This may surprise you. But the next trend at the health food store or pharmacy, that is already occurring, is the sale and consumption of dietary supplements that replenish the populations of beneficial bacteria in your body that fight diarrhea and other illnesses. Indeed, as Christine Gorman, of Time notes, “Say the word bacteria, and most folks conjure up images of a nasty germ like staphylococcus or salmonella that can make you really sick. But some bacteria aren’t bad for you. In fact, consuming extra amounts of some bacteria can actually promote good health….” So far, the best results have been seen in the treatment of diarrhea, particularly in children. But researchers are also looking into the possibility that beneficial bacteria may thwart vaginal infections in women, prevent some food allergies in children and lessen symptoms of Crohn’s disease, a relatively rare but painful gastrointestinal disorder.

 

So where have these good bacteria been lurking all your life? “In your intestines, especially the lower section called the colon, which harbors at least 400 species of bacteria,” notes Gorman. “Which ones you have depends largely on your environment and diet. An abundance of good bacteria in the colon generally crowds out stray bad bacteria in your food. But if the bad outnumbers the good—for example, after antibiotic treatment for a sinus or an ear infection, which kills normal intestinal bacteria as well—the result can be diarrhea.”

 

In this regard, and for other reasons, enhancing the GI system’s population of friendly bacteria represents an exciting therapeutic advance in treatments for many conditions.

 

One of the areas of health now being studied most intensively is the body’s gastrointestinal (GI) system. This is because of its direct contact with consumed foods and the complexity of its functions regarding nutrient assimilation and healthy immune function. Not surprisingly, health experts say the GI system is a potential target for many functional foods and dietary supplements. They say, and rightly so, it is the gate to systemic health or unhealth. Since probiotic supplements supply beneficial bacteria to the GI system, these supplements can provide incredibly important health benefits. These benefits are particularly dramatic among the infirm and unhealthy. For those who enjoy good or great health, probiotic supplements can help increase their resistance to disease and maintain their good health.

 

Generally speaking, intestinal bacteria can be divided into two broad groups: those that are beneficial to the host organism and those that are harmful. Similarly, it is increasingly being recognized that the microbiology of the human GI system—what we call the balance of good to harmful bacteria—can exert a major role in our health, both in a positive and negative manner.

 

Health-promoting effects of beneficial bacteria include stimulation of the immune system, reducing gas problems, improved absorption of essential nutrients, even synthesis of vitamins. We should also note that beneficial bacteria help us to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, fight cancer and even promote resistance to food-borne pathogens. In contrast, pathogenic effects of harmful bacteria include diarrhea, infections, liver damage, cancer, heart and circulatory problems, diabetes, and intestinal putrefaction.

 

That doesn’t mean we want to eliminate the so-called bad bacteria in our gut. All bacteria, good and bad, are important—much as all animal species are important to an ecological system. Each bacterial species that grows in the colon has a specific ecological niche to fill. The composition of bacteria—that is, the relative distribution of the “good” and the “bad” bacteria—in an individual’s colon remains fairly stable over long periods of time. As such, there is a finely tuned balance in the colon from which the body derives health benefits and the digestive system works smoothly without causing any ailments or discomfort.

 

The problem is, of course, that very often today the balance of good to bad bacteria is disrupted. I’ll tell you why in a little bit, but, for now, that’s why an important aspect of health promotion today is favorably altering the composition of the gastrointestinal micro-flora towards a potentially more healthy community. As such, attempts have been made to increase numbers of beneficial bacterial species (such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria), both of which may exert various health-promoting properties.

 

A Closer Look at Health Benefits of Probiotics

 

A healthy population of friendly bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract is critical to your overall health. Indeed, few people realize the enormous impact of pathogenic bacteria, parasites and intestinal disorders on human health.

 

“Even human intestines—an environment most people consider pretty familiar—are home to perhaps 10,000 kinds of microbes…Indeed, one of the surprises in the decoding of the human genome was that it contains more than 200 genes that come from bacteria. Microbes not only keep us alive; in some small part, we are made of them. Researchers are now looking at how these largely unknown microbes might play a role in Crohn’s disease, an inflammation of the small intestine. They have found that the makeup of the mixed ‘community’ of microbes in the intestines changes in people with the disease. A similar thing might happen with tuberculosis…leading [researchers] to wonder whether some diseases might be caused not by a single dangerous microbe but by a change in the microbial community—an ecological imbalance inside the human body.”

 

So there you have it. Our health depends on countless numbers of microorganisms and our gut is also populated with far more microbes than we have ever known. Inside and out we are at one with the microbial world.

