What are you made of? If you’re healthy, you’re made of bacteria. Ideally, your body contains 10 microorganisms for every human cell. When your ecosystem is working in balance, the probiotics (beneficial bacteria) in your gut help you digest your food, produce vitamins, and act as part of your immune system, preventing overgrowth of harmful bacteria.
We may have gone a little too far in avoiding germs. We now consume about one-millionth of the healthy probiotic bacteria that evolved with us for thousands of years. Pesticides, herbicides, poor nutrition, stress, alcohol, and prescription drugs (antibiotics) have made most of us dangerously deficient in probiotic bacteria. Antibiotic drugs do not distinguish between good and bad bacteria; one course of antibiotics can cause diarrhea and wipe your intestinal tract of beneficial bacteria. You cannot replenish your probiotics to adequate levels by eating yogurt. Supplementation with probiotics is the best way to restore the good guys after a course of antibiotics or a bout of diarrhea. Feeding your probiotics with dietary fiber from apples, oranges, and beans can help them stay healthy and abundant, so it’s important to maintain a healthy diet.
Our current nationwide state of probiotic deficiency has been connected to digestive disorders, immune deficiency, vitamin deficiency, allergies, eczema, asthma, fibromyalgia, Candida infections, cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol levels, and systemic infections. Probiotic deficiency can cause a lack of energy-producing B-vitamins, causing symptoms like fatigue or depression.
A well-designed 6-month study showed that children aged 3-5 had much lower incidence of fever, coughing, and runny nose if they took probiotics twice daily. A combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis was more effective than L. acidophilus alone. Compared to kids taking no probiotics, antibiotic use was reduced by 84%, runny nose by 59%, fever by 73%, and coughing by 62% if they took the combination probiotics. Days of absence from child care also dropped by 28% (Leyer et al, 2009. Pediatrics 124(2): e172-179).
It is safe to say that all Americans are deficient in probiotics. This means that we cannot get enough from diet alone, because the composition of our food has changed so much. Public health regulations ensure that bacteria are not allowed in foods. While cleaning up our food sources has reduced outbreaks of infectious disease, there are some minor corrections to be made. Work with your health care provider to see how probiotic supplementation can help create your 100-year lifestyle.
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