Did You Know – the Importance of Probiotics?

Did you know? Did you know that probiotics (good bacteria) are one of the most important supplements we can take?

More and more studies are demonstrating disproportionately huge benefits from making sure that our intestinal micro flora are healthy. The good bacteria in our intestines works as a synergistic ally helping us both by producing important compounds like vitamin B-12, and also by making sure that the surface area of our intestines is not left unguarded and vulnerable to the more nasty bacterial strains.

I even had a heart surgeon tell me once after my FOOD 101 lecture that I needed to emphasize the importance of probiotics more than I did, since in his words; 'probiotic bacteria and a healthy gut are the absolute key to the immune system.'

And...No we do not recommend yogurt as a way to get the bacteria because yogurt is a dairy product which has many undesirable effects.

PROBIOTIC

- Pro = “for”, “in favor of.”

- Biotic = “pertaining to life”, “of or relating to living organisms.”

The word probiotic is a composite of the Latin preposition pro (“for”) and the Greek adjective (biotic), the latter derived from the noun bios (“life”).

The ideal balance between the bacteria in your body is 85 percent good and 15 percent bad.

The ideal balance between the bacteria in your body is 85 percent good and 15 percent bad.

The probiotics in your stomach and intestines play an important role in helping numerous functions throughout the body, such as:

• Digesting and absorbing certain nutrients and carbohydrates.
• Producing vitamins, assisting the body in absorbing minerals and eliminating toxins.
• Keeping bad bacteria in check.
• Preventing allergies…These friendly bacteria train your immune system to distinguish between pathogens and non-harmful antigens, and to respond appropriately.
• Providing essential support to your immune system. These beneficial bacteria have a lifelong, powerful effect on both your gut’s immune system, and your systemic immune system as well.

One Washington University professor compared the functioning of this intestinal microflora in your body to that of an “ant farm that works together as an intelligence to perform an array of functions you’re unable to manage on your own.”

Natural Ways to Get Probiotics

In the distant past and continuing today, people have used (and still use) fermented foods like sauerkraut to support their digestive health, as these foods are rich in naturally beneficial bacteria.

Fermented foods have been part of nearly every traditional culture. As far back as Roman times, people ate sauerkraut, not only because they liked its taste but because of benefits to overall health. In Asian cultures, pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots still exist today.

If you were to eat a diet rich in unprocessed fermented foods that have NOT been pasteurized (which kills the probiotics), then you will likely enjoy great digestive health.

On the other hand, if you eat a lot of processed foods or rely on mostly cooked foods, the balance of bacteria in your digestive tract will have a hard time remaining at an optimal level. Sugar is also an incredibly efficient fertilizer for growing bad bacteria and harmful yeasts in your intestinal tract, so if you indulge in a lot of it you’re fueling the bad bacteria. In addition to taking antibiotics, stress, pollution and other environmental factors can further upset the balance in a negative way.

Since helpful bacteria are increasingly absent in most people’s diets, it is important to purposely include foods that contain live probiotic bacteria in your diet, or take a good probiotic supplement.

Make your own Probiotics…

“*CABBAGE REJUVELAC:” (*Excerpted from “The Colon Health Handbook” by Robert Gray)


Cabbage Rejuvelac

  “Cabbage is a vegetable that is teeming with lactobacteria. No starter is needed for making rejuvelac. Just start one morning by blending together 1 3/4 cups (420ml) distilled or purified water plus 3 cups (720ml) coarsely chopped, loosely packed fresh cabbage. Start the blender at low speed and then advance the blender to high speed and blend for 30 more seconds. Pour into a jar, cover, and let stand at room temperature for 3 days. At this time, strain off the liquid rejuvelac. The initial batch of cabbage rejuvelac takes 3 days to mature, but succeeding batches take 24 hours each.

“Each morning after straining off the fresh rejuvelac, blend together for 30 seconds at high speed 1 1/2 cups (360ml) distilled or purified water plus 3 cups (720ml) coarsely chopped, loosely packed fresh cabbage. Pour into a jar, add 1/4 cup (60ml) of the fresh rejuvelac just strained off, cover, shake and let stand at room temp. until the next morning.

“You can also make cabbage rejuvelac without a blender by chopping the cabbage very fine and using 2 1/2 cups (600ml) finely chopped, loosely packed cabbage listed above. The amount of distilled or purified water used should remain unchanged.

“Good quality rejuvelac tastes similar to a cross between carbonated water and the whey obtained when making yogurt. Bad quality rejuvelac has a much more putrid odor and taste and should not be consumed. Always avoid using tap water when making rejuvelac because chlorine has been added to it for the purpose of killing bacteria of any kind.

“Drink each day’s rejuvelac during the course of the day by taking 1/2 cup (120ml) 3x a day, preferably with meals.”

Did You Know? Probiotic Bacteria is Necessary for Optimal Health

Did you know? Did you know that when the ‘cat is away the mice will play’? The average length of the entire human intestine can range from 7.5 to 8.5 meters (25 to 28 feet) with a surface area over ten times greater than the skin surface, all of which is supposed to be TEEMING with BILLIONS of beneficial micro flora collectively called “probiotics”. These symbionts are responsible for keeping the surface areas of our intestines occupied so that nothing unwanted can come, take root and flourish.

When we drink alcohol or take drugs (especially antibiotics) of any kind these beneficial bacteria are wiped out and thus a huge range of molecular compounds they were supposed to produce for us don’t get made and the territory is left unguarded and vulnerable to infestation. ANTIbiotics are, after all, the antithesis of PRObiotics!

It’s also very important to understand that both beneficial "friendly" and harmful "unfriendly" micro organisms inhabit the human intestinal tract simultaneously. They enjoy a complex symbiotic relationship with each other. In fact, in many cases each contributes to the overall function and health of the intestinal tract, while keeping the other in check at the same time.



Of course, when under undisturbed conditions, the balance of "friendly" micro organisms to "unfriendly" micro organisms remains remarkably stable. Intestinal function runs smoothly, with digestion and metabolism operating at peak levels, providing essential enzymes, nutrients and chemicals to the rest of the body.

So when this balance in the intestinal tract is maintained healthful conditions prevail. It is only when the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract becomes disturbed or otherwise altered that the balance of friendly/unfriendly micro organisms becomes disrupted, and then serious health problems often occur. Most common causes of these disturbances are antibiotic usage, excessive sugar or alcohol consumption, stress and even drinking chlorinated or fluorinated water.

When the ecological balance of the human gastrointestinal tract becomes disrupted, beneficial micro organisms can no longer flourish in required numbers to hold the harmful ones in check. What's more, malicious toxin producing bacteria and fungi begin to take over, further threatening the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract.

Any diet high in red meats, concentrated proteins or rich, fatty foods will dramatically alter the acid/alkaline balance of the intestines, leading to the overgrowth of the disease causing, putrefactive bacteria that eventually will overcome the beneficial bacteria and open the door to a host of serious health problems.

Furthermore, colonies of putrefactive bacteria often discharge highly toxic by-products while reacting with foods in the digestive tract. This reaction could further upset the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract and slowly poison the bloodstream and subsequently the entire body. The end result is the onset of chronic degenerative diseases.