Probiotics - What's the Hype About?

Probiotics

I'm sure you've seen the many TV commercials for name brand yogurts and probiotics that 'may help regulate occasional irregularity'. They make everyone in the world seem so uncomfortable and walking around with these vague digestive complaints. Reality is - most of us have digestive issues. It's not uncommon. Let's just be frank about it - gas, constipation, diarrhea - there, I said it! Our guts are mistreated by our diet and chronic dehydration regularly. We take medications to treat illnesses that cause side effects that require more medications. We don't use food as fuel but instead only land ourselves with more problems. That's a whole other discussion and likely future blog post. Food As Medicine... stay tuned!

Today we are focusing on probiotics. The good bacteria in your body! What exactly are they? They are live bacteria and yeast that are in our body and keep us healthy. There are over 500 strains living in our bodies! They help with digestion and keep our immune systems strong. There are many many types of naturally occurring organisms in our bodies and in foods that can be classified as probiotics. 

So when do we need supplementation with probiotics? 

• During and after taking antibiotics
• Antibiotics have a very specific job to do - kill bacteria. Only problem is, they don't particularly care which bacteria they kill. They do a fine job of hitting them all. How many people have you heard complain about getting yeast infections or diarrhea while or just after taking antibiotics? It is not uncommon and so many people think it's an allergy. It's not - it's the body being completely out of balance. By supplementing with probiotics, you can help re-balance the good and bad bacteria and potentially avoid these side effects!
• Frequent illness sufferers
• Probiotics help decrease the amount of 'bad' bacteria in our systems by increasing the 'good' guys and not allowing the 'bad' to take over. This helps keep our bodies working in tip top shape, like they should.
• Motility issues
• Probiotics help move things through our gut at the perfect rate. Those who suffer from IBS, IBD, infectious diarrhea, and/or antibiotic-related diarrhea will benefit from adding probiotics into their daily routine.
• Other complaints and concerns
• Probiotics aren't just helpful for gut issues. Some have found other conditions respond very well to probiotic introduction. These include eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions, urinary and vaginal health, prevention of allergies and colds, and oral health. 

So where do you start? There are so many brands and so many different types, it's difficult to just pick one. First thing I have to recommend is have a chat with your health care provider. Most of us are relatively well versed in probiotics however most patients don't want to hear about them so we don't bring it up. I've begun including prescriptions for probiotic with all my patients that require high dose antibiotics. Once I explain what probiotics are, I have yet to have a family turn me down!

What types of probiotics should you look for? I said earlier there are over 500 strains in the body. But some are definitely more powerful than others and will provide the best bang for your buck. So while most companies will advertise the number of strains they boast are in their product, take a minute and flip it over. Check the label. Here's 6 of the most powerful strains to look for:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus: 
• Maintains the integrity of intestinal walls 
• Promotes absorption of nutrients
• Helps support immune function
• Lactobacillus fermentum: 
• Assists in neutralizing the toxic products that are created during digestion
• Helps keep a healthy balance of bacteria in your gut
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus:
• Most effective in reducing traveler's diarrhea
• Bifidobacteria bifidum:
• Needed by both the small and large intestine for easy digestion
• Helps in the breakdown of dairy products
• Bifidobacteria longum:
• Helps crowd out bad bacteria that can cause discomfort in the gut
• Helps neutralize everyday toxins
• Breaks down carbohydrates efficiently without producing excess gas

Ok, so you're ready to take the probiotic plunge! Boost your immune system, protect yourself from toxins, and help heal your digestive tract from years of abuse. What are you going to invest in?

Food Sources: I recommend for those who don't have any major issues to simply increase their intake of high quality yogurt. I personally love Fage greek yogurt. Other food sources include keifer, sauerkraut, high quality dark chocolate, miso soup, and komboucha tea.

Commercial Brands: Two of the most common brands are Culturelle and Align. These are readily available at most stores and are fairly well tolerated by most people. As I deal with many chronic gut issues and immunity issues, I take a higher quality probiotic that offers a variety of strains of live cultures called Dr. Ohhira's which was recommended to me by a physician and naturopath. For infants, Florastor has been approved for age 2 months and older - this is the one I prescribe for my little patients. You will notice the higher the quality, the higher the price. If you're not suffering from significant digestive ailments or immunity concerns, there's no reason to jump to the biggest, baddest probiotic supplement available. Another thing to take note of is some probiotics require refrigeration from the time of purchase and/or from the time of opening. It's all dependent on how it's produced. Take note of this because failure to do so means a very costly supplement with no benefits!

Now are there any side effects? Of course there can be! Just like when you introduce more fiber into your diet (which you should by the way), if you advance too quickly your gut doesn't have time to adjust and there can be undesirable side effects. Same thing goes for probiotics. I recommend taking the supplement as directed and know you may have very mild cramping, upset stomach, diarrhea, gas, and bloating. This should only be mild and occur during your first week as you adjust to having more good bacteria and the bad guys get put back into proper proportion. Many people will not have these side effects at all. They are more common with higher dose probiotics. 

*Occasionally there can be an allergy to a probiotic - please immediately stop taking the probiotic and consult your physician if you think you are having an allergic reaction.

So that's the general scoop on probiotics. They are the good guys! How many articles do we read about the gut being the key to good health? Well these little probiotics are definitely the right helpers! I recommend them to adults and children regularly and am an avid user myself! 

Cheers to your gut's health!