 

As already mentioned, probiotic is the term used to describe the health- promoting microorganisms, the “friendly” bacteria, in your digestive system. This good microflora in your intestine can provide a protective effect only when a proper balance is maintained among all the different bacteria that normally reside in your intestine. If your normal bacteria become depleted or the balance is disturbed, potentially harmful bacteria can overgrow and become established, causing digestive and other health problems. These harmful bacteria are known as pathogens, and they have the ability to cause gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea or abdominal pain if not kept in check by the beneficial bacteria.

 

“When L. acidophilus bacteria are present in sufficient numbers, they prevent invading pathogens and opportunistic organisms from finding ‘parking spaces’ along the walls of the intestine, where nutrients cross into the bloodstream,” says medical anthropologist Dr. John Heinerman. “If too many harmful bacteria manage to set up colonies, nutrient absorption can be blocked. Fortunately though, when the walls are crowded with acidophilus colonizers, there is no room for newcomers and no way for opportunistic microorganisms to exceed their boundaries. A very desirable characteristic of L. acidophilus super strains is that they adhere naturally to the walls of your intestines. These strains, known as sticker strains, are the most desirable because they hang onto their parking spaces with great tenacity—without harming the intestinal wall. Most pathogens, like disease-carrying E. coli, literally bore holes in the intestinal wall, inducing numerous micro-infections.”

 

However, once the small intestine is colonized by a healthy population of beneficial bacteria, “things begin to happen very quickly,” notes Dr. Heinerman. The ‘nasties’ are compelled to either vacate their premises or else are held in check by the more muscular L. acidophilus bacteria.”

 

The increased interest in probiotics as a daily dietary supplement has led to ongoing research. Probiotics can aid your health in many ways and help you to meet the healing challenges posed by many different health conditions. Taking a quality probiotic supplement today is as important to your health as taking a multiple vitamin and mineral formula.

 

Take diarrheal diseases (bacterial as well as parasitic).Worldwide, these constitute the greatest single cause of morbidity and mortality today. Even in the United States, diarrheal diseases caused by intestinal infection are the third  leading cause of morbidity and mortality. But in the Third World, the situation is dire, and probiotics could potentially be a very powerful natural remedy for diarrheal illnesses, especially among children.

 

Even more prevalent than acute diarrheal illnesses is the occurrence in Western nations of more subtle intestinal bacterial imbalances that produce a host of common symptoms and result in an obvious lack of wellness. We may know this condition as irritable bowel syndrome or simply dyspepsia or excess gas. This condition can also be traced to imbalances in the gut flora. So that means just about everyone in the country could probably find a probiotic supplement beneficial!

 

In addition, poor immune function, increased risk of cancer and frequent infectious conditions are all intimately related to the balance of beneficial bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract.

 

Enemies of the Good Guys in Your Gut

 

An imbalance in your gut flora is referred to as dysbiosis. Put simply, dysbiosis is one of those fancy words for a condition that occurs when the population of organisms residing within the gastrointestinal tract becomes unbalanced, often resulting in acute or chronic sickness.

 

Normally, populations of pathogenic flora are kept in balance by competition from good bacteria and because of symbiosis, which is the mutually interdependent relationship among the hundreds of intestinal microbial species. The problem is that our modern lifestyles—including, as mentioned earlier, use of antibiotics and other antibacterial products, consumption of chlorinated water and excess intake of refined sugars found in candy, baked goods and soft drinks—has left many people with an imbalance of beneficial to pathogenic gut bacteria.

 

A healthy intestine, in both children and adults, contains billions of friendly bacteria—including up to 400 different species. Incredibly, the body’s beneficial bacteria outnumber the cells of the body by one hundred fold! These friendly bacteria are our first line of immune defense. They displace and fight off unfriendly bacteria and internal fungi that can set the stage for both adult and childhood illness. They even increase the body’s levels of interferon, a mighty immune-boosting hormone.

 

This is all very critical to our health. If harmful bacteria propagate and gain the upper hand, we will not only be prone to infectious disease but our bodies will produce toxic, carcinogenic substances. We will also suffer constipation and diarrhea.

 

But here’s the problem that adults—and children especially—face as they grow up in a toxic world. Stress, medications and poor diet reduce friendly bacteria even further, leaving them even more vulnerable to disease. Antibiotics can be the biggest culprits in destroying our friendly bacteria. At high dosages, they wipe out all bacteria inside your body, the good along with the bad.

