probiotic ????

Probiotics are friendly bacteria that live in your digestive tract and essentially influence every aspect of health, from neurotransmitter production to immunity to digestion. But these beneficial little microflora must eat in order to survive and thrive. What is their food of choice? Prebiotics!

What Are Prebiotics?

Donna Gates, author of The Body Ecology Diet, explains: "Prebiotics are derived from insoluble fiber and fructooligosaccharides or FOS (carbohydrate molecules made up of a relatively small number of simple sugars)."

These prebiotics are the ideal nourishment for beneficial bacteria living in the digestive tract. By feeding them well, you give friendly microorganisms the chance to establish a viable population that can not only perform important tasks in the digestive system, but also keep pathogenic bacteria like yeast under control.

Prebiotics Benefits

The benefits of prebiotics are far-reaching. While directly affecting gut flora balance and digestive health, prebiotics have also been shown to have beneficial affects on:

- Heart health
- Triglyceride levels
- Cholesterol levels
- Immunity to common illnesses
- Osteoporosis
- Diabetes

One particular advantage of prebiotics is that they do not need special care. Probiotics, on the other hand, have to be carefully handled to ensure the organisms stay alive through packaging, shipment and storage. This does not always happen, and it's difficult to tell if a probiotic supplement or food contains live cultures or not. Prebiotics, however, are carbohydrates that do not need any special care to remain effective.

Foods that Contain Prebiotics

There are many foods that contain one or more of the various prebiotics. Here is a partial list:

- oats
- wheat
- garlic
- onions
- Jerusalem artichoke
- leeks
- asparagus
- chicory
- milk (organic raw certified)
- bananas

There may be particular advantages to eating probiotics and prebiotics together so the two can work synergistically. Yogurt with bananas or onions and live sauerkraut are excellent options for pairing these two beneficial substances in an appealing way.

Prebiotics for Infants

Breastmilk is also a good source of prebiotics, which is yet another reason why breastfeeding is such a healthy choice for infants. Establishing a healthy colony of gut flora as early as possible is essential for healthy growth and development. Studies also indicate that formula-fed infants benefit from prebiotic supplementation.

Prebiotics Supplements

The most popular prebiotics supplements usually contain fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which is a form of inulin typically derived from chicory. These supplements may be beneficial to those looking to increase their intake of prebiotics. However, they lack the synergy of choosing whole foods that naturally contain prebiotics. A prebiotics supplement cannot replace a wholesome, balanced diet.

Further Reading:

http://www.naturalnews.com/030102_probiotics_infants.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/029668_digestion_tips.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/029358_probiotics_gut.html

http://www.bodyecology.com/07/02/08/prebiotics_essential_to_heart_health.php

http://nourishedkitchen.com/prebiotics-and-probiotics/

http://www.parentingscience.com/prebiotics.html


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(NaturalNews) Probiotics and digestive enzymes prevent colds and flu; research has shown. Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that live in the intestines. Harmful bacteria include those like E. coli (Escherichia col), etc, but there are many bacteria that inhabit our gut that help with our digestion. Now, studies have shown that probiotics also help the immune response by both preventing colds and flu and speeding recovery time.

Probiotics are included in many forms of yogurt, kefir, and other cultured milk products, such as sour cream. Most probiotics help the immune system prevent diseases such as irritable bowel, diarrhea, and allergies.

A study published in the medical journal Pediatrics was conducted on 326 children in China. They were from the age of three to five years old. The children were given milk twice daily that contained the probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus by itself, or combined with Bifidobacterium animalis. The children were followed for six months, from November 2005 to May 2006.

The study results were impressive and showed that the one probiotic was helpful but the benefit was enhanced in the group who took the two probiotics together. The group who took the Lactobacillus contracted had half the number of fevers of the placebo group (53%). They also had 41% less coughs and 28% less runny noses. When they became sick, their illnesses were one third shorter than the placebo group (32%) and they used 68% less antibiotics. They missed 38% less school than the placebo group as well.

