What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that live in your digestive tract. Your digestive tract is home to more that 500 different species of bacteria; ideally 80% are good bacteria and 20% are bad bacteria. There are literally trillions of individual bacteria residing in the digestive tract with the majority of the population living in the large intestine. The most prevalent probiotic are Lactobacillus, which make up the majority of the probiotics living in your small intestine, and Bifidobacteria, the most prevalent probiotic living in your large intestine.

What Are The Benefits Of Probiotics?

Probiotics play an important role in both human health and disease. The World Health Organization defines probiotics as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” (that’s you). Literally translated, the word probiotic means “FOR LIFE”. Maintaining a healthy balance of probiotics is critical to your good health, and not only your digestive health.

Probiotics Help You:

• Promote healthy immunity *
• Regulate allergy response *
• Maintain healthy colon cells *
• Promote regularity *
• Manufacture vitamins, such as B and K *
• Make use of nutrients, such as fiber, that would otherwise pass through the body undigested *
• Create an unfriendly environment for potentially harmful bacteria and yeast *

Your Bacterial Balance Is the Key to Your Good Health

You have both good and bad bacteria in your digestive system. A healthy bacterial balance is 80% god to 20% bad bacteria. When the amount of bad bacteria increases past 20%, your health can suffer. Why? Well, for starters, did you know that 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract? A healthy supply of good bacteria is critical to supporting immunity. An overgrowth of bad bacteria could suppress or overload the immune system. Keeping your bacteria in balance is a key to your health. So, how do you maintain the right balance?

How Do You Keep Your Bacteria in Balance?

First of all, you know that every day you ingest harmful bacteria; from the bacteria under your fingernails, to the bacteria on your “clean” fork in the kitchen drawer. Unfortunately, bad bacteria is in your home, your office, your car, and at the gym. It’s just a fact of life. The key to good health is to make sure that you have enough good bacteria (80%) to be able to fight and destroy the bad bacteria you ingest in the normal course of the day. You receive good bacteria through your diet. A diet rich in fermented dairy and vegetable foods, such as yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut are all high in good bacteria. If you want to increase the good bacteria in your digestive system, eat those foods and, most importantly, eat a high fiber diet (25 grams or more per day). Why? Because good bacteria love to eat soluble fiber. When they eat soluble fiber, they multiply. When they multiply, they can crowd out the bad bacteria and maintain the proper balance. You can also support your bacterial balance by taking high potency probiotic supplements that are formulated with the right balance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria.

3 Steps to Maintaining the Right Bacterial Balance

1. Eat fermented foods.
2. Eat a lot of fiber.
3. Take high potency probiotic supplements with the right amount and proper ratio of Bifidobacteria to Lactobacillus.

What Can Cause Bacterial Imbalance?

A diet that doesn’t include the foods rich in probiotics can cause imbalance. Other causes of imbalance are a low-fiber diet and consumption of antibiotics. When you take antibiotics, they kill bacteria; both the good and the bad. That is why many doctors recommend eating yogurt or taking probiotic supplements during and after the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are a positive and powerful tool used during times of illness to kill infection-causing bacteria. However, the use of antibiotics can leave the digestive system vulnerable to the growth of any potentially harmful bacteria that were not eliminated. Why? Because antibiotics kill good bacteria too; which you depend upon to fight the growth of bad bacteria. Did you know that modern day farming practices include antibiotics in the regular feed of animals to protect them from disease? When we eat the meat from these animals, we unknowingly consume the antibiotics they have ingested. Antibiotics aren’t the only substances that can reduce our probiotic population. Chlorinated tap water, antibacterial soaps, and many food preservatives are all designed to prevent bacterial growth. Once these substances find their way to our digestive tract our good bacteria may be eliminated, along with the bad.

Factors Contributing to Bacterial Imbalance Include:

• Low fiber diet
• Antibiotic use
• Drinking chlorinated tap water
• Antibacterial soaps
• Food preservatives

Consequences of Probiotic Imbalance

Probiotics play an important role in our health and, usually, without our taking notice. That is, until our bacterial population becomes out of balance. The consequences of too little good bacteria can include diarrhea, constipation, excessive gas, yeast overgrowth, vaginal yeast infections, a weakened immune system, lactose intolerance, poor digestion, complex carbohydrate intolerance and even skin disruptions. Because 70% of our immune system lies in the digestive tract, the lack of adequate amounts of probiotics can result in many problems related to low immunity.