 

Once that happens, the race is on as to which microorganisms, the good guys or the bad guys, set up shop in that empty real estate inside yours or your child’s gut.

 

Even if we don’t take antibiotics, we almost certainly consume them in animal products. Over 35 million pounds of antibiotics are produced in the U.S. each year, and animals are given the vast bulk of them. Cattle, pigs and poultry are routinely given big helpings of antibiotics to prevent infections from spreading in their stressful, crowded quarters. In Western Europe, giving antibiotics to cattle is outlawed, as is the importation of American beef; this is, in part, due to all the antibiotics fed to U.S. cattle.

 

This is why we must be extra careful to replenish and stabilize friendly bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. In essence, when we help ourselves in this way, we have positioned on our side a massive army of health defenders in our intestines that is ever on guard to protect our health.

 

When consumers are prescribed antibiotics either for short or longer periods, I truly believe that they should also consider the use of probiotics concurrently to maintain and replenish their population of beneficial bacteria. By doing so, they will have gone a long way towards having all of the friendly bacteria they need to keep their intestines clean, healthy and populated with a strong front line of defense to support immune function and overall health. When the balance of good and bad bacteria is disturbed, the bad bacteria get the head start in repopulating the barren property within your gastrointestinal tract. Dysbiosis results in abnormal fermentation in the small intestine. In the large intestine, some fermentation is desirable because it produces butyrate and other short chain fatty acids that nourish the cells of the intestinal wall.

 

In the small intestine, however, growth of yeast, fungi and/or fermenting bacteria can result in damage to the gut lining, absorption of toxic by-products, and impaired absorption of nutrients. Opportunistic overgrowth of organisms can lead to common conditions such as candidiasis, urinary tract infections, and prostatitis (an inflammation of the prostate gland).

 

Quite apart from causing many types of gastrointestinal problems, dysbiosis can also lead to a weakened immune system. As the body further loses its ability to cope with the offending infections and pathogens, a host of chronic conditions appear that, on the surface, may have precious little to do with gastrointestinal disturbances.

 

That means that gastrointestinal health has far-reaching implications for general health, much more so than is commonly recognized.

 

Fortunately, the importance to human health of the intestinal microflora has been more and more widely recognized by doctors in recent years. This is probably because ever-increasing environmental challenges (e.g.,antibiotics, oral contraceptives, food additives and especially processed food and refined sugar) have contributed to the greater prevalence of disharmony in the ecology of the human gastrointestinal tract.

 

Problems with Antibiotics

 

Antibiotics are great. They are miracle medicines. When you really need them, take them. But we also have to face the discomforting fact that antibiotics have negative effects too, especially upon the body’s beneficial bacteria. Antibiotics are used to kill or inhibit the growth of infectious organisms or pathogenic bacteria. All antibiotics possess selective toxicity, meaning that they are more toxic to an invading organism than they are to the host organism (e.g., the person taking them)—but they still end up killing significant numbers of beneficial bacteria organisms.

 

Almost any antibiotic will change the bacterial balance in the intestines. Research suggests that the use of antibiotics before surgery results in decreased levels of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to between 20 and 25 percent of their original amounts. Given that more and more drug-resistant bacteria are evolving, there is also an increase in prescriptions of highly potent antibiotics. These broad-spectrum, extremely effective antibiotics hit both friend and foe alike, since they are…“equal opportunity” killers. This means that the floral ecology in the intestine is severely perturbed. This ecological vacuum created by the destruction of friendly bacteria is quickly filled by pathogenic microorganisms. With billions of attachment sites open in the intestine, the harmful bacteria have the opportunity to move in and take hold.

 

The rapid deployment of the bad bacteria leads to the repopulation of the intestine by numerous disease-causing microorganisms. For example, the overgrowth of Clostridium difficile, an especially harmful bacterium, gives rise to a condition called Pseudomembraneous enterocolitis. The condition, produced by this opportunistic invader, includes bloody diarrhea, pain, catastrophic weight loss and ulcerations of the intestinal lining.

 

In his book The Second Brain (HarperCollins, 1998), Dr. Michael D. Gershon, chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Columbia University, College of Physicians Surgeons, dubs the gastrointestinal system the body’s “second nervous system.” He notes, “The brain is not the only place in the body that’s full of neurotransmitters. A hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number that is found in the brain… The brain in the bowel has got to work right or no one will have the luxury to think at all.” The gut or the intestine is within the body but it is its own world. In experimental studies, even when all nerves connecting the bowel to the brain and spinal cord were severed, “the law of the intestine” prevailed, and digestion continued.

