The Benefits of Probiotics… The Missing Link to Obesity

Note:
Another great article on the critical importance of probiotics! I will keep posting these until every single one of my friends and family understands this! Many of the food allergies people are suffering from are connected to a lack of good stomach flora from not obtaining enough probiotic/prebiotic units and/or multiple strains. It can also mean the difference between life and death, especially with the out-of-control pathogenic bacteria levels rising at record rates, like MRSA and C. Diff, that are causing thousands of deaths each year. These bacteria have become resistant to the antibiotics traditionally used to treat them and have started mutating into new tougher strains, so we must do everything we can to protect against them before they attack. Without the "proper" amount of good bacteria in your gut you are free game and have no protection against them.
P.S. Yogurt does NOT contain enough good bacteria to protect you!
Miriam

The Benefits of Probiotics… The Missing Link to Obesity
by Bente Hewitt

Did you know that probiotics can play a major role in your natural weight management? Perhaps, it’s the lack of probiotics that is keeping you from achieving your weight loss goals? Additionally, an unbalanced or toxic digestive tract could be compromising your overall health and vitality.

Perhaps you are unaware of the secret world within you that is dramatically influencing your health and longevity. This vast internal ecosystem, otherwise known as our human intestinal flora, dramatically influences every individual's personal state of health and well being. This includes our physical and mental health, our metabolism, and quite possibly, our life span. It also performs a vast number of necessary tasks for maintaining high energy levels, proper immune function and counteracts cancer causing compounds in the colon.

Currently, much research is being focused on the possible connection between the lack of friendly gut flora in our intestines and the growing epidemic of obesity around the world.

We've all heard the saying "Death Begins in the Colon." Right in line with that theory, many alternative doctors believe that a disrupted ecology of the gastrointestinal tract may be at the heart of up to 90 percent of all known human illnesses and disease.

A properly functioning intestinal system guards your body against harmful bacteria, yeast and viruses. It also stimulates the function of the entire digestive system and produces essential vitamins and regulates their levels. Total health begins in the gut, so if your GI tract is not in optimal health, then your overall health will be compromised.

Science now recognizes that 80% of your immune system is actually living right in your digestive tract.

The human body is made up of an estimated 100 trillion bacterial cells from at least 500 species, not including viruses and fungi. These bacterias (probiotics) are referred to as "friendly" bacteria and are responsible for several important biological functions. Some of these functions include assisting with digestion, keeping other harmful bacteria at bay and stimulating the immune system. Probiotics are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) that are similar to beneficial microorganisms found in the human gut. They are also called "friendly bacteria" or "good bacteria."

Is you’re digestive tract at peace? If not, your body could be staging a war against you?

The delicate bacterial balance in the intestines can easily be upset. What we have come to learn is that there is a strong connection between our body's intestinal flora and its' ability to prevent serious illness and add vital years to our lives. When you consume a diet rich in sugars and processed foods, take antibiotics, experience stress or suffer from lack of sleep, the protective bacteria in your digestive tract weakens. A continued weakened gut eventually leads to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, Candida Albicans, and many others that cause diseases as well as food sensitivities and excessive weight gain.

The more often you take antibiotics or cortisone-containing drugs, the more disturbed your natural balance of intestinal flora. As the flora in your intestine becomes increasingly out of balance, two things happen: the lining of your intestines weakens and you develop a craving for sugars and carbohydrates to try to feed the unnaturally large amount of yeast in your intestine.

Antibiotics (literally meaning anti-life) indiscriminately kill bacteria throughout your system. This is good if you have bacterial pneumonia or an infected wound, because the "bad" bacteria could eventually threaten your life. However, the antibiotics also kill the "good" bacteria; especially those that live in your digestive tract and help digest your food. This upsets the natural balance of bacteria and yeast that usually live in harmony in your digestive tract, since yeast is not affected by antibiotics.

