Our bodies are home to over one hundred trillion good and bad bacteria. Not only can these bacteria affect our digestion, skin, and mood, but they are essential to our survival.
When the balance of bad bacteria out-numbers the good, health issues can develop quickly in the body and brain.
Many people turn to probiotic supplements to help improve their wellbeing and settle their digestive problems, but what are probiotics and what do they do?
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What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are known as the good bacteria that live primarily in your gut. They are live microorganisms made up of seven-nine thousand different strains of bacteria and yeast.
Centuries ago, we would have got all the probiotics we need from foods. Back then we used to preserve food by fermenting it. This would make the food rich in probiotics and protect it from harmful pathogens and bacteria.
Nowadays we can either take probiotics supplements or we get them from foods such as sauerkraut, natural yoghurt, kefir, pickles, miso and sour cream. Not all fermented foods are probiotic. Some food and drink undergo processing to remove the probiotics such as in beer, wine, baked or canned products.
What Do Probiotics Do?
When we take probiotics, they end in the GI tract [the gastrointestinal tract] where the microbiome is located. This your body’s ecosystem that contains bacteria and fungi that are essential to our health, wellbeing, and survival.
Without these good bacteria populating your microbiome, your digestive system can’t properly extract the nutrients from the foods you consume. The probiotics help you absorb nutrients, improve immune system function, and supports the inner walls of the gut.
Irregularities in the microbiome can spark disease and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mental conditions such as depression and anxiety.
This is partly due to the gut-mind connection. There is much research yet to be done in this area but there is already evidence to suggest that bacteria in your gut could be heavily contributing to your emotions, moods, and appetite. That is another reason to keep your gut microbiome as healthy as possible.
What Harms Your Microbiome?
- Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners – These types of sugars and sweeteners can alter the population of bacteria that help metabolize food into energy. This could affect your body’s fuel sources, energy levels and overall health.
- White bread, rice, and pasta – A diet low in wholegrains can tip the balance of good and bad bacteria towards an unhealthy gut microbiome.
- Lack of sleep – The bacteria in your gut also has a circadian rhythm, so they prefer you to get quality sleep. Poor sleep routines don’t just leave us feeling groggy, our gut bacteria don’t like it either. This is also why it’s recommended to avoid eating for at least two hours before bed.
- Antibiotics – Overusing antibiotics, or using them regularly, kill the good bacteria in our gut leaving us susceptible to an overgrowth of harmful bacteria unless you rebuild the gut flora with probiotics.
- Stress – Since many of your body’s emotion chemicals are produced in your stomach, chronic stress has been shown to disrupt the gut microbiome, resulting in higher amounts of bad bacteria and lower amounts of good bacteria.
Choosing The Right Probiotic Supplements For You
Supplementing your diet with probiotics helps retain and maintain good gut health alongside a varied diet. If you are not keen on dairy yoghurt or fermented and pickled foods, probiotic supplements are a convenient way to rebuild and maintain healthy intestinal flora.
Probiotics supplements such as D-Lenolate Probiotic 10 Billion is a multi-strain supplement, containing spore forming microorganisms for a broad spectrum of benefits. Spore forming probiotics means they have the ability to form endospores. This makes it a resilient type of bacteria that protect itself against conditions such as high temperature or acidic environments.
That’s why it has become a popular choice for people who are on the go or travelling a lot since they do not require refrigeration like many other probiotic supplements do. Furthermore, the unique probiotic by East Park Research has 10 billion colony forming units (CFUs) of bacteria that work effectively for your body, giving benefits including healthier immune function, normalized fat metabolism, and improved digestive system.
Signs You May Need More Probiotics In Your Diet.
If you have experienced any of the following, it may be wise to include more probiotic rich foods in your diet or take a probiotic supplement:
- Antibiotic use in the past five years
- Digestive issues
- Changes in skin condition, inflamed skin.
- Weak immunity
- Food poisoning within the past year
Modern day lifestyles may mean that our intestinal flora can become unbalanced, but now you know exactly what probiotics do and how they work, you can easily get back to balanced. Always consult with your doctor or a registered dietician if you have concerns about your gut health, or IBS. If you do choose probiotic supplements, ensure to choose only scientifically researched, top rated products such as the Probiotic 10 Billion.
Author Bio:
Geoff Melcher is the President at East Park Research in Las Vegas, NV. East Park Research has conducted in-depth studies into the healing properties of the olive leaf, resulting in the development of a unique olive leaf extract formulation, d-Lenolate®.
