What are Probiotics? And why you need them

We have 10 trillion cells in our body. An even more important thing to consider is that we have over 60 trillion bacteria in our intestine. For optimal health we need to optimize the ratio of the good bacteria to bad bacteria and yeast in our intestine. If we don’t we increase the risk of developing many chronic degenerative diseases.

Avoiding sugars, processed foods and foods that breakdown quickly into sugars (refined carbohydrates) is key. These sugars and processed foods serve as fertilizer for the bad bacteria and yeast in our intestines, which are toxic. Once there is  an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast, reversing that overgrowth becomes very difficult. Replacing dietary sugars and processed foods with more vegetable fibers and water soluble fibers is very important. These types of foods act as fertilizer for the good, healthy bacteria in our intestine. These good bacteria (Probiotics) are responsible for digestion, and making sure that you are getting all of the nutrition from the foods that you eat. Even if you eat healthfully, but don’t have a healthy digestive tract from poor eating habits in the past, you won’t be able to absorb the nutrients from the foods that you eat.

The 60 trillion good bacteria in our intestine also produce waste products that are very important to our health. Products like Vitamin K2 which has an amazing influence on heart health and bone density, and a variety of other nutrients that are beneficial if not critical for optimal health.

Probiotics are especially important if you suffer from indigestion or bloating. Getting your digestive system back on track can reduce your waistline by inches depending on how great your need for Probiotics. Whether you experience indigestion and bloating or not, everyone can benefit from Probiotics supplementation.

If, however, you’re looking to go the whole food route, consuming fermented foods helps to foster these good bacteria. Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and tempeh for example.

But, because fermented foods are not a staple in most (Western) diets, people usually turn to yogurt for Probiotics. However, its best to avoid mass produced, commercially available yogurts (i.e. Yoplait, Dannon) because these yogurts are made from pasteurized milk (dead enzymes and dead cultures). More importantly though, because they commonly contain sugar, and high fructose corn syrup which help to foster the bad bacteria and yeast. Most flavored yogurts contain around 25 grams of sugar per serving. Next time you are in the grocery store, pick up a single serving of flavored yogurt and check out the sugar content.

Supplementing with Probiotics is a very affordable and effective way to make sure that you are getting optimal amounts of these good bacteria. Most high quality Probiotics are usually contained in a refrigerated case in the supplement section of your grocery stores or in a refrigerated case in your health food store.  Look for a high potency Probiotic containing over 5 billion strains per dose, which will be displayed on the label.

 Probiotic supplementation is one more important step you can take to ensure that your body is getting all of the good nutrition possible, so that you can perform your best.