Probiotics

Do you eat healthy, exercise well and still struggle to lose weight? Do you eat healthy and still have poor skin and hair quality? Is the colour of your tongue pink or white? Do you bloat up easily? Do you go through indigestion, flatulence and stomach cramps? It could be the health of your gut.

Your gut is as important as most diseases begin and start in the gut and your immunity also starts in the gut. Your gut microflora is made up of good and bad bacteria. We need more of the good bacteria but most of us have it the other way around and that’s where most health problems stem from. The wrong ratio of good and bad bacteria

Probiotics are foods that contain strains of healthy bacteria. They have become a necessary part of modern nutrition just to offset the damage caused to the healthy gut bacteria by all the inorganic chemicals that we ingest in our food and medicines. Probiotics in the gut help numerous functions of the bodies such as digesting and absorbing certain carbohydrates, producing vitamins, absorbing minerals and eliminating toxins and preventing allergies. They also support a healthy immunity and we know immunity is everything when it comes to prevention and healing.

Unhealthy bacteria in the gut can manifest in many ways such as gas, bloating, fatigue, sugar cravings, nausea, headaches, constipation, diarrhoea and despite a healthy diet and exercise many people may even have difficulty shedding weight if the percentage of bad bacteria is high. Organic food has a much higher percentage of healthy bacteria than commercially available inorganic food because commercial pesticides, preservatives, ripening chemicals kill good bacteria in inorganic food.

In the past there were gut illnesses as well that reduced our good bacteria population. Those illnesses however came from natural sources like intestinal infections and to revive our quantity of healthy bacteria we would naturally increase our intake of fermented foods such as idli, dosa, mezzo tempeh kimchee, raw cabbage, cultured vegetables, pickles kombucha, nutritional yeast.

Now if you are not able to eat any of these above foods that I’ve just mentioned you can get a capsulated dose of probiotic bacteria from a good and proven source. It is important that bacteria reach the small intestine without getting destroyed by the stomach acids or the upper intestinal digestive enzymes on the way. For this to happen the capsule material should be made of proper composition such as organic vegetable cellulose. It is also important that the capsules are recently manufactured. This ensures that the complete bacterial population is still alive. Stocks that have been sitting on the shelf for a longer time have a much lesser percentage of live bacteria than what the capsule contents may indicate. It takes time to rebuild bacterial population in the gut. So sometimes you may have to take these supplements or eat these foods for six months to a year depending on how low your level of good bacteria is

Taking probiotic capsules on an empty stomach or at least an hour before a meal ensures they pass through the stomach quickly and reach the intestines in good condition. Remember combining them with meals makes them wait in the stomach for a longer period of time and the acids and other foods destroy it. A high percentage of the good bacteria may die in this process. So it should always be taken on an empty stomach. People who supplement with probiotics before surgery are less likely to have post-operative infections. In fact the use of antibiotics to treat all hospital-based infections decreases when someone takes a probiotic supplement.

Also get enough of fibre in your food daily as it is necessary to build strong probiotic colonies in your intestines. Cut back on foods having processed sugar since sugar feeds unhealthy bacteria; yeast and fungus in your gut. I carry a probiotic with me every time I travel I’ll have to eat food other than home-cooked food to keep my good bacteria bad bacteria ratio in place. Your gut is important look after it. Invest in keeping it strong and clean.