The Benefits Of Probiotics

Probiotics are the new buzz words these days, simply because we are learning more about their incredible benefits to digestive health and applying the knowledge to ward off illnesses and lead to longer, more productive lives. Probiotics are typically used in the same sentence (or two) with our immune system; the relationship between both are inextricably linked and they function together to keep our internal systems in check. This is mainly due to there being 70% of our immune system in the intestines, the health of which is governed by gut flora.

So how does it work? Medical Researchers are finding that one of the unlocked keys to good health is right within our gut, specifically in the world of microbes that live in it. It is also where …show more content…
When antibiotics were first introduced into health practices, it was at the same time that probiotics became known in science as a necessary part of a healthy immune system. Probiotics could not compete with the quick-acting, potent antibiotic. This unfortunately pushed probiotics out of the limelight and back into relative obscurity for a few decades, even though Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin himself, advised the use of a probiotic alongside the antibiotic. This is still good advice, just remember to take them at a different time; the probiotic before a meal and the antibiotic a while after.

Today we know how harmful long-term use of antibiotics is to our immune system. Antibiotics work by destroying both harmful and friendly bacteria resulting in a weakened immune system. The more we are exposed to antibiotics the more dangerous are microbes that evolve to infect our weakened system. Also, any bad bacteria not destroyed by the antibiotic are stronger by nature and thus we are left with a gut now populated by a much stronger strain. This is the reason for antibiotic-resistant