In my last blog I wrote about dysbiosis, an imbalance of the digestive flora that causes pain and discomfort in the digestive area. In the treatment plan I briefly mentioned probiotics as one part of the solution. Today I would like to take a more indepth look at probiotics because they are beginning to get more exposure in the media.
Probiotic is a generic term used to describe the beneficial micro-organisms that live in our digestive tract. The term includes several different species that live and populate our colon. Traditionally these micro organisms, or beneficial flora, would continually be repopulated by the foods that we ate as part of our normal diet.
The beneficial flora was obtained through eating fermented foods. Most cultures have daily foods that are fermented. For example, Italians eat antipasto, Japanese eat miso or tempeh, eastern Europeans eat kiefer or yogurt, Koreans eat kymchee, Germans eat sauerkraut.
Eating these foods as part of a balanced diet helped to maintain the normal digestive process for the culture. Unfortunately the Standard American Diet (SAD) does not have any elements of a fermented foods as a staple part of it’s foundation. This highly processed highly refined diet actually tends to create an ideal environment for harmful micro-organisms.
If you watch TV you will see yogurt commercials explaining the benefits of probiotics. They talk about one of the beneficial strains call Lactobacillus Bifidus but there are other strains like Lactobacillus acidolphilus, L. fermentum, L. casea, L. salivores, L. brevis and L. plantarum. All of these in combination are important to have the good flora in the digestive tract.
I feel that it is also important to mention that infants under one year have different but specific flora necessary to help digest their milk based diets as well. Again these beneficial bacteria are maintained by eating fermented foods along with a whole food, high fiber diet. When patient come into my office for treatment of dysbiosis, I sometimes have to give them supplementation of probiotics to help rebalance the flora.
Whenever I recommend probiotics I always refer to companies that sell high-quality nutrition products or usually companies that only sell to doctors to make sure what they say on the label is actually in the package.
Probiotics are an important part of a healthy digestive and immune system so it is worth investigating how balanced your digestive tract is. Your local naturopathic can help you evaluate it.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Dae's website: www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's book: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living can be purchased @ www.amazon.com or www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's Bio:
Daemon "Dr. Dae" (pronounced Dr. Day) Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who completed her training at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is certified as a General Practitioner by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE). Dr. Dae provides tailored treatment to meet the unique needs of every individual she sees in her practice. She also provides specialized support for persons challenged by nutritional deficiencies, weight problems, hormonal and reproductive system disorders, attention deficit disorder and those experiencing chronic diseases. Dr. Dae is an adjunct faculty member for Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts. She is the author of Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living, The Healthydaes Newsletter, and is a regularly featured writer for the Elite GoogleNews Website empowher.com where she shares her personal and professional vision for living whole and living well. To learn more about Dr. Dae, her products and services, please visit her on the Web at www.Healthydaes.org