Probiotics for Digestive Health
Probiotics for Digestive Health
A number of recent articles in prominent medical journals support the use of acidophilus and other probiotics in a number of digestive problems. Probiotics, as their name implies, are living organisms that promote the health of the digestive tract. In contrast, antibiotics are medications (usually synthetic) that destroy organisms.
Antibiotics, or course, have important uses in modern medicine, and they are necessary to kill the invading infections that cause many of our diseases. However, no antibiotic kills only the bad organisms. Instead, a broad-spectrum antibiotic will kill most of the organisms in the body, particularly in the digestive tract. In fact, there are millions of good organisms in the digestive tract, more organisms than there are cells in the body! These organisms are important for our proper digestion, absorption of critical nutrients, and proper elimination.
A healthy digestive tract has the ability to repair itself to some extent, but prolonged exposure to antibiotics overwhelms this ability to heal. This exposure can come from repeated antibiotic use such as with sinusitis, urinary or respiratory infection, or from a chronic course of antibiotic commonly used to treat acne or prostatitis. In fact, there’s no guarantee that avoiding antibiotic prescriptions will eliminate this problem. More antibiotics are used today in raising animals for food than are used to treat humans, and these antibiotics are carried into our bodies when we eat animal flesh.
Fortunately, the digestive tract acts as a fertile ground in which we can plant new, healthy organisms, and those organisms are called probiotics. Taking these valuable mixtures of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacteria longum, and other organisms can restore proper digestive function. Saccharomyces boulardii is a special organism that seems to have some use in treating Clostridium dificile, a dangerous digestive infection that results from overuse of antibiotics.
And what about yogurt? Yogurt and other cultured products like kefir and buttermilk deliver the proper organisms to the digestive tract, and can be used to prevent the side effects of antibiotics. But, it’s got to be pure unsweetened yogurt (adding fresh fruit and nuts is fine). The sugar-laden, chemically-altered yogurt products now on the market may taste good, but are useless in treating digestive problems.
Purchase probiotics (PB8) online at the Natural Apothecary.
For more information on Digestive Health, click here.