Friendly
Bacteria, Probiotics, and Your Health
Considering the antibacterial soaps
and sterilizing hand gels on the market today, you
might be tricked into believing that all bacteria
are bad and could potentially cause disease in your
body. Bacteria, however, can also be beneficial to
your health, and it’s important to understand
the distinction between beneficial bacteria and harmful
bacteria. Friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics,
are essential to your good health. There are more
friendly bacteria (mostly in the form of probiotics
in your digestive tract) in your body than the total
number of your own cells. Since probiotics are friendly
bacteria, they are not parasites living off your body’s
nutrients for free. Instead, they pay “rent”
by giving your body what it needs to survive.
How
do friendly bacteria, or probiotics, benefit your
health and well being? They protect you from getting
sick, and they also help you to heal if your health
is damaged. Here are some benefits you can receive
from friendly, probiotic bacteria:
- They
manufacture nutrients like B vitamins
- They
help you digest dairy products
- Friendly
bacteria and probiotics are able to kill bad, disease-causing
bacteria
- They
improve the efficiency of your digestive tract
- They
have been used to treat diarrhea, urinary tract
infections, yeast infections, irritable bowel syndrome,
and more
The
use of friendly bacteria, probiotics, and good bacteria
(depending on what you want to call them) has been
around for centuries. Fermented foods and milk products
have been providing friendly bacteria and probiotics
to humans since ancient times. Today you can find
friendly bacteria and probiotics in yogurt, milk products,
juices, and pill-form supplements. It appears friendly
bacteria and probiotics will be around for a long
time in the future, as sales of these health foods
have tripled since 1994.
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