While, bacteria and yeast are a natural occurrence in the body, when the yeast grows and overpowers the normal beneficial bacteria, it can make us sick. What makes it grow? Sugar and starches. Too much sugar and starches feed Candida. The more sugar and carbs you eat, the more the yeast grows out of balance and the larger your appetite becomes for even more sugars and carbs. In response, the lining of your intestine weakens due to the unnatural balance of microorganisms and the increasingly weakened immune system.

If indeed you are not feeling well and you have had a course of antibiotics, been under considerable stress, or eat nutrient poor food, the cause could very well be a bacterial imbalance and a high quality probiotic formula may be of great value to you in restoring your health. With the proper diet, including food products rich in beneficial bacteria, (such as cultured yogurt, buttermilk, kefir and other soured milk food products) and additional supplementation, everybody is capable of achieving and maintaining an extraordinary new vigor and vitality far into the future, regardless of age.

Certain studies have proven the many health benefits of probiotics such as the prevention or control of:

• Food and skin allergies in children
• Bacterial vagniosis
• Premature labor in pregnant women
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Recurrent ear and bladder infections
• Chronic diarrhea
• And now… obesity

Probiotics perform many important functions, including strengthening the immune system, assisting in digestion, aiding in the absorption of nutrients and regulating our caloric intake by signaling the brain when we are full.

The most common sources of friendly bacteria are mothers' milk, raw fermented foods including yogurt and sauerkraut and fresh, raw and organically grown produce. For most people none of the above mentioned sources of friendly bacteria are a regular part of the diet.

They regulate and enhance the overall bowel function including digestion, assimilation and elimination. This greatly improves health by enhancing the utilization of nutrients from the food supplies and greatly reduces immune stresses by reducing bowel toxicity.

They protect against pathogens including unfriendly bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. This will lead to an improvement in overall immune and endocrine function as well as a reduction in infections, food poisoning and food allergies.

These friendly bacteria are not only perfectly safe for pregnant women, infants, toddlers, children and pets of any age, but also critical for optimum health. Less than adequate levels of friendly bacteria are directly related to high incidences of infection including ear infections, food poisoning and acne.

Not to mention, the use of probiotics during pregnancy is extremely important to delivering a healthy, balanced child. It is through the birth canal that the first probiotics will colonize an infant’s body, providing protection from infection and disease as well as assisting with digestion. All those babies with colic or digestion issues are… LACKING PROBIOTICS. The type of bacteria living in a mother’s vagina at the time of birth will determine her child’s health in the first months of life, and perhaps a lot longer than that. For this reason alone, it is extremely important that the mother is not taking any antibiotics or does not have a yeast infection during the birth process.

In addition, our newborn babies will acquire the good, beneficial bacteria (probiotics) through their mother’s milk. Another great reason to breast feed your infants – the probiotics in your milk will provide your babies with a foundation for strong, efficient immune and digestive systems.

Today, all across the world, individuals are being overfed and under nourished. Poor nutrition, the chronic use of antibiotics, hormonal imbalance, stress, among others, are contributing to the epidemic of our unhealthy, overweight, illness-plagued society. It’s time to take a look inside. With just a few, easy tweaks to your diet, you too can achieve and maintain extraordinary new vigor and vitality far into the future, regardless of your age. Probiotics can change your life, and now may be proven to be the missing link to weight loss.

Author's Bio

Bente Hewitt is a long-time student of natural health modalities. She is nutritional consultant and founder of Intuitive Health Inc. She is passionate about educating and helping adults and children of all ages with her realistic approach to the wellness process. Through her Optimal Health Program she works to eliminate food allergies and eradicate Candida, promoting natural bacterial balance, proper energy flow and digestion and overall well being. With the proper foods to fit your body type, nutritional supplements, dietary and lifestyle guidance, you too can be on your way to optimal health.

http://www.oasisadvancedwellness.com/learning/obesity-probiotics-benefits.html