BENEFICIAL PROBIOTIC BACTERIA
An "Army of Trillions"
The idea of beneficial bacteria to preserve foods has been around for centuries. Even the ancient Sumerians painted about the use of fermented cheese in 2500 B.C. However, the idea of beneficial bacteria aiding us in life wasn’t thought up until the early 1900s when Dr. Elie Metchnikoff traveled to Eastern Europe. He was surprise to find so many people living to be 100 years of age or older and concluded that this was due to the large quantities of yogurt they consumed.
Metchnikoff investigated the benefits of lactic acid bacteria, which flourish in milk. He found that many disease-producing organisms died or could not develop in milk containing these powerful bacteria. This, along with his other research on the immune system, lead Metchnikoff to connect lactic acid bacteria to improved immune function, which relates to optimal health and vitality.
Probiotics, according to the World Health Organization, are "live organisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host." Probiotics literally mean "for life" and are coming to the forefront of medicine as beneficial bacteria supplements to help restore our vital microflora.
When you are healthy, over 100 trillion microorganisms, from some 400 different species, flourish in your intestinal tract, aiding in digestion, absorption, and the production of significant amounts of B vitamins and enzymes. But more importantly, they crowd out all harmful bacteria -- allowing them no place to gain a foothold.
Unfortunately, the levels of beneficial bacteria decline dramatically as the human body ages. Some of the reasons for this decline include:
Over time, the colonies of friendly bacteria just naturally age and lose their vitality.
Disruptions and changes in the acid/alkaline balance of the bowels can play a major role in reducing the growth of beneficial bacteria. In addition, these changes tend to favor the growth of harmful viral and fungal organisms as well as putrefactive, disease-causing bacteria.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like Advil, Motrin, Midol, etc. are destructive to intestinal flora.
Chlorine in the drinking water not only serves to kill bacteria in the water; it is equally devastating to the colonies of beneficial bacteria living in the intestines.
Radiation and chemotherapy are devastating to your inner bacterial environment.
Virtually all meat and chicken and dairy that you eat (other than organic) is loaded with antibiotics, which destroy ALL of the beneficial bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract.
A diet high in meats and fats, because they take so long to break down in the human body, promotes the growth of the harmful, putrefying bacteria.
Constipation, of course, allows harmful bacteria to hang around longer, which allows them to proliferate.
Cigarettes, alcohol, and stress are also major culprits -- as are some antibiotic herbs, such as goldenseal (if taken in sufficient quantity).
And if you've ever been subjected to a round of "medicinal" antibiotics, you can kiss your beneficial bacteria good-bye. The problem is that antibiotics indiscriminately destroy both bad and GOOD bacteria -- allowing virulent, mutant strains of harmful microorganisms to emerge and run rampant inside the body. Antibiotics (both medicinal and in our food supply) are the #1 culprit in the overgrowth of HARMFUL pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract (a condition called dysbiosis) that may be at the root of many autoimmune disorders and certain cancers.
The Bottom Line to Immunity
A properly functioning intestinal tract is one of your body's first lines of defense against invaders and a healthy immune system. In a healthy colon there are, on average, anywhere from 100 billion to 1,000 billion beneficial bacteria per milliliter (about 1/5 of a teaspoon) that literally consume harmful bacteria and other invaders. In the typical American, because of poor diet and neglect of the colon, the beneficial bacteria count may be as low as 4 or 5 per milliliter. Just compare 1,000 billion to 4, and you'll have an understanding of the scope of the problem. Many researchers now believe that declining levels of friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract may actually mark the onset of chronic degenerative disease and a suppressed immune system.
A Key to Good Health: Probiotics
There can be no true health or recovery from disease unless you have colonies of over 100 trillion beneficial microorganisms flourishing in your intestinal tract, from your mouth to your anus, aiding in digestion, absorption, the production of significant amounts of vitamins and enzymes, and working to crowd out all harmful bacteria -- allowing them no place to gain a foothold. SUPPLEMENTATION WITH A GOOD PROBIOTIC IS MANDATORY TO RAISE YOUR BASELINE OF HEALTH.
