What You Need To Know About Probiotics

Did the holidays reek havoc on your digestion? Are you taking a probiotic without improvement and wondering why? Here are some crucial elements to probiotics you should keep in mind.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your health, especially your digestive system. These microorganisms help maintain balance in your gut through proper digestion, absorption and by preventing overgrowth of bad pathogens/bacteria. Some examples of natural probiotic foods are kombucha, sour kraut, and kimchi.

It is crucial to maintaining a balanced gut by replenishing the “good bacteria” in your gut. But how do these good bacteria die in the first place?

Antibiotics

If you are prescribed antibiotics, you wipe out the bad and the good bacteria in your gut. Whenever antibiotics are taken or used this bacteria needs to be replenished immediately and can be done so by supplementing with probiotics along with a healthy diet.

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Using Triclosan

Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in some consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments. This product kills bacteria – good and bad.

Poor diet

If you do not eat a wide variety of plant-based foods, you will be ultimately feeding bad bacteria in the gut while not replenishing the good bacteria that help maintain homeostasis.

So what do you need to know when trying to replenish the good bacteria in your gut?

Prebiotics

You need prebiotics for probiotics to flourish. Prebiotics are un-digestible plant fibers that already live inside the large intestine. The more food, or prebiotics, that probiotics have to eat, the more efficiently these live bacteria work and the healthier your gut will be.

Some examples of natural prebiotics are asparagus, chicory, dandelion root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks and onions.

Switch up your strains of probiotics

Many people end up taking the same probiotic month after month because they think a “quality supplement” must work well all the time. The truth is you need variety in strains of probiotics to maintain homeostasis. So switching out your probiotic with different strains is crucial.

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