You may well have heard the word 'probiotic' bandied around a lot lately in popular
advertising and marketing campaigns! When you notice something like this
happening you need to be aware of a couple of important things - that is why this
article could save you time, frustration and money...
Doctors have stated that is probable that ALL people over the age of 65 living in
countries like the US and the UK should regularly take a probiotic supplement
product to boost the function of their digestive system. It seems that the eating
patterns, and other bad habits common to western societies can decimate the
'internal bacteria' we NEED in our gut in order to obtain all the nutrition we should be
getting from our food.
Vitamin Food Supplement
Major food companies - especially makers of yoghurt-type products have not been
slow to see the marketing potential for new ranges containing so-called 'good
bacteria'. You may ask - why has this been popular within this food sector?
It is now clear that the some of the most effective, and most resilient, 'good bacteria'
are the members of the Lactobacillus 'family'. There are 13 strains of Lactobacillus
which can all aid better digestive processes when present in your gut in an
appropriate concentration. Lactobacillus are also the strains of bacteria that are used
to ferment milk and create products such as yoghurt.
Some people have experienced benefits from regularly consuming the small, and not
inexpensive, yoghurt style drinks that have been launched onto the market. It seems
that some of the benefits may be psychological as much as anything - but for some
there may genuinely be enough of a boost to their digestive 'flora' (as the good
bacteria are sometimes referred to - it is the same root from which the word 'flower'
comes in English) to make them feel as if their system is working better.
In general, however, it may be that there is hardly enough of a 'dose' of probiotic
bacteria to help the majority of people substantially. The jury is still open on this to
some extent - because thorough experimental work has been limited.
You may well find that if you are suffering from the many, varied symptoms that can
signify that you have an impaired digestive process - you will fare better taking a
proper probiotic product with a guaranteed high count of appropriate 'good bacteria'.
Such products are available - usually in a powdered form - that can be blended with
juices, or even just with water, and should be taken daily to 'maintain' a healthy
balance of bacteria in your digestive system.
What you must look out for, though, if you are to avoid wasting your money on
ineffective products - is that the probiotic product you choose contains the range of
Lactobacillus bacteria. There are other 'good bacteria' but this genus (or family) is the
strongest and can get through the acidity of your stomach, and past other 'chemical
challenges' in your diet (such as alcohol, and caffeine!) to get into the intestines
where they are needed.
It is a sad fact that when we lived as primitive creatures, and for many millennia,
whilst we ate fresh foods that we hunted and farmed in an organic and natural way,
our diets supported our bacterial needs. Nowadays, with so many processed foods
and chemicals in our environment our digestive systems have become badly
impaired. This can ultimately lead to a wide range of health problems - form just
feeling listless, and lacking in energy right through to setting the scene for serious
diseases such as cancer to establish itself.
For this reason it may well be that choosing to use a reliable and high quality
probiotic supplement could be the best thing you could do to support your health.
This is especially so as you get older. However you must satisfy yourself that the
product you buy contains the best bacterial sources and is produced by a reliable
company. Otherwise you could simply be wasting your money and getting no real
benefit in the long term.