Probiotics are the friendly gut flora that make or break your ability to digest food completely. They are essential for a healthy body as Probiotics assist with the break down and adsorption of everything you eat.

So why do you need Probiotics?

When you have insufficient beneficial bacteria in your gut you cannot properly process the food you eat and this can lead to a variety of health conditions some of which include

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Autoimmune diseases
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Even ADHD and Autism

Probiotics and Antibiotics

A recent article in the Scientific American stated that:

“Studies suggest that the diversity of bacterial species in our guts partially determines how efficiently our cells process and store food and that, in a feedback loop, what we eat alters the demographics of the bacteria in our intestines. Commonly prescribed antibiotics are responsible for unintended microbial casualties, further changing how our resident population of microorganisms responds to our diet”

Antibiotics as the name suggests, kill bacteria and whilst they may have been prescribed to fight infection in a particular part of your body, they are usually taken orally and have to be digested.  This means that they are also targeting your gut flora and very often wiping out much of the friendly bacteria you want to keep.

How do you get enough Probiotics for healthy gut flora?

Re-establishing a healthy level of friendly gut flora is essential, especially during and after a course of antibiotics. This ensures that you re-instate good digestion and, therefore, overall good health. You can do this by eating foods that contain a naturally rich source of Probiotics such as:

• Sauerkraut (unpasteurised)
• Kefir
• Yogurt (sugar free)
• Natto
• Tempeh
• Kim Chee

However this may not always be sufficient or to your taste.

Probiotic supplements provide the solution

Probiotic supplements provide a convenient and easy way in which to bring your system back to good health, but how do you know which one to take?

Choosing the right Probitic supplement

One thing that is absolutely vital when choosing a Probiotic product is that it contains enough strains of different bacteria to colonize your intestines and can reach them alive, having made it through both your stomach and bile acids!

Mr Vitamins recommends:

Nutrition Care Polybac-8 Probiotic

Mr Vitamins Research and further References

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/2012/09/12/the-food-fight-in-your-guts-why-bacteria-will-change-the-way-you-think-about-calories/