Probiotics play a vital role in the healthy operation many of our body’s functions. Here are some of the most common and well-researched problems that can benefit from probiotic supplementation:
Control digestive problems: Constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, and symptoms of IBS are some of the most common gastrointestinal complaints in the U.S. Probiotic supplementation helps to build up a healthy supply of good bacteria in the intestine and can be an alternative to over-the-counter remedies. Probiotics are safe and effective without side effects.
Enhances weight loss & weight maintenance programs: A healthy digestive system increases energy and improves your metabolism.
Suppress bad bacteria: A safer and more effective way of eliminating bad bacteria in the body is by overpowering it with good bacteria. By supplementing with probiotics, there’s little room for unfriendly bacteria to settle in, including e. coli and salmonella.
Produce natural antibiotic-like substances
Fight yeast and fungal infections: Diets rich in sugar, cortisone and cortisone-like drugs, birth control pills, immunosuppressive drugs and antibiotics, have been major culprits in the "candida epidemic" of today. Studies prove the ability of probiotics to stimulate the production of white blood cells in the body that combat candida yeast and fungal infections.
Enhance calcium metabolism: Studies prove that probiotics increase the body’s ability to absorb and metabolize calcium. This is an incredible advantage for individuals suffering from bone density loss such as osteoporosis and osteopenia. This is also of great benefit for growing young adults and expectant mothers who need lots of calcium.
Improve immune function: Since the intestine is the body’s largest immune system organ, its ability to efficiently respond to immune attacks is directly related to its balance of healthy bacteria. Regular probiotic supplementation has been shown to maintain intestinal health and enhance natural immune system response by stimulating the body’s production of NK- and T-cells.
Reduce cholesterol in the blood: Probiotics are proven aides in the digesting of fats that contribute to the levels of LDL and HDL cholesterol in the blood. Consumption of probiotics has been associated with the lowering of LDL levels and the increasing of HDL levels in the blood.
Produce B vitamins naturally: Probiotics have been shown to produce B vitamins, which support and increase the rate of metabolism, help maintain healthy skin and muscle tone, and enhance nervous system function. Vitamin B9, or Folic Acid, is essential for children, adults, and especially expectant mothers.
Reduces skin problems: Probiotics have been shown to help alleviate skin problems such as acne, psoriasis, and eczema.
Help with liver function: By detoxifying the blood, probiotics help the liver to perform more efficiently and with less strain.
Why are food allergies on the rise?
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
August 3, 2010 1:39 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Children's Hospital Boston has seen an increase in ER visits from allergic reactions to foods
* A study speculates gut bacteria has something to do with food allergies
* Another idea is that children need to get exposed to common allergens earlier in life
(CNN) -- Two-year-old Ethan Wily had a cold recently, so at first it wasn't surprising that he started coughing last week after eating some pistachio gelato.
But he started coughing up mucus, and then gasping for air. His parents gave him an antihistamine, but it didn't stop the reaction. By the time the boy's parents brought him to their local hospital, he could barely breathe.
"His face was really swollen. He looked like an alien," said Ethan's father, Preston Wily of Lehi, Utah. "We didn't have any idea an allergy could be so bad."
He said the child had shown only a somewhat mild reaction to peanuts before this.
It seems like more and more children in the U.S. are developing food allergies, and there's data to back that up. The number of kids with food allergies went up 18 percent from 1997 to 2007, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 3 million children younger than 18 had a food or digestive allergy in 2007, the CDC said.
Scientists are still trying to figure out why food allergies seem to be on the rise, especially in industrialized countries such as the United States. Are children not getting exposed to enough bacteria? Should they eat common allergens such as nuts and shellfish at an earlier age?
A recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that visits to the emergency room at Children's Hospital Boston for allergic reactions more than doubled from 2001 to 2006. Although this is just one hospital, the findings reflect a rise in food allergies seen in national reports, said Dr. Susan Rudders, lead author and pediatric allergist-immunologist in Providence, Rhode Island.
Researchers took a look at thousands of cases in the emergency department. They did not rely on the diagnosis given at that time, but made their own determination about whether an allergic reaction had occurred based on symptoms such as hives. That means the rise in reactions probably did not have to do with an increased awareness among doctors, Rudders said.