 

According to Dr. Gershon, “One reason that the bacteria in the lumen of the colon do not break out and infect the body is that they are at war with one another. No one kind of germ gains ascendancy and takes uncontested possession of colonic turf. The constant competition between otherwise nasty germs helps to keep the bacterial population under control.”

 

As Dr. Gershon points out, “It really is a case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’” Our bacterial companions in the colon may be repulsive, but we still have to take good care of them. Taking an antibiotic, therefore, is not without risk. Killing germs in the colon can be a hazardous venture. Antibiotics that annihilate our colonic friends can get us into big trouble, and fast. Many kinds of bacteria are killed by antibiotics, but not all. Those that are not killed are those that are most resistant. As Charles Darwin pointed out, natural selection is a potent force. When applied to organisms that double in minutes, natural selection is not just potent but fast. Selection of antibiotics is thus not a good move for modern medicine. The therapeutic value of drug after drug has been lost as bacteria adapt to them and circumvent their efforts.

 

In his book, Gershon says, “Since antibiotics are routinely added to chicken feed and other agricultural problems, the proportion of resistant organisms increases every year. This problem is compounded by the large number of doctors who prescribe antibiotics without first determining whether the disease they wish to treat is due to a susceptible organism. By killing some bacteria and not others, the administration of an antibiotic may eliminate the competition between germs in the colon, so that one strain, which appears to be resistant, achieves dominance. In essence, the drug selects a bug. The resistant strain is thus dangerous for two reasons. One is that it has been liberated from the restrain imposed on it by the other bacteria that normally compete with antibiotic-resistant organisms. The point is that the resistant bacteria are hard to eliminate because it is difficult to find a nontoxic drug that can kill them. The resistant organisms, therefore, are likely to cause a rip-roaring florid colitis infection of the colon. They can also escape from the colon and invade the body. Some of the antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, such as Clostridia difficile, make toxins that peel the lining of the colon right off the organ and lead to an explosive, debilitating and frequently lethal form of diarrhea.”

 

Another pathogenic bacterium that can take advantage of the void created by the elimination of friendly bacteria is Staphylococcus aureus. Its overgrowth can also result in toxic shock syndrome and can become very resistant, which is known as methicillin-resistant staph or MRSA, requiring far more potent vancomycin therapy.

 

Reuters news service reports that this drug-resistant form of bacteria has been found in rural Native American communities, demonstrating that these so-called “super bugs” are moving out of their hospital breeding grounds and into the community. According to health researchers the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain has been found now in Minnesota among Native Americans living in the countryside. That means the infections resisted treatment with methicillin and can be killed only by vancomycin, which is considered a last-ditch antibiotic.

 

Only a quarter of the patients with MRSA had been in a hospital, a long-term care facility or had any of the other usual risk factors for getting a drug-resistant infection. Such cases of MRSA infection outside the hospital had been seen before only in isolated incidents in Australia, Chicago and Canada.

 

Scientists say drug-resistant bacteria evolve when they are exposed to antibiotics over time—which most frequently happens in hospitals. Patients who get antibiotics for months become breeding grounds for the bacteria, because a few will always survive the antibiotic—and these will be the ones genetically predisposed to resist the drug. The longer these survive, the more they multiply and the resistance spreads.

 

When the friendly bacteria are decimated by antibiotics, other harmful bacteria, yeast and fungi already living in the body, which were held in strict check by the friendly bacteria, begin to multiply profusely. Some of these are resistant to antibiotic medications. The overgrowth of one especially potent yeast-like fungus, Candida albicans, leads to a potentially serious condition called candidiasis. Depending on its locale of action, candidiasis can inflame the tongue, mouth or the rectum. It could also cause vaginitis and may be instrumental in triggering a range of mental and emotional symptoms, including irritability, anxiety and even depression. Many allergies that manifest themselves as digestive disorders, such as bloating, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea also have been causally linked to yeast overgrowth.

 

Knowing how to use antibiotics in a safe and effective manner is critically important to doctors, pharmacists, and consumers alike, and to children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently observed that 95 percent of children in the United States will have been treated with antibiotics for a middle ear infection by the age of five.

 

Children on antibiotics are especially susceptible to antibiotic-associated bacterial influences that cause diarrhea. Diarrhea may resolve itself, which it normally does, particularly in children, but antibiotics frequently perturb the ecological balance in the colon and allow the overgrowth of harmful bacteria. Left to itself, this imbalance could potentially disturb the intestinal “ecosystem” irrevocably.

