PRO What?

Probiotics!!! Lots of talk about them lately. Just what are they and why do we care? Let’s have a little talk of our own.
Probiotics literally mean “for life”. They are the bacteria in the lower intestine and colon that help keep us alive. Most of us in this country know about the bad bacteria like salmonella or E. coli that make us sick. Probiotics are the good bacteria. Some of the things that they are reported to alleviate are constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, gas, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease, excema, just to name a few. There’s much more but it would take more typing than I am willing to do, and too much space also. I’ll leave some references at the bottom.

Back in the early 1900’s, a man by the name of Weston Price, who was a dentist, decided that he wanted to examine people from around the world. He wanted to examine their health, their diet, their living conditions, etc. His focus was more on the quality of their teeth and their health. But what he discovered, and has since been confirmed by others, is that every traditional culture had some kind of fermented food in their diet. Most European cultures had some kind of fermented dairy. Asian cultures had some kind of fermented vegetable. You no doubt have heard of kimchi and yogurt and kefir, to name a few. Someone, way back, realized that eating a fermented food on a regular basis, helped a person’s body function and feel better. These people were extremely healthy with very good bone structure, teeth and longevity.
Somewhere after the Second World War or later, the scientists figured out what those bacteria were in these fermented foods and that they were exactly the same bacteria that reside in our intestines and we needed to have them in sufficient quantities to keep us healthy. However, also around that time, we (Americans) decided to homogenize, pasteurize, and sterilize our American diet. No fermented foods…unless you were of the “old school” and made your own sauerkraut or yogurt, hence no probiotics. We just did not know how important they really are.
Now, fast forward to the 21st century. I’m not sure how it started, could have been the baby boomers not wanting to grow old ungracefully or not wanting to die like their parent’s generation…that would be on pharmaceuticals and having one surgery after another. However the emphasis on probiotics got started, the driving force is now MONEY! The yogurt companies have found a cash cow and other companies want to get in on it. This is good for us because we now have so many options. It is also bad for us because this is not a well regulated industry and for now “let the buyer beware.”
In my readings, what we are seeing on the label of the container may have been correct at the time of manufacture, however, it may not be true at the time of purchase. If I understood it correctly, the bacteria may not be as active or alive as time goes on, so the count may be lower, a lot lower, or the manufacturing process may have killed some of them. Apparently, the labels can be very confusing and misleading. Also, the type of bacteria in the container may not be the type or in the ratio that a particular body needs. This means individual research will be the order of the day.
So now what does this all mean for us. I have read several times, and no I do not have documentation, but I’ve read it enough to think that this is generally accepted as true, that our colon is 50% to 70% of our immune system. Our immune system is one of our body’s main defenses against disease. It’s been said to be our internal physician, on call 24 hours a day! Keeping it healthy should be one of our main priorities. Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet of processed food, fully cooked food, fast food, food with additives and so forth, is not really health promoting. Our diets need a makeover!!!.
In the European and Japanese cultures, apparently prevention is still the first step in fighting disease. Here, in the United States, we tend to fight disease after we get one. I understand that the grocery shelves in Europe and Japan are loaded with all sorts of foods (functional foods) that are loaded with probiotics. Here in the US, we tend to get our probiotics from a capsule. That is beginning to change. There are many foods being offered now besides yogurt with probiotics included. I understand that even Kashi has a cereal with probiotics. There is also some food bars and cheese being offered now with probiotics. The beverage, kefir, is now showing up on store shelves. I think in the next year or so we will have more options, which is good, because I don’t think most of us are going to start making our own homemade sauerkraut, or pickled vegetables, or homemade yogurt with just the right bacteria in it. For now, however, I think I'll just keep taking my probiotics in supplement form.
As a side story, most of you know that I’ve had a genetic test and it came back that I have a gene malfunction that does not allow me to metabolize B vitamins very well. I have suspected this for quite some time as many of my symptoms mimic B vitamin deficiency. So I have taken extra B vitamins in the past in the hope that I would be doing something good for my body. Nothing happened. However, I was not taking any probiotics at that time. Well, I have been taking probiotics for about 3 years now and I started taking extra B vitamins again about 4 months ago. Last night I was filing my nails and I realized that the fingernail that always split and peeled off (for the last 10 years or so) was now just as long and healthy as the other ones. Could it be that the probiotics have improved my “gut flora” enough to help metabolize some B vitamins? Just a thought.
This has been interesting research, if you can call it that, so much information and so pertinent to our health. I hope you’ll do some reading on your own. There is a lot to learn and I think I’ve only scratched the surface!!

Healthy Days to You, Your Smiling Maven


Readings:
Askew, Gloria, RRN and Paquette, Jerre, PHD, “Secrets of Supplements”, 2008 , Phyte Media Inc., Canada
What is Probiotic Food?, written by Stephanie Zonis, read both 2007 and 2008, www.thenibble.com/reviews/nutri/probioticfood.asp
Traditional Diets of thee World, written by Sally Fallon, www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/ancient_dietary_wisdom.html