If you were told that the health benefits of probiotics – a type of entirely natural supplementation – include improving your digestive health immeasurably, your health and well-being in general and potentially your longevity, would you be interested to find out more?
It is widely recognised that the absolute cornerstone of a healthy body is good nutrition and underlying this is the bedrock of gut and digestive health.
An essential component of a healthy digestive system is the normal bacterial flora found within it. These aid in digesting food, destroying disease causing cells and producing certain vitamins. Additionally, they act to keep at bay harmful fungal cells and “bad” bacterial forms such as they ulcer causing Helicobacter pylori.
Problems start when these “good” bacteria are destroyed by such things as antibiotic therapy and excessive intake of alcohol.
This is where probiotics have a place – they are live cultures of “good” bacteria which are replacements for the lost bacteria and are found in “live” yoghurts, certain fermented foods and as supplements.
What are the real and wonderful healthy nutrition benefits of probiotics?
Exciting recent research has shown, however, that probiotics don’t just fulfil these powerful digestive functions. Incredibly they also maintain bodily health and help keep you away from harmful and damaging pharmaceuticals. Not surprisingly, Big Pharma would prefer you not to know the following facts!
Listed below are the far-reaching health benefits of probiotics:
1. The prevention or management of type 2 diabetes
Appropriate probiotics may have a positive effect on blood sugar levels, helping your body manage blood sugar more effectively by assisting in moving sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells where it’s needed. Studies have shown that probiotics also help to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce insulin resistance, thereby helping prevent or manage existing type 2 diabetes.
2. Improvement of blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels
Your body needs the right amount of cholesterol and triglycerides, the problems happen when these are found in raised and excess levels. When this happens, the excess fats may adversely affect the health of your heart and blood circulation. If the levels are too low – as found with long-term use of such drugs such as statins – that can damage your brain health and hormone production.
Health benefits of probiotics include acting as a natural aid to maintain the cholesterol and triglycerides balance by:
● increasing HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels
● lowering LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels
● reduction of high triglyceride levels
Probiotics achieve this in a number of ways including producing substances such as propionic acid which suppress liver cholesterol production, breaking down bile acids thus stimulating the liver to use existing cholesterol to replace these bile acids and feeding on excess cholesterol.
3. Controlling blood pressure
High blood pressure (hypertension) increases the risk of serious health issues such as stroke, kidney disease and dementia.
Studies have shown that probiotics can lower elevated blood pressure thereby are a potential pharmaceutical free way of treating hypertension.
4. Prevention of cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease is a major killer that may be prevented with the use of certain probiotics. These act by maintaining healthy blood cholesterol levels and controlling blood pressure. Additionally, they may act by:
● Lowering levels of the substance TMAO which has been implicated in heart attacks and strokes
● Decreasing oxidative stress
● Lowering levels of the inflammatory cytokines
5. Protecting against liver disease
Probiotics have been shown to support the liver in its function of storing essential nutrients and bodily detoxification. Additionally, they may act to reduce any existing liver inflammation, treating cirrhosis and preventing liver cancer.
6. Weight management
Many clinical studies have shown that probiotics play a pivotal role in appetite and metabolism with resultant promotion of weight loss and reduction of body mass index (BMI). This exciting potential for the prevention of obesity has a huge potential for the prevention of a multitude of diseases.
7. Protection and improvement of brain function
The communication between the gut and brain is very much influenced by the gut bacteria present and may have a significant effect on thinking and emotions. Consequently, probiotics may act to improve memory and cognitive ability, slow any cognitive decline and reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
8. Strengthening joints and bones
Probiotics also function to control inflammation – which may be instrumental in relieving the pain of osteoarthritis. Probiotics may also:
● Improve the turnover of bone cells
● Promote timely healing of bone fractures
● Provide protection against the misery of osteoporosis by increasing bone density
9. Moderation of autoimmune conditions
The natural gut bacterial flora plays a significant role in the hugely important area of immune function. An important aspect of this powerful function is assisting the immune system to moderate its actions when there is actually no threat present. If these overreactions take place autoimmune conditions are the result – effectively one’s body turning on itself as a perceived threat. Clinical studies have shown that the health benefits of probiotics include a reduction of the frequency of such flare-ups and the intensity of symptoms. This particularly applicable to the following conditions:
● Rheumatoid arthritis
● Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
● Multiple sclerosis (MS)
10. Prevention of cancer
Probiotics are showing exciting promise in the escalating fight against cancer. Many clinical studies have shown that specific probiotic supplements assist in the prevention and treatment of many types of cancer. These include:
● colorectal cancer
● breast cancer
● prostate cancer
● lung cancer
How can you get these natural agents for wonderful health benefits?
So, how do you get these wonderful bacteria into your digestive system? The simple answer is through certain fermented foods and/or supplements.
Fermented Foods
What’s so special about fermented foods?
Simply, the way they are made creates the ideal environment for good bacteria to grow and flourish.
Fermentation is one of the oldest techniques for food preservation and uses a process called lacto-fermentation, producing large numbers of “good” lactic acid bacteria. Through this process of preservation food is transformed – cucumbers become pickles and soybeans become miso.
Importantly lactic acid bacteria produced through fermentation include two of the most common prebiotics – Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.
Specifically fermented foods include:
● Kefir – this is a yoghurt-like drink, containing 30 or more species of probiotics, that is generally made with dairy milk. However, there are vegan alternative kefirs made from coconut water, coconut milk or rice milk.
● Kimchi – a spicy fermented cabbage dish made with a mix of garlic, salt, vinegar, and chili peppers.
● Kimbucha – a fermented tea drink
● Pickles – this includes sauerkraut (pickled cabbage). Make sure these are pickled in water and sea salt as vinegar will destroy good bacteria.
● Tempeh – fermented soy beans. This a popular substitute for meat.
● Miso – this paste is made by fermenting soy beans with brown rice. It is used in soups and as a dressing.
If for whatever reason these fermented foods do not appeal to you, help is at hand – supplementation may well be the answer.
Probiotic Supplements
To achieve these amazing and powerful natural health benefits of probiotics through supplements, it is vitally important to use the right probiotic formula containing specific bacterial strains. An amazing probiotic formula would ideally contain all of the following effective strains:
● B. longum
● L. acidophilus
● L. casei
● L. rhamnosus
● L. salivarius
● L. lactis
● B. lactis
● S. thermophiles
These are all “friendly” bacterial strains that may individually target specific health benefits. Taken together they combine as a particularly powerful restorative for a naturally healthy body. This effect can be enhanced by incorporating into your diet probiotic-friendly foods such as ginger and fennel.
Additionally, to get the healthy nutrition benefits of probiotics and maintain a healthy gut it makes sense to have plenty of “prebiotics” in your diet. Prebiotics are complex carbohydrates that are high in fibre. These act as food for good bacteria enabling them to grow and flourish. Great foods containing prebiotics are:
● Those containing whole grains such as oatmeal and whole-grain bread
● Vegetables such as asparagus, soybeans, and artichokes
● Starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, corn, and pumpkin
As these natural foods also contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they are particularly good news.
It is clear from the above that it is particularly important to replenish our natural gut microbiome with the healthy nutrition of probiotics. With their ability to transform one’s health for the better and keep one away from toxic pharmaceuticals, probiotics may well become your best friends!
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