A Guide to Probiotics Health Benefits
There is a lot of information available on how good and bad bacteria can make or break your immune system. It is first important to understand that we are surrounded by microorganisms which include bacteria. Microorganisms also live in and on the human body.
Good bacteria aid in healthy immune system function protects against bad microorganisms and aids in the absorption of nutrients and digestion. That being said, you also need to know that when the balance of good and bad microorganisms is thrown off, it can cause all kinds of health issues.
We will now cover what affects the balance of the microorganisms in your body and the probiotics health benefits that help to get that balance back.
Factors that affect micro-organism balance:
Antibiotics – Antibiotics may have their roll in fighting infection, but overuse can actually be harmful to the immune system. Antibiotics don’t just kill the bad microorganisms; they also kill the healthy microorganisms your body needs. This is why doctors Insist that patients taking antibiotics eat yogurt to replace the good bacteria that the antibiotics kill. The probiotics health advantages in this case are in preventing digestive problems like excess gas, intestinal cramping and/or diarrhea. There has been some debate in the medical community about the adverse affects of antibiotics versus the health benefits.
Harmful Microorganisms – This includes yeast, fungi, parasites and bad bacteria. Research is still being done on the effects of probiotics in this area. There have been successful reports dealing with probiotics aiding in managing infectious diarrhea, IBS, inflammatory bowel disease (like Chron’s disease and ulcerative colitis), ulcers, chronic stomach inflammation, tooth decay, gum disease, vaginal yeast infections, skin infections and other stomach and respiratory infections kids can get in school or daycare.
It is the expert opinion of some researchers that since the balance of microorganisms varies from person to person, the probiotics health advantages and/or disadvantages also vary. This would explain why probiotics work for some people with chronic bowel disease and has no effect on others. It could also explain why it can cause mild to serious digestive problems in some patients.
While there is still much to learn about the microorganisms in the body, there has been enough research to know that there are some cells in the intestines that affect the body’s immune function. This has caused some debate about whether altering the balance of these cells would cause immune deficiencies.
The good news is that according to research study reports, probiotics health supplements and foods containing probiotics, like yogurt, can successfully prevent and manage common diarrhea, urinary and yeast infections, IBS, bladder cancer recurrence, certain bowel infections and certain skin conditions.
Keep in mind that the research stages in the probiotics venue are still in an early phase. Much of the current information we have on the benefits of probiotics health products has been uncovered and released as recently as 2005.
New discoveries are being made almost every day within the scientific community involved in the research of probiotics and the effects on humans and animals. Take what we do know about probiotics and use it to your advantage.
