Many have heard the term “probiotics” and some may even be taking them. But what do probiotics do and why are they so beneficial? How can we get the most out of them? After all that is our goal with everything isn’t it? Getting the most for our money! Here is how to get all the benefits and why these benefits are so important.

Probiotics are organisms, bacteria and yeasts mostly, that contribute beneficially to healthy environments in the small and large intestines in our bodies[1]. We need these digestive helpers in our intestines to break down food into absorbable forms. They also produce vitamin K, B12 and folic acid, some very important vitamins for our brain, energy production and cardiac health. Probiotics also help to regulate cholesterol levels in our blood by recycling our bile acids[2]. Since they are so important in so many body functions when there is an imbalance it can lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and even cancer.

Many things can throw off the balance of your digestive system including stress, antibiotics, food allergies and a compromised immune system. A fish aquarium is a good example of how this process works.

Our healthy intestine, with the right balance of probiotics, is similar to an aquarium with fresh water and fresh water fish in it. When the tank (the intestines) is clean and the water is fresh the fish (probiotics) are happy and living well. Then we put some salt in the water (stress) this affects the fish somewhat but they are still ok. Add more salt (antibiotics) and some of the fragile fish can’t take it and we lose them. Add more salt (food allergies) and we lose more fish. The more salt we add, the more fish we lose. As we change the environment in which the fish live, we lose the fish. It’s the same idea with the digestive system, except unfriendly bacteria and yeast are able to move in and take over when we lose our friendly bacteria. This can be very harmful!

So now we have a salt-water fish tank (unhealthy environment) and we keep adding freshwater fish (taking probiotics daily) and hope that they can live. They do not, even though we continually add them. Finally we test the environment and find that we need to change it to keep the fish healthy! We put fresh water in the tank with fresh water fish and they live happily again!

Probiotics are good for us, but they are not going to work efficiently and effectively if they don’t have the optimal environment. To get the optimal environment we first have to see what is affecting it negatively. We use our laboratory testing to determine what is happening within the digestive tract. By reviewing the results, we are able to see what the environment is and how it needs to be changed. We can then make the necessary adjustments to strike a path to good health. Improve your health and make your body’s use of probiotics much more efficient and effective by calling us. We can help!