Probiotics

Probiotics are a very important part of your elaborate and complex digestive system.

Have you ever wondered how you stay healthy? Think about this for a moment. Although there are many factors that cause disease...and heart disease is a prime example of a disease process that that is multi-faceted....there is simply no way a person can maintain health throughout their lifetime if their nutrition is continually substandard.

Your body is an elaborate biological 'machine'. Nutrients from the food you eat are required by your body to protect you via the complexities of your immune system and to regenerate and repair cellular systems which make up your body's organs.

Staying healthy is not luck…accidental or entirely dependent on genetics or environment. Your body needs the highest quality raw materials to do what it does best....keeping you well and youthful for as long as possible.

Nutrition...such as important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids and essential plant sugars are absorbed into your blood stream and distributed around your body to organs and cells as required.

"Given that your primary method of nutrient absorption is via your gastrointestinal tract, it follows that proper GI tract health should be of prime importance"

Probiotics:

A working group from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)jointly define Probiotics as...

"live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host"

Probiotics are microscopic life forms that help to break down food and assist with the waste disposal process in your colon.The healthy human Colon contains a highly complex ecosystem or community of these microorganisms.

Probiotics are also known as...

friendly bacteria

beneficial bacteria..and..

micro flora

The micro flora in the human gut are responsible for a fermentation process that breaks down protein and carbohydrates…this is a normal part of the digestive process. The end products of this fermentation process are mostly molecules called…short chain fatty acids or SCFA's.

Food sterilization techniques and preservatives may decrease the levels of beneficial bacteria in your food. Poor dietary choices can also reduce the amount of friendly bacteria that you ingest on a daily basis. Use of broad spectrum antibiotics and stress can also interfere with healthy microorganisms in your GI Tract.

The quality of the friendly bacterial profile in your GI tract is affected by the following factors:

Gut transit time - do you have normal, fast or slow waste removal time

Diet - is your diet full of a variety of nutrient rich foods that you eat daily

Aging process - your gut becomes less efficient at breaking down nutrition as you age

Neuroendocrine system activity - Neuroendocrine cells release hormones into your blood stream that stimulate, inhibit or maintain normal cellular function

stress - have you ever had an upset stomach because you were stressed out?

Pancreatic secretions - as part of the digestive process

Mucus production

Disease - for example irritable bowel syndrome

Antibiotics and Drugs - of any description

Epithelial cell turnover time - the inside lining of your intestine..three or four days in the case of the colon

Probiotics actually have some rather strange names...check these out!

Lactobacillus Acidophilus

Bifidobacterium Bifidum

Lactobacillus Bulgaricus

Because Probiotics are living organisms, they actually need to 'eat' to survive...just like you do. The food that these friendly bacteria eat is a category of nutrients called Prebiotics.

A Prebiotic is a non digestible(to you)food ingredient that stimulates the growth and activity of Probiotic bacteria.

The term Synbiotic or Synbiotics is used to describe the combination of pre and Probiotics.

Around 70 percent of your body's immune system mechanisms reside in the GI tract. This is news to most people. The concept of the immune system usually conjures up images of 'fighting'cells in the blood stream…not your digestive system.

Put into the correct context…the importance of a healthy GI tract for maintaining a healthy disease free lifestyle should not be understated

Probiotics from food or supplements?

Probiotic bacteria can be found in certain cultured dairy products...but not all dairy products.

Prebiotics are found in certain plant based food sources like grains and some fruits and vegetables like Artichokes for example.

"Because the GI tract health of many people is under major stress due to poor dietary choices, widespread use of pharmaceutical and recreational drugs, psychological stress factors and environmental toxicity I strongly recommend that this is one supplement that everybody takes"

Probiotic supplements are not expensive and use of a high quality product will yield very tangible results in the short term and a much healthier you in the long term.

Look for a product that contains:

Guaranteed several billion live ..viable organisms per capsule

Jerusalem Artichoke - pre biotic support of the Probiotic bacteria

Enzyme blend - including Invertase,Amylase and Lipase

These enzymes hydrolyse..or split certain compounds into individual components such as sugars and fats.

GI Tract Health and your Heart:

It is widely known and understood that poor dietary choices are a contributing factor to the development of coronary artery disease.

Proper daily nutrition for the whole of your life...and proper absorption and utilization of nutrients is essential if you wish to eliminate inadequate nutrition as a heart disease risk factor.

Click here to go from Probiotics to Heart Health Supplements