100 trillion micro-organisms, of 500 different species, inhabit every normal healthy digestive tract. These micro-organisms (micro-flora) don’t make you sick. In fact, most are helpful as they keep the balance of the good and bad micro-organism population in check.

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Probiotics are a live culture of micro-organisms, which you can consume to maintain optimum health. You can incorporate them into your diet by eating fermented or cultured food, such as tempeh, natto, kimchee, fermented milk and fermented vegetables.

You can also take probiotic supplements, but make sure that the bacteria listed on the label are suitable for treating the conditions and they are in the right quantity.

What Are The Benefits Of Probiotics?

1. Improve Digestive Health

Good bacteria in the digestive tract help break down food and aid the absorption of nutrients into the body. Not only that, they also help to treat diarrhea that is contracted during traveling. Research studies have shown that Lactobacillus GG shortens the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children.

Probiotics also help with digestive problems such as Crohn’s disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Certain probiotics have been found to help remission of Ulcerative Colitis and prevent the relapse of Crohn’s disease.

2. Boost Immunity

A healthy digestive system is the first line of defense against attacks to the body. When the balance of good and bad bacteria is destabilized, the mucous lining in the intestine is susceptible to the invasion of pathogenic bacteria and other agents in the body. Taking probiotics helps the digestive system to rebalance the good and bad bacteria.

3. Reduce Obesity

New research indicates that bacteria and viruses in the gut play an integral role in how the body metabolizes and stores fat. Good bacteria, for example, reduce cravings for carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol.

A study undertaken by Marko Kalliomaki and reported in the American Society for Clinical Nutrition established that early gut micro-flora could guide weight development throughout early childhood. In the study, 25 obese children and 24 normal-weight children were given probiotic supplementation. Obese children were found to have a higher amount of the bad bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, while the normal-weight children had a high level of the good bacteria, Bifidobacteria.

4. Maintain Urogenital Health

Maintaining the ecosystem of micro-organisms in the vagina and the urinary tract is the key to urogenital health. Lactobacillus strains of bacteria make the ecosystem acidic by producing lactic acid. This helps to prevent harmful bacteria and yeast from growing and infecting the systems. This delicate ecosystem is destroyed by taking too many antibiotics, spermicide, and birth control pills.

5. Improve Cardiovascular Health

During the American Heart Association Conference in 2012, Michell L. Jones, MD, Ph.D., Faculty of Medicine, McGill University in Montreal, reported a study that showed probiotics help to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol in patients.

Out of a total of 127 adults with high cholesterol, half were given Lactobacillus reuteri 200 mg, twice a day. The other half was given a placebo. After nine weeks, the total cholesterol dropped by 9.1%, LDL dropped by 11.6% and the good cholesterol remained unchanged. Lactobacillus break up the bile salts and reduce cholesterol absorption in the intestine.

6. Prevent Childhood Eczema

When pregnant mothers take probiotics before and after giving birth, and while breast-feeding, their babies were found to have less incidence of developing eczema. This is reported in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

7. Prevent Baby Colic

Colicky babies cry a lot. A study carried out by Savnio F from the Department of Pediatrics, Regina Margherita Children’s Hospital, University of Turin, Italy, found that when 90 breastfed babies were given Lactobacillus reuteri at 60mg everyday for 28 days, the crying time was reduced by 13%.

Many studies have reported probiotics to have positive effects on health, while other studies reported weak findings. Probiotics may not be a miracle cure, but they won’t hurt either. If you take them and they make you feel better and healthier, then keep it up!

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