LifeStep to Wellness #7: Take Probiotics: Everybody, Every Day For Life

Our intestinal tracts are not meant to be clean rooms.
The gastrointestinal tract is teeming with live microorganisms, both of friendly and pathogenic nature. The sum of these bacteria, our microflora, can be adversely affected by stress, medication, diet, aging, and other factors. Probiotics are beneficial strains of bacteria that confer benefits to the host including stimulation of the immune system, prevention of the growth of "bad" microorganisms, and the production of nutrients.

The most well known and well represented group of probiotics in the intestinal microflora are species from within the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria genera. In the womb babies are intestinally sterile (no intestinal bacteria are present). Once the child passes through the vaginal tract (or via C-section delivery), the infant immediately begins to colonize bacteria throughout the digestive tract. At this very young age, the majority of species come from the Bifidobacteria genus, with smaller amounts of Lactobacillus also present. As the infant ages, his or her microflora begins to shift to a higher percentage of Lactobacillus species, and eventually by the age of three or four years old, the child's microflora profile resembles that of an adult.

Bifidobacteria

Lactobacillus

Why We Need Probiotics

In the past, we replaced the probiotics in our system constantly by eating organic vegetables grown in unpolluted dirt that was rich with soil-based organisms. However, for the last 50 years we have been sterilizing our soil with pesticides and fertilizers, destroying both bad and good bacteria.

Likewise, antibiotic drug use kills nearly all bacteria in the intestinal tract. Remember the "anti" means "against", biotics "life". Farm animals are continuously fed antibiotics to prevent farm-lot infections which we then ingest upon consuming their meat, eggs, and milk.

Our modern diet further compromises our microflora balance. Highly processed foods that are filled with chemicals, simple sugars, and carbohydrates are often devoid of any living thing. Even the chlorinated water we drink is partially responsible for eradicating much of the beneficial bacteria in our bodies. In addition, alcoholic beverages tend to harm probiotics by killing them directly, thereby encouraging harmful bacteria and yeast overgrowth.

Some people who are concerned with health use enemas and colonics for detoxification. These practices can wash some of the good bacteria out of their systems.

The medical treatment of radiation and chemotherapy also destroys our intestinal flora as well as damaging our immune systems. Any course of chemotherapy absolutely must be followed with probiotic supplements.

Today we need probiotic supplements because there are so many influences that prevent us from naturally getting the probiotics our bodies need. A lack of beneficial microbes often results in poor intestinal and immune system health, contributing to a wide range of symptoms and illnesses.

Unfortunately most people simply do not know that the health they experience right now has a direct connection to the billions of beneficial microorganisms that live in their gastrointestinal tract.

Benefits of Probiotics

Probiotic contribute to health in the following ways:

• metabolize proteins and help eliminate wastes from the body;
• increase overall nutrition and enhance rapid cellular growth and development;
• clean the intestinal tract; (By attaching themselves on the intestinal walls and dislodging accumulated decay, probiotics naturally flush out waste often eliminating bad breath and body odor.)
• produce a mildly acidic environment slowing the growth of disease-causing bacteria;
• normalize bowel movements, relieving constipation and diarrhea;
• produce many important enzymes and increase the availability of vitamins and nutrients, especially Vitamin B, Vitamin K, lactase, fatty acids, and calcium;
• strengthen the immune system, thereby alleviating allergies, skin problems, chronic fatigue syndrome and systemic candida;
• help to kill viruses and parasites;
• can help relieve iron-assimilation deficiencies; (Probiotic bacteria produce Lactoferrin as a by-product of their metabolism. Lactoferrin is an iron-binding protein essential to retrieving iron from the foods we eat.)
• stimulate the body's own production of alpha-interferon, a key regulator of our immune response.

Quality Matters

Choosing a probiotic can be difficult since it is not possible to know whether the product contains live cultures at the time of purchase. Here at Lake Oswego Chiropractic Clinic, we sell products only from reputable manufacturers that are formulated for durability and utilize independent quality control studies.

Why Every Day For Life?

Persistence of Colonization of Human Colonic Musca by a Probiotic Strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, after Oral Consumption is temporary.

Important Information About Starting Probiotics

It is not uncommon to experience what is referred to as "excessive drainage syndrome" when ridding the intestine of pathogenic bacteria and yeast and re-establishing normal flora. When the unwanted bacteria and yeast begin to die off and be cleansed from the intestine, toxins can be released which can sometimes lead to headaches, diarrhea, gas, bloating, or constipation.

This is actually a positive sign that the intestine is being cleansed of these toxin releasing and illness-promoting bacteria and fungi but it can be uncomfortable for a few days.

To minimize this excessive drainage syndrome we recommend introducing probiotics slowly, perhaps one capsule every two days for the first week, then one capsule per day for the second week and then on to the regular two capsules per day thereafter. Of course eating plenty of fiber and drinking lots of water will also be helpful.