Probiotics
Probiotics are good bacteria that are in the food we eat or added to a dietary supplement. One good example is lactobacillus which is found in yogurt. It can help us fight or prevent infection.
The basic concept behind probiotics is that your body is host to microorganisms or bacteria known as gut flora that are essential to your health. Substances containing these microbes can be taken as a way to improve your beneficial microbial population. Probiotics have become an important part of nutrition because our microbial populations have been altered by the use of antibiotics and other substances that are designed to kill germs and disease.
While practices, such as antibiotics, are effective at killing germs and disease, they are also effective in killing your “good” bacteria. By introducing friendly microorganisms to your gut you can strengthen your resident bacteria. So, yogurt contains a probiotic and plain yogurt is better than flavored.
A lot of food sources may contain only one strain or limited amount of probiotics. In today’s fast paced and often crowded environments, you need a source of probiotics with multiple strains or multiple types of pribiotics to support the body in preventing infection and maintaining that delicate balance between good and bad bacteria.
Probiotics will help the body make some B vitamins and vitamin K. They will help clean up toxins which can increase the risk of cancers such as colon cancer. Still, they can lower the effects of lactose intolerance and are key players in the immune system in fighting viruses and fungal overgrowth.
Probiotics can enhance the body’s ability to fight colitis and irritable Bowel Syndrome. Finally, probiotics can enhance nutrient absorption by the intestines. One way it does this is by helping us to make important enzymes (proteins) necessary for digestion.
