Probiotic Information
Probiotics are good germs. Your body is an ecosystem with countless bacteria aiding digestion, manufacturing food for the body, killing unfriendly bacteria and balance with fungi. When our ecosystem no longer has sufficient balance, the immune system may not function properly, candida albicans occur and you may end up having your digestive system. Probiotics, a dosage of good germs, is a recently recognized answer to some of our problems.
Ellie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel Prize winner, hypothesized that this good health of Bulgarian peasants was from your bacteria that fermented the yogurt they ate.
Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria are the most often used probiotics but other yeasts and bacteria such as Streptococcus thermophilus also fall under the probiotic label.
Prebiotics are foods that keep the growth of probiotics. Sauerkraut, yogurt, wine and cheese use the activities of these friendly bacteria within their creation. These foods supply not simply probiotics but the food source for your good bacteria.
One present using probiotics is combating bloating and yeast infections brought on by antibiotics. Probiotics also have potential for treatment of tooth decay, periodontal disease, ulcers, IBS, respiratory and skin ailment.
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 from the bacteria that fermented the yogurt they ate.
An alternative choice to probiotics is prebiotics. Prebiotics are food for the friendly bacteria already in your body. Supplying a source of food speeds up the friendly bacteria and can eliminate the need for probiotics.
Useful
The word probiotics refers to the various bacteria that reside inside our intestinal tract. These bacteria have been useful to our bodies, providing a variety of functions. These bacteria are best for our immune system, and studies bringing to light how powerful these helpful bacteria might be. These good bacteria will help prevent infections by outnumbering and crowding the bad guys (unwanted bacteria and other infectious diseases). Probiotics also assist to bolster the immune system 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 works extremely well. Probiotics are commonly used to help adults and children when infectious agents, like viruses, cause diarrhea. The probiotics themselves do not necessarily kill the bugs, but help the body through the infection. The probiotics do manage to help prevent reinfection and may even help the body produce antibodies against the infectious bug. Probiotics have also improved treatment rates up against the bacteria suspected of causing stomach ulcers. It's no surprise that given the billion plus quantities of good bacteria in your intestinal tract, these important bacteria play a vital role in keeping this environment healthy.
The benefits of probiotics expand beyond the digestive tract. In fact, there is a substantial amount of research to say that probiotics may actually help prevent respiratory infections for example 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 do. Fortunately, probiotics show evidence to assist prevent respiratory infections. Probiotics have benefited seniors in the prevention of infections whilst in the hospital. Probiotics have helped reduce potentially infectious bugs like staph and strep from colonizing within the nose. Taking a mix of a multivitamin and probiotics might help reduce the incidence and severity of colds and flu's for three months. The Epstein-Barr virus has become implicated in chronic fatigue. Probiotics have already been used to help treat the reactivation from the Epstein-Barr virus by improving the body's production of interferon, that helps decrease the viral load.
Other Benefits
Furthermore, probiotics help prevent vaginal infections in addition to bladder infections. Probiotics are recommended to get taken during the use of antibiotics to prevent the loss of the good bacteria within the intestines, and then for obviously any good few weeks after to make certain that the bacterial flora is maintained after antibiotic treatment. Since antibiotics kill bacteria, some of the good bacteria could possibly be lost as well. Antibiotics do not kill fungi (or yeast), so the loss of the good bacteria required to police some of the bad bugs provides yeast in the gut a significant opportunity to grow beyond its welcome. This can lead to bloating, vaginal infections, thrush and also greater problems. Treatment with probiotics may help prevent these problems from ever starting. Probiotics can be dosed once a day for prevention, or 2 to 3 times daily to help treat current infections. Probiotics needs to be used alongside medical or herbal antibiotic treatments, and not in place of them. Some probiotics come refrigerated, whereas other medication is not. Refrigeration may not be needed, though for a lot of brands it does ensure high quantities of probiotics in the container. Dosing for probiotics is usually done in CFU's, colony forming units, with recommended dosing starting 1-5 billion CFU for maintenance and 20 or more CFU taken 2-3 times every day when the body is fighting infection. Side effects are extremely rare with probiotics, but a few cases of infection have happened in patients with indwelling catheters.