What are Probiotics and How are They Beneficial to the Human Body?

Have you ever wondered why your doctor recommends that you eat yogurt when you are taking antibiotics? That is because while antibiotics kill bad bacteria in the human body, it also attacks and kills the good bacteria. Yogurt has the good bacteria your body needs to avoid yeast infections and irregularity in your colon.

In other words, the good bacteria in yogurt put back what the antibiotics destroy. The friendly bacteria in yogurt are a form probiotics. Now that you understand a little more about the difference in good and bad bacteria we will discuss some of the illnesses that can be caused from the bad bacteria and how the good bacteria can be used to prevent or control these illnesses.

Yeast Infections – Yeast can develop in or on various parts of your body. Typically, they occur in women more than men in the genital area. Elderly people and people with poor immune systems can get yeast on areas of the body that gets warm and moist where yeast thrives. It is usually caused by a lack of good bacteria. Putting back good bacteria with yogurt or a probiotic supplement can help prevent or at least manage this condition.

Bowel Infections and Disease – Infectious diarrhea, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Chron’s Disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases are caused by an infection in the intestinal tract and can range from mild to severe in nature. If you have ever experienced diarrhea, you know just how miserable it can make you. Probiotics help replace the good bacteria that are missing in your intestines to cure infectious diarrhea or prevent it.

Tooth Decay and Gum Disease – Gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth decay are also caused by unfriendly microorganisms and need to be offset by probiotics.

Other infections like skin infections and some respiratory infections can be caused by bad microorganisms like bacteria, viruses and yeast. The only way to combat these bad microorganisms is to introduce probiotic bacteria into your body to fight off the bad organisms.

The use of probiotics has become more popular due to its effectiveness at helping maintain a good balance of good and bad bacteria in your body as well as preventing and controlling infections as mentioned above. Your colon is directly connected to your immune system, so when you have the correct balance of good and bad microorganisms in your intestinal tract, you can be healthy.

Probiotics are available in certain foods and supplements in the forms of yogurt. Miso, soy, some juices and certain kinds of milk products and should not be confused with prebiotics which stimulate the activity of good microorganisms already present in the body via food ingredients that are non-digestible. When combined, they form a symbiotic which can be found in dietary supplements that aid in forming good flora for your colon.

There has been much ado about colon health in recent years. This is because the health of your colon is vital to your immune system which affects your ability to fight off illnesses and disease. More research is being done on these microorganisms to find out how they can be beneficial to the colon and overall good health.