lead to the production of endotoxins in the digestive tract, which contributes to conditions like lupus erythematosus, pancreatitis, psoriasis and other skin conditions

Loss of probiotics allow entry of partially digested proteins to the bloodstream contributing to eczema, nervous system disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and many other immune system disorders Within every human being is a flourishing, living colony of approximately four pounds of these friendly, helpful probiotics. Most of the probiotics reside in the digestive tract although some probiotics are found elsewhere (i.e. the oral cavity, throat, etc.). Without enough good probiotics, human life would cease to exist. Consequently, if humans fail to maintain a enough probiotics in the body, disease will occur. It is extremely important for us to cultivate and maintain a healthy colony of good and helpful bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, one that is composed mainly of several strains of living lactic acid bacteria. Ideally, the colony of microflora should be composed of a ratio of 85% friendly bacteria to 15% harmful bacteria. The regular consumption of a high quality probiotic product that contains numerous strains of living lactic acid bacteria produce bacteria that will enhance a person's efforts to maintain a healthy colony of helpful bacteria in the digestive tract. They help prevent or reduce the effect of an infection caused by a pathogenic organism, as they are beneficial, nutritional and therapeutic.

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