What Are Probiotics?

What are Probiotics?

By: Jason Weeks (independent health columnist)

October 22, 2009

Today's dietary lifestyles take their toll on human health. One such issue is chlorine in ordinary tap water. Yes, chlorine does kill bacteria, but what else does it do? Aside from the negative health effects induced from the simple fact that it is a poison in the human body, it also has the effect of indiscriminately killing bacteria inside the body, killing off our natural digestive aids, the probiotics, and wreaking havok across the body in a downward avalanche of negative health issues.

Probiotics serve purposes across the body through different systems, but the most common reference to them is with respect to the digestive system. They assist in digestion, but maybe the word 'assist' is a bit weak. Without probiotics aiding in digestion, many problems have been shown to arise.

Lacking probiotics makes the bowels slow and sluggish. The food being digested may take anywhere from 3-7 days to fully digest. It should take little more than 24 hours in a healthy GI tract. Since the food stays there so long, it has a tendency to rot in the gut, causing discomfort, malaise, general ill feeling, nausea, rancid gas, irregularity, diarrhea and a compromised immune system. Consider 70% of the immune system is IN the GI tract.

In the absence of probiotics, Candida yeast can overtake the body with little to no resistance. Some symptoms include low energy, general ill feeling, vaginal yeast infections, nail fungal infections, oral thrush, and occasionally mood changes (irritability). There are more symptoms, but there is a general indecisiveness as to which symptoms are actually caused by the infection and which ones are peripheral effects. There are tests that screen for Candida yeast infections.

It has been suggested that a large number of sinus issues arise from a fungal infection that manifests itself mainly in the absence of probiotics. It may make sense that Benadryl and other sinus meds would have trouble being effective in southern coastal states, since fungi grow well in moist, warm environments.

There are many sources from which probiotics may be obtained. Yogurt, and other foods naturally have probiotics in them. Mostly, probiotics as of late have been engineered to work better in the body. Some claim to be cultured in an acidic environment to survive stomach acid on the way to the small intestine. Some have claimed to have encapsulated the bacteria to resist stomach acid. Probiotic supplements are readily available for those whose diets are not sufficiently rich in probiotics.

I am not entirely sure as to what processes are more successful at making the probiotic more successful, but there are ways to judge the quality of your supplement.

The first is number of live cells. As a guideline, the store brands have around 1-3 billion cells/capsule. The supplement I take has 16-22 billion cells/capsule, depending on which specific cause I am trying to achieve. Somewhere between these two is most common. The best ones will be found online, in magazines, or in specialty companies who specialize in probiotics.

The other is number of types of strain variants. In other words, number of different species in the supplement. Again, as a guide, store brands have 1-3 types. The ones I take have 16-22 types, again, depending on the specific application. Same advice as before.

In my experience, a good probiotic supplement should take effect in 3-10 days. Results depend on the severity of the condition, lifestyle, diet, etc. Most important thing about probiotics is water. If you don't drink enough water, the probiotics will not aid in digestion. Water is one of the most important factors in success. For a sedentary lifestyle, 1/2-1 gallon of WATER (not soda, or juice, or anything but water for this measurement) is required for proper results. Other drinks, excepting alcohol, soda, and coffee, will have no negative effect. For the ones that do, simply compensate by drinking more water.

Prebiotics are a good addition to probiotics, and will be discussed specifically in it's own area. They are not necessary for probiotics to be successful.

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