Protecting your intestinal health with Probiotics: Part 1

You might be surprised to learn that how you feel and even look every day may be tied to your intestines. To maintain good health, your intestines should properly absorb nutrients and help eliminate waste and toxins.

Your intestines, which lie between the stomach and rectum, are part of the GI tract or digestive system. In the small and large intestines, food is broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream, providing your cells and organs with the energy they need to function. Your intestines do this with the help of good bacteria also called microflora. These "good" bacteria aid digestion, promote vital nutrient production, maintain pH balance and prevent proliferation of unwelcome bacteria. From the time of birth your body is inhabited by these good bacteria. Changes in diet, stress, aging and other factors can disrupt the delicate balance of good to unwelcome bacteria.

Lack of good bacteria or good microflora can lead to:

- Digestion issue
- Poor bowel function
- A weakened immune system
- Poor nutrient absorption
- Low level of energy

Lack of good bacteria is so common that many health professional recommend the use of probiotic supplements. Probiotics are good bacteria that limit the proliferation of other, unwelcome bacteria in the intestinal tract by crowding them out.
In the first decade of the twentieth century a Russian scientist, Elie Metchnikoff, suggested that the long lives of Bulgarian peasants might be a result of their consumption of fermented microorganisms which he believed helped the microflora of the colon. this discovery, together with his work in immunology, earned him the 1908 Noble Prize for Medicine. This event raised considerable interest in the study of benefits of microorganisms to humans. In 1974 the term "Probiotic" (Pro = for; Bio=life) was coined to describe the use of beneficial bacteria to positively influence health.
Today the scientific field agrees that probiotics offer a broad range of health benefits when taken in sufficient levels.

Conditioned as we are to think of bacteria as trouble-makers, it's hard to accept that we may actually not have enough bacteria in our digestive system. Yet that is actually quite common. And when it happens, our bodies may let us know with irregularity, or weaker immune system.
There is a synergistic relationship between good bacteria and our body: our bodies provide good bacteria with a safe place to live and grow, and the good bacteria help us digest, absorb our food, eliminate and maintain healthy intestinal function. It works very well... as long as there enough good bacteria present.

Tomorrow we will talk about different Strains that exist.