Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria.

The word probiotic means “for life.”  We need probiotics to live.  We have 100,000 billion bacteria living in our gastrointestinal tract, that’s more bacteria than we have cells in our body.   Many of these are healthy bacteria, but some are not.  It is important to make sure we keep plenty of good bacteria in our GI tract. For infants and children, Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are most important.

I like to compare our GI system to our lawns.  To have a healthy lawn you need to feed it, by giving it sun and water. However, if to start out, the ground underneath is unhealthy and lacking nutrients, the grass won’t grow well.   If you nourish the ground with nutrients, the grass will improve.  If a truck drives over it and destroys some sections, you can reseed and the grass will grow back.  However, if you do not reseed, weeds will plant and spread.  Now, if that truck comes back and keeps driving over your lawn, no matter how much you reseed, you can’t keep up with reseeding and eventually the weeds will overgrow.

Birth by c-section, a mom with unhealthy bacteria in her gut, and formula feeding are examples of how our GI lawns may start out less than healthy.  Antibiotics, infections, unhealthy eating patterns, alcohol ingestion, and hospitalization are a few examples of trucks that can come in and destroy our GI lawns. When those trucks come in, they may destroy our healthy balance of gut bacteria, cause our guts to become leaky, and leave room for unhealthy bacterial weeds and yeast weeds to overgrow.  Taking probiotics helps to reseed our GI lawns, improve GI function, and keeps new weeds from planting themselves and current weeds from overgrowing.  However, no matter how many probiotics we take, we can not truly heal our GI lawns unless we stop the trucks from coming.

How do we stop the trucks?

We must respect our bodies, take in foods that feed our GI lawns and avoid toxins and foods that harm it. Additionally, we must support the entire body with water, rest, exercise, and emotional support to help it heal itself.

Enough with the analogy, let’s talk about what probiotics actually do.

Healthy bacterial serve many important functions:

Prevent overgrowth of bad bacteria

Help heal our GI tract after damage has been done

Make vitamins

Produce energy

Stimulate our immune systems

Metabolize food

Lower cholesterol

Healthy bacteria are the “live active cultures” like those found in yogurt.  This is why people on antibiotics are often advised to eat yogurt to avoid a yeast infection.

So why not just eat more yogurt?  First, many times those “live” cultures in yogurt aren’t still alive when you eat them.  Sometimes, the bacteria in the probiotic supplements aren’t alive either, which is why we recommend specific reliable brands.  Furthermore, probiotics contain more than ten times the amount of bacteria than 1 yogurt.  Consequently, your chances of benefiting from a probiotic is much better than just eating yogurt.

What signs/symptoms suggest that you or your child could benefit from taking probiotics?

Gas, bloating, burping

Taking, or have recently taken, an antibiotic

Recurrent colds or infections

Eczema, asthma, allergies, psoriasis

Diarrhea, caused by a virus, bacteria, or due to an antibiotic

Constipation

Lactose intolerance

Irritable bowel and inflammatory bowel

Gastric ulcer prevention and colon cancer prevention

Any chronic inflammatory condition, such as arthritis, lupus, and MS

ADD/ADHD/ Depression/ Autism

Probiotics are safe.

While any supplement or medication can have negative effects on an individual, the only documented cases of related illness were in severely immunocompromised patients with prolonged hospitalization and after surgery.

Tips to taking probiotics:

• The best time to take  probiotics often depends on the probiotic. On the whole, take the probiotic and don’t worry about timing.  However some probiotics get killed in the stomach if the environment is too acidic.  Thus, either taking the probiotic with food or  on a completely empty stomach (just before bed) will be the best way to ensure the bacteria’s viability.
• If you are taking antibiotics or other supplements that may kill bacteria, ideally take the probiotics at least 15-30 minutes before or after, so the antimicrobial and probiotic are not in the stomach at the same time.
• Keep probiotics refrigerated for longest shelf-life.  They are living and most will live longer if kept in a cool, dry place.  Some brands are more stable and do not require refrigeration.  When in doubt, refrigerate.
• How to give probiotics if you can’t swallow pills?  Open the capsule and put in a spoonful of applesauce or yogurt.  Never add them to hot foods or cook them, as the heat will kill the organisms.

Ideally these bacteria will be happy in your body, and make a home there and reproduce.  However, sometimes they won’t and continued supplementation is necessary.

Sometimes one probiotic may not be as helpful as another strain.  Each person’s gut is different and some trial and error may be necessary.  Certain conditions suggest that different probiotics are better than others.

Bananas, asparagus, and onions are good foods to eat when you are taking probiotics.  These are called pre-biotics or fructooligosaccharides, and they feed the healthy bacteria.  Breast milk is also full of pre-biotics.   Many probiotic supplements contain pre-biotics as well.

A poor diet, excessive alcohol, drugs, including antibiotics, and stress can also throw off the balance of beneficial bacteria.

So, in addition to probiotics, take good care of your body!  Eat lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole foods.  Avoid sugar, get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure daily (without sunscreen)  or take vitamin D3.  Drink plenty of water, exercise, and get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

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