The children who took both Lactobacillus acidophilus along with the Bifidobacterium animalis contracted over two thirds less fevers than the placebo group (72%). They had 62% less coughs, and 59% less runny noses. Their duration of illness was nearly HALF of that in the placebo group (48%). They missed slightly less school than the children taking only one probiotic (32% compared to the other group's 38%), but they used 84% less antibiotics compared to the placebo group, surpassing the other group's level of 68% less usage.

The study was double blind and placebo controlled, and it was conducted during the winter cold and flu season. Though the study was funded by a Danish company that makes probiotics, Danisco, similar results have been sited elsewhere.

With the benefits from probiotics proven in other areas of digestive health and improved immune function, there is reason to add probiotics to a healthy diet regime year-round.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56Q4PX20090727
http://blog.naturalstandard.com/natural_standard_blog/2009/08/probiotics-...
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/2/e172

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probiotics????

Researchers from Ohio State University (OSU) have identified an important connection between stress and health. According to their study, which was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, stress directly affects the delicate bacterial balance in the intestines that digests food, defends against harmful bacteria, and regulates proper immune function.

Dr. Michael Bailey and his colleagues discovered that bodily stress changes the composition, diversity, and number of gut bacteria. As a result, the smaller array of bacteria ended up giving way to more harmful varieties, throwing off the entire balance and jeopardizing the integrity of the immune system.

"These bacteria affect immune function, and may help explain why stress dysregulates the immune response," said Bailey. "These changes can have profound implications for physiological function."

Imbalanced or lacking gut bacteria is responsible for a wide variety of ailments and diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases like Chron's, infections, malnutrition, organ failure, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. And since previous research has established that roughly 80 percent of overall immune function is dependent on a healthy gut, it is important to maintain vibrant intestinal flora (http://www.naturalnews.com/healthy_bacteria.html).

"Alterations in intestinal flora are thought to play a role in many gastrointestinal disease conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease (eg., colitis and Chron's disease) and systemic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis," writes Allison Tannis in her book, Probiotic Rescue: How You Can Use Probiotics to Fight Cholesterol, Cancer, Superbugs, Digestive Complaints and More. "Research has found probiotics play a protective and beneficial role in these disease conditions."


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031855_stress_gut_bacteria.html#ixzz1l3lG6rzf

Probiotics have become exceedingly popular in recent years - and with a good reason. These little inhabitants of our gut help us stay healthy by improving our digestion, enhancing immunity, and even normalizing cholesterol levels. However, not all probiotics are created equal. Nowadays the market is flooded with so many different products that it may simply confuse the customer. Here are three common mistakes made by consumers when choosing a probiotic supplement:

1. Not choosing clinically tested strains
Don't fall for scams. You may be surprised to learn that some specific supplements still contain numerous probiotic strains with no safe history in human nutrition. Ironically, such products can lead to further deterioration in health.

There's only a handful of probiotic cultures that have been tested to have a beneficial impact on one's health. Some of them are listed bellow:

• Bifidobacterium bifidum
  
• Lactobacillus acidophilus
  
• Bifidobacterium longum
  
• Lactobacillus rhamnosus
  
• Lactobacillus casei
  
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus

2. Not taking a sufficient amount
Probiotics need to be taken in sufficient amounts in order to really benefit your health. A general rule of thumb is that 2-10 billion CFU (Colony Forming Units) is protective and preventive, while 20 billion daily should be enough if you're recovering from an illness.

One more tip: Try to choose products that clearly state each dose's CFU. Avoid those probiotics that list ingredients only by weight. Plain and simply, you should take the same amount of CFUs as that shown to be effective in clinical studies.

3. Not reading customer reviews
One of the best and easiest ways to determine the quality of any supplement is to read consumer reviews and product ratings. Take your time and find out what people who tried the product had to say. Are there any side effects to be aware of? Has the probiotic actually helped others?

Probiotics can be an intelligent way to respond to various ailments. There are some mistakes which people naturally come across when purchasing probiotic supplements but they can be easily avoided with a bit of research. You can learn more about how probiotics can benefit your health by reading articles listed in the resources section below.


