Bacteria: Friend or foe?

How do you feel about ingesting a few billions of bacteria every day?  Hard to swallow?  A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that you can treat and even prevent some illnesses with beneficial probiotic bacteria.

Probiotics are living microorganisms that help us maintain a healthy immune system and overall health.  This is because probiotics have many positive effects on the body: They improve the function of the mucosal lining of the intestines; they hinder the growth of pathogenic bacteria; they stimulate the production of immune enhancing substances; and they enhance the overall immune response.

Probiotics defend against invading organisms by creating a barrier that prevents harmful bacteria and viruses from multiplying in the body.  Also, they alkalize the intestines, creating a less favorable environment for harmful organisms to develop.  Probiotics also help break down food for digestion, produce the lactase enzyme which helps to digest lactose, and produce vitamins in the intestinal tract. 

Probiotics have many functional benefits:

• Aid in digesting food, particularly hard-to-digest foods and foods to which some individuals are more sensitive
• Alleviate diarrhea
• Help in the treatment of Crohn’s disease
• Heal irritable bowel syndrome
• Prevent vaginal and urinary infections in women
• Enhance the synthesis of B vitamins and improve calcium absorption
• Help keep a healthy balance of intestinal microflora
• Support the overall immune function

There is increasing evidence that probiotics can strengthen the immune system which helps in alleviating allergies, which are misguided reactions of the immune system in response to (what should be harmless) particles. 

Probiotics are found in different forms.  Fermented foods such as yogurt, cheese, kefir. miso, tempeh (fermented soybeans) are good food sources of probiotics.  Probiotics can also be found as dietary supplements in capsules, tablets, and powders.   Below are some four simple tips on choosing a probiotics supplement:

1. Choose powdered probiotics or probiotics in capsules.  
2. Pick a probiotics supplement that has at least 1 billion organisms per gram. 
3. Choose probiotics that are uncentrifuged, as noted on the label.  Centrifuging destroys cells and makes the living organisms useless.
4. Opt for a single-strain probiotic, such as L. acidophilus or B. bifidum, but not both.  This is because often one strain overpowers the other, rendering one of the strains ineffective.