How Do Probiotics Help You and What About Supplements

Many doctors are talking about probotics and why they are good for you. What are probotics and what can they do for you? Many articles offer very complex explanations and can be difficult to make sense of. Here is a fairly simple explanation of what probiotics are and how they can help.

Probiotics are the good or helpful bacteria in your digestive system. You can get good bacteria into your system by consuming food that contains helpful bacteria or taking a supplement. Here are some of the ways healthy bacteria will help your body.

Doctors say that many of us are deficient in probiotic levels, because of our lifestyle which consists of eating more fatty foods than we should, high stress levels and consuming antibiotics. These factors have a negative effect on our digestive system by destroying the good bacteria so we wind up deficient in good bacteria in our system.

Promote a Healthy Digestive Tract - The GI tract has both good and bad bacteria in it. Probiotics will help bolster your immune system by feeding the good bacteria which will in turn keep the bad bacteria from multiplying. Plus probiotics also help you absorb vitamins from your food better.

Decrease lactose intolerance -Many people have trouble digesting milk sugars or lactose. They experience symptoms such as gas and abdominal pain. Consuming yogurt with live cultures, such L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus helps break down the lactose in their systems and eliminates gas and stomach pain.

Help digestion - Yogurt or supplements that contain Bifidus regularis or Bacillus coagulans, help speed your digestion thus reducing that bloated feeling you get when your food won't digest.

Prevent ulcers - Though many people think stress and spicy food create ulcers they are actually caused by a bacteria called H. pylori. Probiotics in yogurt with live cultures eaten just once a week may keep H. pylori bacteria from clinging to your intestinal walls.

Prevent UTI - Studies have shown that women with chronic urinary tract infections often have lower than average levels of lactobacillus. Lactobacillus is a probiotic that helps your system fight off bacteria. Taking probiotics can increase your immunity and lessen your chance of infection.

Ease side effects from antibiotics - Antibiotics get rid of bacteria both good and bad. So when you take antibiotics for infections it can wipe out both good and bad bacteria from your digestive system. You can experience uncomfortable symptoms such as gas and diarrhea. Studies show that helpful bacteria supplements taken with or after antibiotics can help relieve those side effects.

Relief from IBS symptoms - If you have irritable bowel syndrome, you may experience diarrhea or constipation. Live bacteria such bifidobacterium, spore-formers or magnesium may relieve some of your symptoms.

Many doctors recommend supplements saying they are more effective than just consuming food with helpful bacteria. With a supplement you know exactly which helpful bacteria you are consuming and the amount. If you are planning to use a supplement choose your product from a reputable manufacturer. Your supplement should be sold in HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic or glass containers which will prevent oxygen from affecting the supplement.

The product will specify how many viable organisms that supplement should contain, usually by listing the amount per billion bacteria of each individual strain. Recommendations vary from doctor to doctor, but each dose should contain between one and ten billion live cells. Always check the expiration date before purchasing.

The best form of probotic supplement is the capsule because it remains viable the longest, there is no measuring and you can take them with you easily. When you take your supplement don't use chlorinated water as it will kill the bacteria.