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Beneficial
bacteria that help balance the intestinal flora,
boost the immune system and fight disease. |
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Helps
treat diarrhea, constipation,
IBS, vaginitis, colitis,
yeast infection, low immune function, chronic candidiasis
and indigestion. |
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Prevents
and reverses infection by harmful bacteria. |
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Essential
for optimum intestinal health and regeneration.
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There
are a variety of bacteria and other microorganism, known
collectively as the intestinal microflora, that act
to keep the digestive system running by digesting food
and processing waste. These organisms exist throughout
the digestive system from mouth to anus, but most of
the bacteria live in intestinal tract. There are more
than 400 species of intestinal flora but only a small
number of them, 30 to 40, will account for 99% of the
bacteria found in humans. Amazingly, the intestines
can contain up to 100 trillion total bacteria at any
one time weighing up to 4 pounds. Bacteria can be classified
into 3 groups, good or beneficial bacteria,
neutral bacteria and bad or pathogenic bacteria.
Although the word "bacteria" usually has a
negative association, the majority of bacteria are in
fact beneficial and necessary to good health. They provide
digestive help, fight against infection and help protect
and regenerate the intestinal tract. Neutral
microbes have neither a positive nor negative impact
but pathogenic bacteria can produce harmful substances,
irritate the lining of the intestines and create serious
problems. The three types of bacteria are essentially
competing with each other for space and nutrients and
in a healthy intestinal tract a balance is achieved
where the pathogenic bacteria are held in check and
there are enough beneficial bacteria present to perform
digestive and regenerative functions. A healthy balance
of intestinal flora would include 80% or more good &
neutral bacteria and 20% or less pathogenic bacteria.
Serious problems can be created when factors like antibiotics,
poor diet, and stress cause this balance to be disrupted.
A newborn baby has essentially no digestive bacteria
but within a few hours bacteria and microbes begin to
colonize in the digestive tract. Friendly bacteria are
important from the moment of birth on. L. acidophilus
in the vagina inoculates the newborn as he/she passes
thorough the birth canal and provides protection from
other bacteria as well as assisting with the baby’s
digestion and production of vitamins. The bifidobacteria
concentrates in breast milk and is passed onto the nursing
newborn, greatly decreasing the possibility of serious
infection during infancy. In this way, human beings
usually start life with a relatively balanced and healthy
intestinal tract.
As
we age, however, lifestyle and environmental factors
can greatly reduce the number of friendly bacteria allowing
pathogenic bacteria to take hold and cause problems.
Both friendly and pathogenic bacteria can and are affected
by changes in the intestinal environment. Bacterial
infections, stress, traveling, antibiotic treatment,
alcohol, poor diet, aging and a number of other factors
can and do disturb the delicate bacterial balance, often
decreasing the number of beneficial bacteria while allowing
an overgrowth in pathogenic bacteria. An overgrowth
of bad bacteria such as e.coli, salmonella, Giardia,
shigella or staphylococcus can create symptoms including
flatulence, constipation and/or diarrhea. If the imbalance
and symptoms are allowed to continue they can lead to
chronic gastrointestinal inflammation and serious GI
problems like IBS, ulcerative colitis and even colon
cancer. Bacterial infections also pave the way for the
release of toxins into the bloodstream contributing
to eczema, nervous system disorders, arthritis and a
variety of immune system disorders.
Beneficial
Flora - Probiotics
The health promoting beneficial bacteria and supplements
containing them are often referred to as “probiotics”
from the Greek words “pro” or “for”
and ‘biotics” meaning “life”.
Probiotics are essential to proper digestive function
and are beneficial and necessary to life. They support
digestion by breaking foods down into their component
parts for complete absorption into the body and act
to crowd out pathogenic bacteria and prevent infection.
Beneficial bacteria or probiotics are also required
for the bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber and
short-chain fatty acid production - vital for the production
of new cells to regenerate the intestinal tract itself.
In an imbalanced state, the intestinal walls cannot
be rebuilt every 3 to 5 days as they normally would.
Since probiotics were first discovered in the mid 19th
century and greatly accelerating in the last 25 years
a great deal of research and numerous clinical trials
have been undertaken to better understand probiotics
and how they function. Recently, thanks to remarkable
advances in microbiology and intestinal bacteriology,
it is understood that certain bacterial strains, especially
the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genus have high
mucus membrane chemical affinity and play important
roles in human health. Probiotic supplements have now
been widely embraced and accepted as agents that can
bring significant health benefits including:
- Enhancement
of the immune system.