The Critical Importance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria

In a healthy intestinal tract, Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria make up the majority of the trillions of bacterial cells residing there. Bifidobacteria alone comprises up to 25% of the total probiotics in a healthy adult and an even larger ratio in a healthy child.** The intestinal tract is comprised of 2 major sections: the small intestine and the large intestine. The probiotic species of the small intestine differs from the large intestine.

Small Intestine: Lactobacilli

In a healthy small intestine, the most prevalent probiotic is the Lactobacilli species. Lactobacilli help to: regulate the immune system, digest nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates and milk sugar and produce compounds and acids that create an unfriendly environment for potentially harmful bacteria (which are always present and fighting for more space). Lactobacilli are also the most prevalent probiotic in the vagina, where they create acidic compounds that help to keep other organisms, such as yeast, in minimal numbers.

Large Intestine: Bifidobacteria

In a healthy Large intestine, the most prevalent probiotic is the Bifidobacteria species. Because the large intestine has less constant movement than the small intestine, it is easier for potentially harmful bacteria to take up residence here and multiply. Bifidobacteria is your major line of defense against bad bacteria in the large intestine. It fights bad bacteria with its sheer numbers. It also produces acidic compounds that help reduce bad bacteria’s ability to multiply. Bifidobacteria also ferments soluble fiber; a dietary substance that would otherwise be useless to the human body without the help of bacteria. Bifidobacteria ferment soluble fiber and produce compounds including short chain fatty acids, vitamin B, and vitamin K. Unfortunately, as important as Bifidobacteria is in the maintaining the health of the large intestine and protecting us from harmful bacteria, studies show that the population of Bifidobacteria in our gut declines with age. Many researchers are exploring the link between the decline of Bifidobacteria and the effects of aging.

How to Choose the Right Probiotic Supplement

There are several critical, yet simple, factors in choosing the right probiotic supplement.

1. First, you should always look for high potency formulas with significant amounts of both Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus when selecting a daily maintenance probiotic. These are the two primary probiotics in your digestive system. A high Bifidobacteria count is hard to find, and that is why Brenda Watson, ND formulated the Ultimate Flora line of probiotics.
2. The second factor is your age. As we age, our probiotic population decreases. Choose a daily maintenance probiotic that is age appropriate. The older you are, the more probiotics you need.
3. Third, if you are choosing a probiotic to take during or after antibiotic use, choose a critical care formulation with very high potency to specifically address this period.
4. Fourth, make sure that the probiotic you choose is either enteric coated or delivered through Bio-Tract™ tableting. Both of these methods insure that he probiotics in the capsule or tablet pass through the stomach and are delivered to the small and large intestine where they are needed most.
5. Fifth, if you have a particularly troublesome upper digestive tract, select a probiotic that includes glutamine, the amino acid that is the fuel for intestinal cells (make sure your upper GI formula only is not enteric-coated or Bio-Tract™ encapsulated).
6. Lastly, if you are traveling, be sure to choose a probiotic that is shelf stable.

Which Probiotic Should You Take?

There are two types of probiotic supplements:

Daily Maintenance and Critical Care

Daily Maintenance:

Unless you eat a perfect diet rich in fermented vegetables and dairy, a daily maintenance probiotic may be as important as a daily multi-vitamin.

When choosing your daily maintenance probiotic, make sure it is high in Bifidobacteria and formulated specifically for your age. Because the amount of probiotics in your digestive system declines as you age, you will need more as you get older.

Critical Care:

Sometimes, we are faced with the need for a critical care probiotic. The two most common reasons are antibiotic use and vaginal yeast infections. For those taking or having recently completed a course of antibiotics, we recommend Ultimate Flora Critical Care which contains 50 billion active cells (30 of which are Bifidobacteria, and 20 of which are Lactobacillus bacteria).