Probiotics Build Health. Sour milk, yogurt, and acidophilus yeast have long been known to be beneficial in correcting the local environment; they favor the friendly bacteria and block the growth of toxin-producing organisms.
The word biotic is from the Greek Biotikos, meaning “of or relating to life.” We often use the word anti-biotic, which means “against life.” Antibiotics kill bacteria—but not all bacteria should be killed. In fact, “healthy bacteria” are a health-building essential to life, vitality, and well-being.
Healthy bacteria in the soil feed nutrients through the roots of plants to help them grow and flourish, providing us with wholesome foods. Healthy bacteria in the human body protect and feed us in the same way, by helping with digestion and assimilation of essential nutrients.
That’s right! Every healthy person has within their intestines a colony of bacteria nearly as large as their liver. It is estimated that a healthy person maintains more healthy bacteria than the total number of cells making up their body! The human body has approximately 13 trillion cells; a healthy bacterial colonization of the inside and outside of the human body is estimated at 14 trillion microbes of various types.
How Probiotics Support Your Health Every Day
These healthy colonies do the job of keeping unhealthy bacteria in check—and more. Healthy bacteria in your body:
- Acidify the intestinal tract to make it uninhabitable by unhealthy bacteria, thereby supporting the immune system.
- Assist in the breakdown of carbohydrates and digestion of milk products.
- Provide for better food assimilation and toxin release by the large intestine.
- Healthy bacteria in the intestines can even create for you some vitamins you might not get otherwise!
These healthy bacteria have become known as PROBIOTICS.
When Should You Consider Probiotics?
In fact, the same urgency which the “health industry” applies to antibiotics needs to be applied to probiotics. The health problems that the published literature shows are improved by probiotic use are the very same conditions that often follow antibiotic use.
If you or anybody in your family experiences these conditions from time to time, you need to consider becoming proactive with probiotics.
Take a look at this brief list of conditions:
- Diarrhea
- Allergies
- Immune system weakness
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Hypertension
- Vaginal infections
- Kidney stones
- Lactose intolerance
Build Your Health with Probiotic Foods and Supplements
As long as humans have been civilized, food health has been enhanced with the assistance of probiotics. Every culture of the world has some type of food that is “cultured,” such as yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, and sauerkraut. It is important to include probiotic foods as a part of your lifestyle.
If you have taken antibiotics within the last few years, or if you suffer from any of the conditions listed above, we recommend you build your health with one or all of these whole-food probiotic foods and support products listed below. The truth is that every person—men, women, and especially children and older family members—would benefit from one or more of these corrected supplements.