- Antimicrobial
effects inhibiting intestinal and food poisoning pathogens.
- Improvement
of gut function by normalizing microflora balance,
reducing constipation and improving intestinal mobility.
- Treatment
of diarrhea including infantile, traveler's and antibiotic
induced diarrhea.
- Nutraceutical
effects including contributing to the reduction of
serum cholesterol, management of diabetes and prevention
of osteoporosis.
- Improved
nutrition through the enhanced breakdown of vitamins,
minerals and amino acids and their absorption through
the intestinal walls.
- Cleansing
of the bloodstream by making it freer of toxins.
- Prevention
of infection by harmful bacteria.
Because
of the essential nature of beneficial bacteria, the
tendency to lose them as we age leaving us open to infection
and disease regular and the benefits listed above probiotic
supplementation is now widely recommended.
Probiotic
Selection
There
are many different probiotic formulations available
today. Since effective probiotic supplementation is
so important to intestinal health it is extremely important
to carefully choose which probiotic is right for you.
Here are some guidelines.
Classification
Probiotic strains are classified as either resident
or transit. Resident strains are those commonly found
in the human digestive tract and bacteria from supplements
containing these strains are able to re-establish in
the intestinal tract giving them a slight advantage.
Resident strains also may be more likely to work together
and be less antagonistic to other beneficial resident
strains already in the intestinal tract. Transient strains
pass through the system and do not re-establish themselves.
Certain transient strains do have strong abilities to
fight infection. For that reason multi-strain
formulations with both resident and transient strains
are often recommended. Resident strains include Lactobacillus
acidophilus, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bifidobacteria
bifidum, Bifidobacteria infantis, Bifidobacteria longum,
Steptococcus faecalis, Steptococcus faecium. Transient
Strains include Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus bulgarius,
Lactobacillus yoghurti, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus
kefir, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus plantarum,
Streptococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophillus.
Strains
The strains used in the formula first of all should
be able to survive the stomach digestive acids and reach
the intestines in sufficient quantities. Some Lactobacillus
strains including the casei strain have shown to be
very resistant to environmental factors. For resident
strains ability to effectively compete for and strong
adherence to the intestinal wall is important. For both
resident and transient strains the capability of destroying
significant numbers of pathogenic bacteria is essential.
The Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria strains have been
the most widely researched so far and are therefore
found in many formulations. Most probiotic products
consist of multiple species from either the Lactobacillus
or Bifidobacteria family including both resident and
transient strains. Since it’s often difficult
to determine the specific intestinal area in most need,
using a formula with multiple strains has another advantage
in that it can target both the small and large intestine.
Dosage
Probiotics are usually measured in the numbers (in billions)
of live organisms present in a daily dosage. To maintain
healthy levels of intestinal flora, 2 or more billion
live cells daily are recommended and can be taken indefinitely
for maintenance purposes. To address existing imbalances
10 or more billion cultures may be needed.
Prebiotics
There is significant research that supports the use
of prebiotics in promoting enhanced level of beneficial
bacteria. A prebiotic is basically a food for the bacteria.
It is a dietary ingredient that reaches the large intestine
in an intact form and stimulates the growth and/or activity
of beneficial bacteria. Selecting a formulation that
contains multiple resident and transient strains with
prebiotics such as Fructoologosaccharides (FOS) is desirable.
When should they be taken
While probiotics can be taken anytime there are various
opinions on what is the best time. Many authorities
suggest taking a probiotic two or three times a day
after meals or with a large glass of water to dilute
stomach acid.
Other
things to look for
An expiration date on the label is helpful since many
probiotic species are affected by time, heat and oxygen
and its important that the live cell count at the time
you use the probiotic are equal to what is stated on
the package. For this reason a few manufacturers “overformulate”,
that is, they include higher levels of live cells than
they state using the stated levels as the minimum at
time of consumption.
Click here for information
on Pro-Biotics Plus™ Capsules
· Multi-strain probiotic supplement blend
· 5 resident and transient strains
· 2.4 billion live bacteria at time of use
· 5 immune system boosters
· Enzymes
· FOS
Click
here for information on Pro-Biotics Plus™ Chewables
· Multi-strain probiotic supplement blend in
chewable form
· 12 resident and transient strains
· 12 billion live bacteria at time of use
· 2 immune system boosters |
