Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Being "Pro"active with Biotics

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
About 20 years ago, I recall learning about replacing your bad bacteria with good bacteria. And having good "flora and fauna" in your digestive tract was a good thing. However, I never knew "WHY." It just sounded cool and that was it.

As my hubby always reminds me, "it's always easy when you know the answer." My immune system got off-kilter when I was young, resulting in allergies, hives, unexplained rashes, etc. Although, genetics does play a role, I wish I would have implemented back then things I now know to manage/control my allergies. And the best part, there are no side-effects.

Most of us already know having a healthy digestive system is central to good health as 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract. Aside from incorporating essential fatty acids, digestive enzymes, fiber.... probiotics is a pre-requisite for optimal digestion.

Probiotics otherwise known as friendly bacteria inhabit our digestive tract from top to bottom. They help re-populate all the good bacteria that may have been destroyed while on antibiotics and medication, for example. These friendly bacteria also:
  • fight disease-causing bacteria throughout the entire digestive tract
  • they manufacture B vitamins
  • strengthen and promote the immune function and response
  • improve bone health
  • lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels while increasing HDL (good) levels
  • help prevent and treat arthritis
  • help prevent type I diabetes
  • protect against colon cancer
  • speed healing and prevent the infection of injuries
  • improve the body's ability to make a protective (mucin) coat, which prevents the inside of our digestive tract from being damaged by enzymes, acid, abrasion, and bad bacteria
  • produce enzymes that help digest our foods.
  • help heal the gut lining when damaged
Know that 70% of your immune system is in the stomach and digestive tract and when it isn't working properly, you are open to all kinds of health related issues. When those systems are healthy and full of natural digestive enzymes and probiotics, Salmonella, E. Coli and other intestinal problems are almost 100% sure to not affect you.

Your digestive tract contains 500+ types of bacteria and an estimated 100 trillion bacteria, most of which are beneficial. In fact, you have 10 times more bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract than you have cells in your entire body.

Almost every cultural group eats probiotic foods. Germans eat sauerkraut, Japanese enjoy miso and natto, and Koreans eat kimchee. If you're not into these type of fermented foods, yogurt is also rich in beneficial bacteria and is also a good source of iodine.


One of my favorite probiotic drink is GoodBelly (see picture above). Do you know the most vulnerable part of your digestive system? If you didn't guess it, that's okay. I didn't know this as well, but it's your mouth. Because, we can get infections on our tonsils, our sinuses, our ears, (specifically the inner canal), around and in our teeth, the lining of our mouth..... I like to swish a probiotic drink around in my mouth first before swallowing. That way, you benefit from the work of probiotics throughout your entire digestive tract. If you swallow capsules of probiotics, you benefit only in the lower part of your digestive tract and miss all of the important benefits they have in your mouth and esophagus. This is why I also like the probiotic lozenges and eating a good, quality yogurt. Two of my favorite, any Greek yogurt like Oikos Organic Greek yogurt and Brown Cow Cream Top yogurt.

As with everything, knowing what kind of probiotics to take is essential. I look for probiotics that are naturally present and therefore belong in the human gut. They're more resistant to acid and bile, and they implant in the lining of the gut, providing protection for up to two weeks. Whereas, dairy probiotics are weaker and more transient as they last only about 1 day in your gut.

Lastly, be sure take digestive enzyme before your meal and a probiotic after your meal when the stomach acid is lowest because it has been used up to digest your food.


5 comments:

Unknown said...

I love your advice at the end of this article - digestive enzyme before a meal and probiotic afterwards. It's a tried and true recipe for digestive happiness! I also really liked your tip of swishing a probiotic drink around in your mouth. My only question is all the sugar that most of these beverages contain. I like my probiotic supplement because I bypass the added sugar and ingredients in some probiotic fortified foods...maybe I can make my own probiotic drink to swish and support the good bacterial balance in my mouth.

Thanks for the great article!
~ Anna M.
blog.nutri-health.com

MaryAnne said...

Hi Anna,

I'm so glad you liked the article. This is such a great medium to share what I know and finally be able to document it in an organized fashion. Your concern about the sugar is quite valid. I know some people will even brush their teeth with probiotics for that reason, to avoid additional sugar altogether. However, the brushing method never appealed to me. Anyway, I appreciate your comments as it provides vital feedback.

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