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cabbage-probiotics

If you make fermented cabbage now you will have it to eat after your juice fast.
because building the good body after the trash is removed is very Important. Step one probiotics.
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http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=41DD50F0535E9A5156C0D43CC3097CB1

(NaturalNews) Raw, fermented foods are brimming with health-promoting probiotics and have been staples of the human diet for thousands of years. One such ancient food is sauerkraut, produced simply by covering cabbage with water and letting it sit for several weeks. Naturally occurring bacteria on the surface of the cabbage leaves thrive in this environment, chemically changing the cabbage and increasing its B vitamin content. Perhaps as importantly, fermented cabbage takes much longer to go bad than fresh cabbage.

Ancient sailors took advantage of this superfood and brought casks of sauerkraut along with them on long voyages to stave off scurvy, the debilitating disease of vitamin C deficiency that was one of the main hazards of the profession. Shipboard records show that this condition was nearly absent on ships that carried sauerkraut.

You can get the nutritional and immune-boosting benefits of sauerkraut by buying it from the refrigerated section of your grocery store (pasteurization kills the probiotics) or simply by making it yourself. There are some great videos that show this process on TV.naturalnews.com, including:


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034788_sauerkraut_probiotics_recipes.html#ixzz1l3iCSSif

(NaturalNews) Sauerkraut combines the health benefits offered by all cruciferous vegetables (a category which includes cauliflowers and brussel sprouts as well as cabbage) with the probiotic advantages derived from the fermentation process.

Cabbage offers a host of health benefits. It is high in vitamins A and C. Studies have shown the cruciferous vegetables can help lower cholesterol levels. Cabbage also provides a rich source of phytonutrient antioxidants. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties, and some studies indicate it may help combat some cancers. However, this already helpful vegetable becomes a superfood when it is pickled.

The fermentation process used to make sauerkraut was probably first developed centuries ago simply as a means of preserving vegetables for easy consumption throughout the winter. The health benefits derived from pickling vegetables were already well-known to early civilizations. Historical evidence suggests laborers on the Great Wall of China consumed a version of the pickled cabbage dish 2,000 years ago.

Traditional Chinese has long prescribed sauerkraut juice as a home remedy for many common ailments . The armies of Genghis Khan most likely first brought the dish to Europe. The Roman army traveled with barrels of sauerkraut, using it to prevent intestinal infections among the troops during long excursions.

In periods and cultures when natural healing methods fell into disuse, people consumed fewer fermented foods and were subject to more illness. Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) killed many British sailors during the 1700s, especially on longer voyages. In the late 1770s, Captain James Cook circumnavigated the world without losing a single sailor to scurvy, thanks to the foods his ship carried, including sixty barrels of sauerkraut.

Mainstream health experts began to pay renewed attention to sauerkraut after a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002. Finnish researchers reported that in laboratory studies,a substance produced by fermented cabbage, isothiocyanates, helped prevent the growth of cancer.

Even before the laboratory study, however, alternative health experts extolled the healing benefits of sauerkraut because of the lactic acid bacteria produced as a side-effect of the pickling process.

Healthy human colons contain many beneficial bacteria which feed on the waste left over from our digestion, creating lactic acid. Without these beneficial bacteria the human digestive system becomes home to harmful parasites and yeasts, resulting in the condition of candida.

Sauerkraut provides a high density source of a wide range of beneficial live bacteria which assist in the digestive process. Consuming a serving of sauerkraut can give your body as much of a health boost as many of the expensive probiotic drinks and supplements sold in stores. However, most commercially sold sauerkraut have lost most of their beneficial bacterial organisms. To gain the most benefits from sauerkraut, you may want to purchase it freshly made, or learn how to make your own.

If you want to explore recipes for making sauerkraut and other fermented dishes, an excellent place to start is with Sandor Ellis Katz's Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live Culture Foods.

In his book, Katz points out that "Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more digestible forms." Katz, who also wrote The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements, recommends not only eating sauerkraut but drinking the juice which he calls "a rare delicacy and unparalleled digestive tonic."

Sources for this article include:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1289433

http://www.probiotics-lovethatbug.com/benefits-of-sauerkraut.html

http://www.wildfermentation.com/about.php?page=sandorkraut

http://www.alive.com/297a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=220

http://www.thehealthbank.co.uk/nutrition_articles/sauerkraut.html

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=19&tname=foodspice

http://www.learningherbs.com/sauerkraut_recipe.html


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