Probiotics: Health Benefits and Sources

What are probiotics? What are the health benefits? What are the sources, where can I get them in my diet? Many health-conscious consumers are asking themselves these questions these days, as probiotics become the latest trends in being healthy.

Your digestive system - comprised of the stomach, the intestines, and the gastrointestinal tract - is key to your health.  A healthy digestive system is key to overall health. This is where the body takes all the nutrients from your food and puts it throughout the body and also breaks down the waste, the toxins and eliminates that. If the digestive system isn’t working right some of these toxic wastes will also be absorbed into your body.

Good bacteria vs. harmful bacteria

There are billions of microscopic bacteria in the digestive system, some are good and some are bad. A healthy digestive system needs more of the good bacteria than the bad. How do you make sure that your digestive system has more good than bad bacteria? You need to feed the good bacteria what it wants in order for it to flourish, and avoid the foods that the bad bacteria likes, sugar for one.

Probiotics are good bacteria that you can eat

Probiotics are friendly bacteria. You eat probiotics and you are basically eating friendly bacteria. Probiotics seems to be a new word for good bacteria or yogurt. Any good yogurt is a probiotic.

What makes a good probiotic or a good yogurt? There are live bacteria in good yogurt just like in your digestive system.

• L actobacillus bulgaricus
• Streptococcus thermophilus

Also look for yogurt or probiotic that has L acidophilus, that is a very important bacteria. You might see other cultures or bacteria listed as well.

It is important that the yogurt says on its label live active cultures or living yogurt cultures. Otherwise the good bacteria in the yogurt might not even be worth eating. If you don’t eat dairy, there is also yogurt made from soy.

Health benefits of probiotics

Clinical studies have shown that probiotics and yogurts are helpful with these medical conditions.

• Strengthen the immune system.
• Scientifically shown to enhance natural killer cell activity
• Helps fight pathogens, the harmful bacteria.
• Promotes good digestive health
• A great way to get calcium and vitamin D for lactose intolerant people.
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Bloating
• Leaky gut

Why do we need probiotics?

Many things can hurt the good bacteria, such as:

• Too much sugar benefits the bad bacteria.
• Antibiotics, if you have to take antibiotics for any reason, they will kill the good (along with the bad) bacteria. It’s always good to eat some good yogurt after taking antibiotics.
• Poor nutrition
• Stress
• Aging lessens the good bacteria.
• Alcohol

What are some good sources of probiotics?

Fage Greek yogurt is very healthy.

• Cultured dairy products, including yogurt, natural cheese, kefir and buttermilk
• Green foods, such as wheatgrass, spirulina and chlorella

Probiotics and yogurt are very good for our digestive systems, and the healthier our digestive systems are, the healthier we are. That is why there are so many healthy benefits to good yogurt and probiotics.

Sam Montana © 07 December 2008