Your Trusted Source For Health & Nutrition

Today’s world is not the world of yesteryear. Our grandparents saw the rise of antibiotics, the first of which was penicillin, in 1928, though it wasn’t until the early 40s that processes were created for the large-scale production of antibiotics. While they are life-saving in many cases, and certainly necessary to get over some ailments, they have the unfortunate side-effect of killing off many of the beneficial microflora in our systems. Pesticides also damage our gut bacteria, as does chlorinated drinking water. Any sort of surgery, colonoscopy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy is very harmful to them, as is exposure to heavy metals. Things such as mouthwashes, aspirin, painkillers, and antacids also do damage to our guts. Artificial food coloring often has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Bad fats in food, and increased consumption of carbohydrates breaks the balance. Also, sugar, which has become increasingly normalized in everyday consumption, while it is eaten by many bacteria and yeast, is particularly tasty to pathogenic bacteria and helps them to gain the upper hand. Also, using so many sanitation items such as antibacterial soaps, shampoos, hand cleansers, etc., can damage your gut bacteria if even a little bit is ingested.

Probiotic Supplements Can Help… A Lot

It’s hard to get away from all of the things that damage your good bacteria. In some cases and places, it’s nearly impossible. The best thing you can do to combat this is to eat a diet that will help bolster your good gut bacteria, and to take a probiotic supplement. Eating things such as yogurt, cottage cheese, and pickled foods such as sauerkraut and kim chi will all help your good probiotic bacteria. Additionally, the good bacteria primarily helps you digest fibrous plant material, so any food high in fiber rather than sugars and processed carbohydrates will feed the good bacteria instead of the bad guys!

Combining these foods with a probiotic supplement combines the best of both worlds, helping to repopulate your guts with good bacteria and providing those populations with literally millions of co-workers to help combat any bad bacteria which may be down there.

Improving My Gastrointestinal Bacteria Balance Will Do What Exactly?

The first and most important thing a balanced microbiome will do is enhance your nutrient absorption. Your gut needs these good bacteria to break down the food you eat into smaller molecules which can be absorbed into your bloodstream. This will also promote weight loss, as you will get more of the nutrients your body needs from the food you eat (meaning your body won’t be telling you to eat more!) Establishing a healthy microflora balance will also help with immune system functions. As much as eight percent of your immune system is located in your intestinal tract, so it is very important for your immune system response.

You can also expect your mood to improve, as over 95% of the serotonin in your body is produced by the good gut bacteria, so your positive emotions actually really do reside in your gut. Good gut bacteria also help to relieve temporary inflammation, promoting all-around health in your body. The enhanced digestion that you will receive from these amazing little bacteria will also reduce your fatigue and balance your blood sugar, as poor digestion leads to fatigue and blood sugar levels also play a big role in how energetic you feel. Good gut health also helps to increase iron absorption, which is very important to just about every system in the body.

Finally, a healthy microbiome can improve your skin’s appearance, since good gut bacteria levels reduce nutritional and hormonal imbalances, immune system disruptions, etc. All of these problems are normally pretty visible at the skin level, so taking care of your insides will help the outside too!

How Do I Take Them?

It’s pretty easy actually. Probiotics, while found naturally in some foods, are normally taken in a gelcap form. Taking them before or during a meal is recommended. Also, it’s a good idea to take them especially during and after antibiotic treatment. As we mentioned earlier, antibiotics can help save your life and heal you, but hurt your guts, so it’s a good idea to repopulate with good gut bacteria as soon as possible. Just make sure that you take them at least 2 hours distant from taking the antibiotics (and it’s usually better after).

Change Your Life

Probiotics could be the miracle cure for many people, and have health benefits for nearly everyone who takes them. While they may have not been that necessary seven or eight decades ago, they are certainly helpful to combat the daily stressors we put on our bodies today. Improve your health today by leaps and bounds and help those little good probiotic bacteria crowd out the bad ones so you can enjoy a happier, healthier life!