What do you think when you hear the word
"bacteria"? Most people think
that all bacteria are bad and need to be destroyed, however that is far from
the truth. The human intestinal track is
made up of a miraculous complex collection of bugs called the gut microbiome or
microbiota. It contains tens of trillions of beneficial bacteria that out-number
all other cells in the body, 10 to one.
These beneficial bacteria protect our immune
system, by maintaining a healthy intestinal lining, destroying pathogenic
bacteria, yeast and other organisms, and allow regeneration of a healthy
population of enterocytes, the intestine's barrier system or defense army. The microbiota is imperative to helping
digest foods not digested by the stomach or small intestine, helps with
production of some vitamins (B and K), and is imperative to proper digestion
and assimilation.
The microbiota is instrumental in gene
expression and essential functioning of the body, which has been attributed to things
such as weight management, fighting auto-immune conditions(Type I Diabetes,
Celiac disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Crohn’s , Multiple Sclerosis,
etc), Inflammatory diseases( High blood pressure, High
Cholesterol, Type II Diabetes), Asthma, Allergies, and syndromes(irritable
bowel,fibromyalgia, and
chronic fatigue).
Each person has a unique and individual
microbiome that is derived at birth, through the mother’s vaginal(50% father’s
flora and 50% mother’s flora), fecal, breast and skin organisms. Population of beneficial bacteria depends on
the method of birth: c-section vs vaginal, the location of birth: air quality,
and other environmental conditions, the method of feeding: breast milk vs
formula. Research shows that a child’s
immune system is developed by the age of three and requires attention to remain
vital, due to environmental damage from poor quality foods, toxins such as
pesticides and increased use of pharmaceuticals.
Choice
of foods can alter your microflora in a matter of days, for better or
worse. Eating a diet consisting of
refined, processed foods causes the good bacteria to die because a processed
food diet does not provide adequate fiber for nourishment of the bacteria
allowing them to thrive and multiply. A
diet rich in whole, nutrient dense, properly prepared foods is imperative to avoid
chronic diseases and auto-immune conditions.
The
ideal and most cost-effective way to optimize your gut flora is to include
fermented and cultured foods in your daily diet. While most probiotic
supplements contain no more than 10 billion colony forming units, one serving
of fermented food contains trillions of beneficial bacteria. Probiotic foods include: fermented vegetables(sauerkraut, pickles,
carrots, green beans, etc), kimchi, kambucha,
kefir and yogurt made from organic, whole milk.
Fermenting your own foods is
a fairly straight-forward and simple process and can provide even greater
savings. See my blog for recipes:
http://heather--drjfltprogram.blogspot.com/search/label/Fermented%20Vegetables
If
you must choose a probiotic supplement instead of fermented or cultured foods,
look for a quality product that contains several species of live bacterial and
also contains a pre-biotics(food for the bacteria)Inulin,
Fructoolingosaccharides (FOS), Mannan
Oligosaccharides (MOS), lactulose or trans-galactooligosaccharides.
Changing
the way you view bacteria will help improve your health. Prebiotics and probiotics will help you
obtain and maintain optimal health and fight chronic disease expressions.
