If your digestion system is giving you problems, acid-reflux, IBS, diarrhea, Crohn’s disease, vaginal diseases, constipation or stomach problems than adding Probiotics could be the best solution. Probiotics are a natural healthy form of bacterium that assists in the digestion process. Many of us grew up learning that bacteria is a bad thing. Well unfortunately many of us are actually missing the much needed bacteria that is healthy for proper digestion.
So What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms, and researchers show that there are many types of bacteria that the body uses. When ‘unfriendly’ microorganisms come in to the body, mainly through the foods or medicines that are consumed, they manifest as yeasts, parasites, disease-causing bacteria and fungi and they upset the normal balance of ‘good’ bacteria that are working throughout the digestive tract. Antibiotics are a major contributor in this unbalance, and these ‘unfriendly bacteria’ tend to be the root causes of the diseases and problems in the digestion track.
How do You Take Them?
The answer to these toxic situations is to add probiotics to your diet, to overtake and maintain the ‘healthy’ bacteria in the digestive tract. The best foods to do that are fermented foods, including fermented and unfermented milk, some juices, soy beverages, miso, tempeh (tofu) and most importantly, yogurt. Yogurt is good news for most people because even the kind with fruit on the bottom will promote the production of ‘healthy’ bacteria as long as it is not overly processed.
The bacteria that probiotic foods produce come from two groups, the Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium. These long names are not important to the average person, but what is important is that this ‘healthy’ bacteria is produced in the digestive tract on a daily basis to keep the ‘healthy flora’ flourishing for good health.
This typically means that an adult needs to consume one of the above foods everyday, but that is not the only way to get probiotics. Probiotics can be found in capsule, pill or powder forms and even health drinks. In most grocery stores and health food stores, you will find that it is not difficult to find digestive track support in adding probiotics to your diet.
Twenty years ago no one would have known what you were referring to, but research has found probiotics to be a significant part of natural nutrition. If you are experiencing any of the digestive problems mentioned, try some form of probiotics for one month to see if you feel better naturally.
Emily is a health blogger and contributing writer for IBSTreatments.com, a site that specializes in helping people understand their IBS by pairing them with treatments like Questran for IBS that can help remove certain symptoms.