Dr NirvanaTag Archive | probiotic benefits | Dr Nirvana http://www.drnirvana.com Holistic Complementary Medicine|Naturopathy|Alternative Medicine|Integrative Medicine Fri, 18 May 2012 15:35:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Benefits of Probiotics – The Health Benefits of Taking Good Bacteria http://www.drnirvana.com/benefits-of-probiotics-the-health-benefits-of-taking-good-bacteria http://www.drnirvana.com/benefits-of-probiotics-the-health-benefits-of-taking-good-bacteria#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 19:36:11 +0000 http://drnirvana.com/?p=334 Bacteria have a reputation for causing disease, so the idea of tossing down a few billion a day for your health might seem ...]]> probBacteria have a reputation for causing disease, so the idea of tossing down a few billion a day for your health might seem – literally and figuratively – hard to swallow. But a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that you can treat and even prevent some illnesses with foods and supplements containing certain kinds of live bacteria. Northern Europeans consume a lot of these beneficial microorganisms, called probiotics (from pro and biota, meaning “for life”), because of their tradition of eating foods fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt.

Probiotics are considered beneficial and are sometimes referred to as “friendly” bacteria. Some of the ways they are thought to promote health include suppressing the growth of potentially harmful bacteria, improving immune function, enhancing the protective barrier of the digestive tract, and helping to produce vitamin K.

There are over 400 species of microorganisms in the human digestive tract, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

A number of medical, diet, and lifestyle factors are believed to disturb the balance in the colon. This imbalance is called dysbiosis. Factors include:
Inadequate dietary fiber

Oral antibiotic therapy

Infant formula feeding

Ingestion of environmental toxins

Your digestive tract is home to trillions of individual bacteria and more than 500 different species of microflora. The two most prevalent probiotics are Lactobacilli, which make up the majority of the probiotics living in your small intestine, and Bifidobacteria, the most prevalent beneficial probiotic living in your large intestine. Most healthy people have 100 times more Bifidobacteria than Lactobacilli.

No longer kept in check, less healthy bacteria and yeast may flourish, which is thought to increase the likelihood of conditions such as the following:

Diarrhea Due to Antibiotic Use
Food Allergies
Eczema, Psoriasis

Traveler’s Diarrhea

Side Effects of Radiation Therapy

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Vaginal Yeast Infections

Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn’s Disease

Immune Support

Lactose Intolerance

Prevention of Colds

Allergic Rhinitis / Hayfever

Constipation

Colon Cancer Prevention

Pouchitis

Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth

Canker Sores
…Just to name a few….

With the extra helpings of sugar-rich foods, probiotics are essential for the maintenance of healthy balance to prevent bacterial overgrowth that the sugar feeds.

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