 

Modern Food Processing

 

Another enemy of our beneficial bacteria is food processing. Before refrigeration, it was quite common throughout the world to use fermentation of foods as a means of preservation. Such practices led to the creation of many different kinds of foods laden with beneficial bacteria that we directly ingested. Fermented foods and drinks have a very long history. Wine already existed around 5000 BC, and the original forms of soy sauce, miso, and fermented milk existed around 3000 to 2000 BC. These fermented products were originally made by microorganisms mixed from the environment. Other examples include sunki and gundruk; masai fermented milk; furu; choutofu; kusaya; funazsuhi; tempeh, mantou; and dawadawa. But, today, refrigeration of foods has diminished our need for fermentation, thus depriving our bodies of important beneficial bacteria.

 

Costly National Concern

 

Besides, digestive diseases and other conditions related to healthy or unhealthy balances of intestinal flora have an enormous impact on our health. They are extremely costly in all ways. Digestive diseases, which often are caused in part by, or result in, dysbiosis, cost nearly $107 billion in direct health care expenditures. Digestive diseases result in nearly 200 million sick days, 50 million visits to physicians, 16.9 million days lost from school, 10 million hospitalizations, and nearly 200,000 deaths per year.

 

The most costly digestive diseases are gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrheal infections ($4.7 billion); gallbladder disease ($4.5 billion); colorectal cancer ($4.5 billion); liver disease ($3.2 billion); and peptic ulcer disease ($2.5 billion).

 

Cancers of the digestive tract, which include those of the colon, gallbladder and stomach, are responsible for 117,000 deaths yearly. Non-cancerous digestive diseases cause 74,000 deaths a year, with 36 percent caused by chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.

 

Of the 440 million acute non-cancerous medical conditions reported in the United States annually, more than 22 million are for acute digestive conditions, with 11 million from gastroenteritis and 6 million from indigestion, nausea, and vomiting. Probiotics, in this context, can play a major role in our health. They’re the counter to the antibiotics we are exposed to in drugs, milk, meat and eggs.

 

The bottom line remains: the human body requires beneficial intestinal flora in optimal numbers for optimal health; many environmental and dietary conditions threaten their balance.

 

Not surprisingly, dysbiosis, its prevention and treatment are among the most topical and challenging problems doctors face today. In dysbiosis, even organisms traditionally thought to have little ability to cause disease, including usually benign bacteria, yeasts, and some parasites, can induce illness by altering our nutritional status or immune response.

 

Effects can be as diverse as headaches, learning disorders, insomnia, immune dysfunction, behavioral disorders, chronic fatigue, joint pain, and many types of nutritional deficiencies. Abnormal gut fermentation has adverse effects on B vitamins, zinc and magnesium.

 

For longevity, and to assure optimal protection from age-related illness, having a healthy colon is of immeasurable importance.

 

Clearly, maintenance of bacterial balance in the intestine is critical for intestinal health. Dietary changes and food supplements are essential and used frequently to restore beneficial bacteria, normalize digestive function and repair the gut. High fiber, low sugar diet and increased water intake are also vitally important to maintain healthy intestinal ecology.

 

However, many people will greatly benefit by positioning probiotics on their side. These supplements are powerful gastrointestinal health enhancers.

 

Dysbiosis Symptoms & Causes

 

Common Symptoms: 

• Fatigue
• Flatulence
• Itchy anus
• Poor complexion
• Fatigue after eating
• Distention/bloating
• Inability to lose weight
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Abdominal pain or cramps
• Irregular bowel movements
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Colon cancer
• Poor digestion
• Food allergy
• Spastic colon
• Hypoglycemia
• Leaky gut syndrome 

Major Causes: 

• Poor diet—excessive sugar, fat or animal protein
• Stress—including long term emotional stress
• Decreased immune function
• Decreased intestinal motility (constipation)
• Drugs—especially antibiotics, oral contraception and cortisone-like substances.
• Maldigestion and malabsorption 

According to authoritative natural remedy source healthnotes.com, a very definitive ranking of probiotics’ uses in health today is available. Probiotics have been used in connection with the following conditions:

 

Health Concerns: 

• Diarrhea
• Tooth decay
• Vaginitis ?Yeast infection
• Canker Sores
• Colic (Bifidobacterium lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus)
• Crohn’s disease
• Eczema
• Food allergies
• HIV support
• Immune function
• Infection
• Pancreatitis (acute) (Lactobacillus plantarum)
• Ulcerative colitis
• Chronic candidiasis