American Pharmacist, Suzy Cohen, writes about the benefits of adding a supplement of friendly bacteria to the diet:
A new approach to modern health care, known as medical ecology, seeks to change the way we think about bacteria. There are more than 100 trillion microbes that live inside you, that’s more than the number of actual cells that form you into a human being. You are merely the sum of the bacteria inside you, so it’s critical that the good organisms outnumber the bad ones, or else disease sets in. People who enjoy good health, do so because of their strong immune system which powers up at birth, with an assortment of healthy bacteria obtained from mother’s milk. The bacteria in a mother’s milk, for example, contains up to 600 species of organisms that prepare her baby’s digestive tract and lay the foundation for her immune system not only for childhood but well into adulthood.
Research is showing that countless species (of bacteria) serve a good purpose in an interesting article written by Carl Zimmer entitled “How Microbes Defend and Define Us.” (New York Times. 12 June 2012). As adults, collectively-speaking, our intestinal microflora bugs weigh about 2 or 3 pounds, about as much as a brick. If you want to enjoy good health, your goal should be to make sure that of those 100 trillion bugs, most of them are good ones!
Do you have good skin? You can thank your bacteria for that. Likewise, if you have sensitive skin, or a skin disorder such as psoriasis or eczema, you can blame your bacteria for that as well. Special skin cells produce an important moisture layer that protects our delicate skin from toxins, keeping it supple, healthy, and also prevents it from cracking. Just as the bacteria on your skin are essential to a healthy hide, researchers are discovering even more positive effects produced by our invisible inhabitants. While researchers debate the evidence, you might continue scratching yourself to death! Why not try probiotics? They’re a very safe, inexpensive and fundamental way to promote a healthy immune response and ensure beautiful skin…
…Do you enjoy eating food without the discomfort of heartburn and bleeding ulcers? Thank your gut bugs because they are keeping the invaders (like H. pylori) at bay. Never get sick? Let’s hear it for the bugs! Do your best to nourish the health-promoting microorganisms because if you don’t, the bad guys are opportunistic, and they will take over the terrain, thus changing the ratio of those 100 trillion microbes. By occupying various niches in the intricate landscape of our bodies, our resident microbes protect us from foreign bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Many well-designed studies prove this.
To improve the ratio of good to bad microbes I recommend taking probiotic supplements, sold by some physicians and at health food stores. Everyone associates probiotic supplements with gastrointestinal health and relief of constipation but probiotics are great for skin health, weight, staying healthy as we head into cough and cold season (hint hint), lifting depression and believe it or not, thyroid health. Yes, that healthy bacterial garden in your gut activates approximately 30 percent of your thyroid hormone, which in turn boosts energy and burns fat.
In a Nutritionhelp protocol, supplementing friendly bacteria would form just one part of our recommendations to support good gut ecology, (see yesterdays post), and when supporting health and skin conditions, as mentioned above, some additional nutrients may also prove beneficial. Healthy skin for example, requires adequate levels of zinc, and vitamins C, E and A and beneficial oils. Skin may also be affected by an allergy, either food or environmental, so this is where a Nutritionhelp report and contact with one of our nutritionists may help progress. Unfortunately, supporting health is rarely a matter of just adding a probiotic supplement, although this may be a vital factor.
More from Suzy’s article tomorrow.