This also suggests that previous reported numbers of allergy-related hospital visits are underestimates, Rudders said. For all adults and children in the U.S., there are 30,000 ER visits because of food allergies each year. But that is based on a report that is about 10 years old, and this figure is likely higher now, Rudders said.
Doctors in other parts of the country have also noticed an increase in children coming in with severe food allergies. Dr. Ronald Ferdman at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles said his hospital has seen a rise of these cases, based on anecdotal evidence.
Dr. Joseph Zorc at the Children's Hospital at Philadelphia cautioned that there may have been situational factors that influenced the Boston hospital's experience -- for example, if another hospital in the area stopped taking cases, resulting in more people at Children's Hospital Boston. But he agreed that food allergies are causing more significant reactions in U.S. emergency departments in general.
One theory is that the Western diet has made people more susceptible to developing allergies and other illnesses.
A study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences compared the gut bacteria from 15 children in Florence, Italy, with gut bacteria in 14 children in a rural African village in Burkina Faso. They found that the variety of flora in these two groups was substantially different.
The children in the African village live in a community that produces its own food. The study authors say this is closer to how humans ate 10,000 years ago. Their diet is mostly vegetarian. By contrast, the local diet of European children contains more sugar, animal fat and calorie-dense foods. The study authors posit that these factors result in less biodiversity in the organisms found inside the gut of European children.
The decrease in richness of gut bacteria in Westerners may have something to do with the rise in allergies in industrialized countries, said Dr. Paolo Lionetti of the department of pediatrics at Meyer Children Hospital at the University of Florence. Sanitation measures and vaccines in the West may have controlled infectious disease, but they decreased exposure to a variety of bacteria may have opened the door to these other ailments.
"In a place where you can die [from] infectious diseases, but you don't get allergy, obesity, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disease, the flora is different," Lionetti said.
This study only looked at a small number of children, but the findings support the widespread notion of the "hygiene hypothesis" -- the idea that cases of allergies are increasing in number and severity because children grow up in environments that are simply too clean.
"That our immune system is skewed away from fighting infections, and toward fight things that it's not supposed to be fighting, like things in the environment or foods -- that's one thing that people think may be in play," Rudders said.
Still, this is only speculation.
Another theory is that children need to get exposed to common allergens, such as nuts and shellfish, from a much earlier age, to avoid developing allergies. Some doctors have been recommending waiting until 2 or 3, but Ferdman at Children's Hospital Los Angeles is a proponent of giving kids nuts very early.
An oft-cited 2008 study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology compared peanut allergies among Jewish children living in Israel and the United Kingdom. Peanut allergies were more common among the children in the U.K. than in Israel. This was associated with the fact that 69 percent of the Israeli children received peanuts by 9 months of age, compared with 10 percent of the infants in the U.K.
This pitfall, however, is that it was not a controlled experiment, and other factors may have influenced the allergies. More research needs to be done to support giving peanuts and other common allergens to infants. But according to Ferdman, more doctors are questioning recommendations to delay these foods.
These issues about when to introduce allergens are crucial for Preston Wily and his wife, Jen, who are expecting a second child next month. The parents are planning to wait on introducing nuts until their daughter is old enough to get tested for allergens, Preston said.
But hearing about recent research does make the father wonder whether delaying nuts could have influenced Ethan's allergies.
The boy isn't the only one in his peer group with allergies. Ethan goes to a nursery program at church where there's a wall of children's photos with each kid's personal list of food allergies. The teacher has been trained in how to use an epinephrine auto-injector in case of emergency.
Ethan's father knows now to administer an epinephrine injection as soon as the child begins to have a sign of anaphylaxis.
"There are a lot of kids here with allergies -- everywhere. It just seems more common now than when I was little," Wily said.
The statements enclosed herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products and information mentioned on our websites or printed literature are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your treating doctor. We do not dispense medical advice, prescribe, or diagnose illness. Benefits of probiotics and non-Rx, dietary supplements VARY from person to person. Do not take if you are pregnant or nursing. If you are taking medication or have a medical condition, consult with your doctor before using any supplements.
