2.6 min readBy Published On: February 27th, 2013Categories: Health and Wellness, Lifestyle0 Comments on Probiotics and Your Health

By Evan Crothers

I am sure many of you have heard about Probiotics and the fact they are beneficial.  However if asked what exactly they are many people would have a difficult time describing them. In plain form Probiotics are good bacteria.  They are essential for health, beauty and life!  They play a very crucial role in the health and welfare of your body.

Good Bacteria :

  • Fights bacterial and other infections.
  • Stimulates the immune system.
  • Triggers weight loss.
  • Help us to derive nutrition from the food we eat.
  • Eliminates yeast issues.
  • Keeps bad bacteria, toxicity and fungi in check.  (People with an undesirable ratio of good bacteria vs. bad bacteria are more prone to sickness and over all poor health.)

One might say, “Why not try to get rid of all the bad bacteria?”  It is actually the balance of the good bacteria and the bad bacteria that is considered the healthiest.

What is harmful about Antibiotics?
Antibiotics literally means “against life.”  They are administered to people to wipe out whatever sickness they are suffering from.  However they wipe out ALL bacteria, even the good bacteria.  So without a good probiotic immediately following your use of antibiotics your system is ripe for a bad bacteria take over!  Always use antibiotics as a last resort.

Isn’t Yogurt a good way of consuming Probiotics/ Good Bacteria?
Unfortunately, no.  I know, I know, we have heard for most of our lives that eating yogurt supplies us with a great source for probiotics, but that simply isn’t true.  Yogurt is dairy, and dairy leaves an acid imbalance in our bodies, which has been shown to cause us to lose calcium from our bones.  Dairy is a mucus forming, highly clogging food.  Dairy takes hours to digest.  By the time digestion in complete most of the probiotics have been killed off by your stomach acid.  There is no protective delivery system to make sure the bacteria make it to your gut. You do not need to consume dairy to get your daily intake of calcium.  Collard Greens, Kale, Almonds and Oranges are great non-dairy sources.

So where do I get my probiotics?
From a good probiotic supplement.  You want to look for one that has as many different “strands” of bacteria as possible.  The one I take has 8 different strands and a total of 100 Billion active probiotics.

Here is what to look for in an effective probiotic:

  • Many different strands
  • At least 10 billion active probiotics.
  • Must be refrigerated. (Just like all living foods are perishable so are probiotics!)  If you buy them un-refrigerated they are most likely dead. Don’t waste your money!!
  • Look for “Enteric Coated.”  This is a way of improving the delivery system through your stomach acid.
  • Consuming Raw Sauerkraut
  • Include raw unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar in your diet.
  • Consume Raw Kimchi (An Asian form of pickled sauerkraut)

Evan Crothers is a Certified Holistic Health Coach/ Nutritionist and creator of CONFIDENCE THROUGH NUTRITION.  For more information or to sign up for a FREE Health Consultation please Visit: Confidencethroughnutrition.com? ?Email: [email protected]