Probiotics: What they Are and Why You Need Them – Part 2

Probiotics -- whether they are dietary supplements or foods that contain live, non-disease-causing bacteria normally found in the body -- have been shown to provide numerous benefits to your overall health. There is currently great enthusiasm for foods and supplements such as Bacteral that contain probiotics, and this enthusiasm is evidenced by the amount of commercials on television promoting such products. If you’re not familiar with probiotics, keep reading to find out some of the specific benefits you can gain from introducing probiotics into your diet.

Eating bacteria is good for you?
While it may sound absolutely ludicrous to purposely ingest billions of bacteria to improve your health that is exactly what researchers are recommending. Studies have been going on since the mid-1990s on this very subject.
There are about 100 trillion microorganisms that represent more than 500 different species that are in each and every healthy bowel. They are there because they help keep harmful pathogens at bay, making it difficult for them to do you harm. Let’s take a closer look at what probiotics can actually do.

Digestive Health
Numerous clinical studies have shown that probiotics can treat multiple gastrointestinal ailments such as IBS and lactose intolerance, as well as improve proper digestion and nutrient absorption. Probiotics are often used to help treat diarrhea.

Crohn’s Disease
Other studies have shown that probiotics may be beneficial in helping people with Crohn’s disease. Clinical trial results are mixed, but several small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission of ulcerative colitis and prevent relapse of Crohn’s disease and the recurrence of pouchitis (a complication of surgery to treat ulcerative colitis). Because these disorders are so frustrating to treat, many people are giving probiotics a try. More research is needed to find out which strains work best for what conditions.

Urogenital Health
Probiotics are also beneficial in maintaining urogenital health. This is due to the fact that the vagina is like the intestinal tract, a finely balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacilli strains normally make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But the system can be thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatment that restores the balance of microflora may be helpful for such common female urogenital problems as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and urinary tract infection. Both Oral and vaginal administration of Lactobacilli may help in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, although there isn’t enough evidence yet to recommend it over conventional approaches.

Other Conditions
Research is still being done on the health benefits of probiotics, but early studies show that probiotics may be helpful in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, preventing colon cancer, improving immune function, improving mineral absorption and reducing inflammation. There’s indication that probiotics may even aid in weight loss. With the popularity of probiotics on the rise, it’s likely that research on these benefits will ramp up.

Are probiotics safe?
The best part of probiotic therapy is that it is generally considered safe due to the fact that they are already in the digestive system. This also means that probiotics are typically free of side effects, except for people that have an impaired immune function. This is why it is important that if you are going to “self medicate” to address any of the above conditions with probiotics, you talk with your doctor or healthcare provider so that he or she is aware of what you are doing.

For more information on safe supplements containing probiotics, visit the Bacteral website.