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Clarifying the Complex World of Nutrition Science

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How Probiotics Balance Intestinal Ecology and Promote Wellness and Longevity

You cannot be healthy if your cells aren’t healthy. And the health of your cells is critically dependent on what goes into them.

Cells that are properly nourished—that are not constantly attacked by toxins and pathogens—are able to mobilize your natural immune defenses to fight off disease.

But when your cells battle toxins and carcinogens (cancer-causing agents), your immune system becomes overwhelmed. Your cells lose their ability to neutralize toxins on their own. And your over-burdened immune system is unable to counter attack.

This sort of condition—where your cells are continuously staving off attack—is an example of an unbalanced physiological ecosystem. And typical of complex, dynamic systems, the true source of major problems is not the obvious one.

The surprising source of the greatest risk to your health

Many pathogens and carcinogens enter your system through your skin, lungs, mucous membranes and other ports of entry. But the largest source of toxins and cancer causing agents come from a source most people would not expect—your intestines.1

Your intestines (large and small) are home to upwards of 100 trillion live bacteria and other microorganisms—often called the “intestinal flora.” These microorganisms divide into two types: beneficial and harmful.2 And both types are constantly present.

When you’re healthy, beneficial bacteria predominate, playing a vital role in your health.

They aid digestion, produce nutrients like vitamins B2, B5, and B12 3 and organic acids like lactic acid. These products of beneficial bacteria aid in absorption of other nutrients and produce substances that keep harmful bacteria in proper balance.4

But if the ecological balance in your gut tilts … and harmful, putrefactive bacteria dominate … you are in for serious trouble. Harmful bacteria produce toxic and cancer-causing substances. (fig. 1)

fig.1

“A rogues gallery of harmful bacteria in your intestines” 25
Clostridium perfringens Sudden death and gastrointestinal disease
Bacteroides fragilis Abscesses of brain, liver, neck, myocarditis, osteomyelitis, peritonitis, pneumonia
Salmonella Salmonellosis: diarrhea, fever, and stomach pain 26
Staphylococcus aureus Superficial skin lesions such as boils, styes and recurring boils; more serious infections such as pneumonia, mastitis, phlebitis, meningitis, and urinary tract infections; and deep-seated infections, such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis

“But if the ecological balance in your gut tilts … and harmful, putrefactive bacteria dominate … you are in for serious trouble.”

These substances might not have an immediate detrimental effect, but research is building that demonstrates they are contributing factors to aging, cancers, liver and kidney disease, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and reduced immunity. 5

Little is known about exactly why this delicate ecological balance can shift in favor of harmful bacteria so suddenly. But a number of factors are known to change the balance in their favor. These factors include surgeries, antibiotic therapy, liver or kidney diseases, anemia, cancer, radiation, immune disorders, emotional and physical stress, aging, poor diet, and poor nutrition.

Bringing balance back to your gut ecosystem

It isn’t difficult to see how important keeping your gut’s ecosystem in balance is. When this ecosystem is disrupted, your entire physiological system is also thrown out of balance.

Toxins and carcinogens produced by putrefactive microorganisms are absorbed by the intestinal walls and into your bloodstream. They’re carried throughout your entire body, creating environments contributing to ill health as they enter individual cells, challenging and overwhelming your immune system … causing short and long term illnesses.6

A number of these toxic factors are powerful oxidizing agents and free radical producers—known agents for swinging the balance in favor of heart diseases, cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The message is clear: Keep your intestinal flora balanced in favor of the good bacteria, and you help keep your entire physiological system in balance. Do that and you lower your risks for these deadly, life-diminishing diseases.

It seems like it should be an easy task. Just decrease the number of harmful bacteria and you have the upper hand. But in reality, it’s more difficult than that. How do you selectively kill just the harmful bacteria?

Antibiotic therapy won’t work. Antibiotics kill off the beneficial bacteria as fast—or faster—than they kill off harmful organisms. And when you take antibiotics, you suffer two unwanted results.

First off, overusing antibiotics selects for the resistant strains. Ultimately, you’ll have stronger, drug-resistant, harmful bacteria in greater numbers inside your intestines.

And second, probably you or someone you know has experienced the side effects of antibiotics: serious stomach problems including cramping and diarrhea. But there’s a potential solution hidden in this particular problem. What do friends tell you if you’re taking antibiotics? Eat yogurt. And this does help … at least a little bit for most people.

The reason yogurt is some help is because it contains one or more types of beneficial bacteria … in most cases it’s a strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. bulgaricus—two of the good bacteria.

This approach to improving your health by ingesting beneficial bacteria is the basis of “probiotics therapy.” The idea is that rather than killing the harmful bacteria, you increase the proportion of beneficial bacteria in your intestinal flora by adding them through supplementation.

The increased amount of beneficial bacteria helps rebalance your gut ecology in favor of the “good guys.” Production of toxins and carcinogens by harmful bacteria is significantly reduced. And balance returns to your total physiological system.

Or so goes the theory. In practice, a probiotic approach dependent on yogurt bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus) has a serious drawback. This drawback is why many people do not get relief from yogurt when they take it for antibiotic-induced stomach problems. We’ll return to this problem shortly—with a safe, easy solution.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
World Health Organization, 1948

First, let’s look at how effective probiotics therapy improves your health by balancing your natural intestinal ecology.

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Editor's Note:

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This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with a physician before embarking on a dietary supplement program.

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