Probiotic Information
Probiotics are good germs. Your body is an ecosystem with countless bacteria aiding digestion, manufacturing food for your system, killing unfriendly bacteria tweaking balance with fungi. When our ecosystem no longer has sufficient balance, the defense mechanisms may not function properly, infections occur and you may have problems with your digestive system. Probiotics, a serving of good germs, can be a recently recognized answer to some of our problems.
Ellie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel Prize winner, hypothesized the good health of Bulgarian peasants was from the bacteria that fermented the yogurt they ate.
Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria will be the most often used probiotics but other yeasts and bacteria such as Streptococcus thermophilus also fall under the probiotic label.
Prebiotics are foods that support the growth of probiotics. Sauerkraut, yogurt, wine and cheese use the activities of these friendly bacteria within their creation. These foods supply not merely probiotics but the food source for the good bacteria.
One present usage of probiotics is combating bloating and yeast infections brought on by antibiotics. Probiotics also have prospect of treatment of tooth decay, periodontal disease, ulcers, IBS, respiratory and skin disease.
Concerns
Studies indicate that probiotics aren't always safe. The Dutch government banned their use for patients in intensive care. Ellie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel Prize winner, hypothesized that this good health of Bulgarian peasants was in the bacteria that fermented the yogurt they ate.
Probiotic
A substitute for probiotics is prebiotics. Prebiotics are food to the friendly bacteria already in your system. Supplying a source of food increases the friendly bacteria and will eliminate the need for probiotics.
Useful
The phrase probiotics refers to the various bacteria living inside our intestinal tract. These bacteria are in reality useful to our bodies, providing a number of functions. These bacteria are beneficial to our immune system, and principals are bringing to light how powerful these helpful bacteria can be. These good bacteria may help prevent infections by outnumbering and crowding out the bad guys (unwanted bacteria or any other infectious diseases). Probiotics also aid to bolster the defense mechanisms throughout the body.
Traditional use of probiotics has been to help difficulties with the GI tract. Irritable bowel, bloating and diarrhea are common symptoms where probiotics can be utilized. Probiotics are commonly used to help adults and children when infectious agents, like viruses, cause diarrhea. The probiotics do themselves not necessarily kill the bugs, but assist the body to through the infection. The probiotics do apparently help prevent reinfection and may even assist the body produce antibodies against the infectious bug. Probiotics have also improved treatment rates up against the bacteria suspected of causing stomach ulcers. It is no surprise that given the billion plus amounts of good bacteria in your intestinal tract, these important bacteria play a critical role in keeping this environment healthy.
The advantages of probiotics expand beyond the digestive tract. In fact, there is a substantial amount of research to say that probiotics could actually help prevent respiratory infections like the cold and flu. The increasing media coverage of the swine flew has concerned many parents, teachers, school administrators and full communities on what to accomplish. Fortunately, probiotics show evidence to help prevent respiratory infections. Probiotics have benefited older people in the prevention of infections within the hospital. Probiotics have helped reduce potentially infectious bugs like staph and strep from colonizing from the nose. Taking a mixture of a multivitamin and probiotics can help reduce the incidence and seriousness of colds and flu's for several months. The Epstein-Barr virus continues to be implicated in chronic fatigue. Probiotics are already used to help treat the reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus by helping the body's production of interferon, that helps decrease the viral load.
Other Benefits
Furthermore, probiotics help prevent vaginal infections as well as bladder infections. Probiotics are recommended to become taken during the use of antibiotics to prevent losing the good bacteria from the intestines, and then for even a few weeks after to make certain that the bacterial flora is maintained after antibiotic treatment. Since antibiotics kill bacteria, many of the good bacteria could be lost as well. Antibiotics do not kill fungi (or yeast), so the loss of the good bacteria had to police some of the bad bugs increases the yeast in the gut a significant opportunity to grow beyond its welcome. This might lead to bloating, vaginal infections, thrush as well as greater problems. Treatment with probiotics may help prevent these problems from ever starting. Probiotics can be dosed once a day for prevention, or two to three times daily to help treat current infections. Probiotics should be used alongside medical or herbal antibiotic treatments, but not in place of them. Some probiotics come refrigerated, whereas other people not. Refrigeration might not be needed, though for a lot of brands it does ensure high levels of probiotics in the container. Dosing for probiotics is normally done in CFU's, colony forming units, with recommended dosing starting 1-5 billion CFU for maintenance and 20 or maybe more CFU taken 2-3 times a day when the body is fighting an infection. Side effects are extremely rare with probiotics, but a few cases of infection have took place patients with indwelling catheters.