What are Probiotics

Do you want to know what are probiotics? To some people, probiotics might be a new term but they have actually been used for a long time.

They can't really be described as a food but you can eat food and receive benefits of probiotics. Actually, a good probiotics definition says they are live microorganisms that improve intestinal balance. Organisms which when consumed live in adequate numbers provide a health benefit to the host. They have been used since ancient times.

Benefits of Probiotics

Probiotics have a positive effect on our digestive system and increases nutrient absorption. They are also effective for helping with lactose-intolerance, slowing cancer growth, yeast (candida albicans) infections, acne, Crohn's disease, Lyme disease, IBS, ulcerative colitis and many other conditions.

Best Probiotics

If you learn how to make yogurt at home, you can make your own probiotics. The process takes a few hours but you can save some from your first batch and keep making it over and over again.

You can also make your own raw sauerkraut at home. If you don't have the time for making yogurt or sauerkraut you can always do the next best thing and buy genuine products from a health food store. Often times these can be hard to find in some areas.

Kefir, cottage cheese, kim chi, and different sea vegetables are also great foods with probiotics.

Another option would be to buy quality live active microorganisms in refrigerated dark bottles from health food stores. They need to be alive and still active by the expiration date on the bottle. You can take them orally in large amounts. Usually a few billion a day to work best. The bottle will state whether the contents are in the millions or billions.

If your eating habits are not good, you'll need to cut out simple sugars like cake, cookies, and sweets to receive the most benefits, or try going on the Candida diet and taking prebiotics and probiotics together. Talk to a alternative health doctor for more information.

What are Probiotics Yogurt

There are different types of probiotics. Look for ones that contain Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria. This bacteria is beneficial to certain parts of the intestines.

Probiotics for Infants or Children

They are especially protective in children's diarrhea. Even breast milk contains probiotics. It's believed that because of the protective qualities of breast milk, children who are bottle fed formula become inflicted with more health issues than breast fed babies. For instance, bottle fed babies report more ear infections and colds. If a baby or child is prescribed antibiotics, it's wise to give the baby bottled probiotics orally as well, during and probably after to antibiotic treatment to prevent yeast infections.

Do Probiotics Work?

Various experiments with animal models and many studies using biopsy specimens from humans show sick people have different bacterial flora than healthy people. If you're wondering are probiotics safe, they have been used therapeutically to provide healthy bacteria.