Who Should Take Probiotics?

Probiotics are happily becoming a buzz word, even outside the health world.  The question many people are starting to ask is, “Who should take probiotics?”

The answer is simple – EVERYONE!!!

Did you know that 80% of your serotonin is produced in your gut?????  This means that your gut bacteria is largely responsible for your mood and brain function!!!!!  

The old saying, “You are what you eat” means something now doesn’t it?

To unveil this mystery a little further, let’s take a quick look at the gut.

Inside your gut there are thousands of little microorganisms and bacteria (probiotics).  These probiotics are responsible for helping you digest and assimilate nutrients along with building key aspects of your immune system.  As these probiotics work their magic in your gut, they also produce things like B vitamins, serotonin and other key things for your health.

Probiotic literally means – for life.

If you don’t have good probiotics in your gut, eventually your health will suffer.  How your health is impacted depends upon your lifestyle and what you eat.  Most people think health is a result of genes, but that is not entirely true.   What you eat and your lifestyle can impact gene expression (meaning which genes turn off and on.)

Think of it this way, if you put oil in the gas tank of your car, it will gunk up the engine and your car will stop working properly.  Your body is the same.  Colds, flu, weight gain, arthritis, heart disease, even the big nasty cancer, are all messages from your body that something is out of balance.

Poor health is simply a result of your body missing key nutrients. We as a society think that being sick is just part of life.  When in fact, being sick is the way our body tells us that something is out of balance.  Most of the time we are actually starving our body of key nutrients.  When we get back into balance, health returns to the body.  Probiotics are a key to health.

Sadly the standard American diet and lifestyle is not full of probiotics, but rather is full of things that actually damage the gut and the probiotics in the gut.

The top 3 things that destroy gut bacteria.

1.  Antibiotics.  Antibiotics are medicines that destroy microorganisms.  While this is helpful in extreme cases of illness, we have a huge and well documented problem in the US of overusing antibotics.  Not only does this damage our gut, but it makes the bad bacteria even stronger.

2. Pesticides.  The whole point of pesticides is to kill insects and other organisms.  Unless you buy organic or pesticide-free, you are ingesting pesticide residue that is killing your gut bacteria.

3. Stress.  When you are stressed out to the max, it takes a toll on the body in many ways.  While some stress is a motivator, most is detrimental to our health and suppresses the immune system.

Not to mention the fact that most people eat “dead foods”.

What is a “dead food”?  Anything that comes from a box and is processed is low in nutrients and has no natural pre or probiotics.  If you have ever watched How It’s Made or any other documentary about the food industry, it is rather sad, it really isn’t food by the end.  As food is processed, it contains a TON of chemicals, additives and shelf stabilizers to keep it from going bad.  In addition, the intense heat that most packaged food is subject to destroys most of the nutrients.

There are plenty of other things that destroy gut bacteria, like alcohol, gmo wheat, carbonated beverages, steroids, over the counter pain medications, etc. you get the point.

 OK, now the good news!!!

You can establish a healthy gut with probiotics and happily there are many ways to get probiotics.

Over the last 10 years I have been making and buying various different probiotics in search of the best probiotics to take.

Here are the best probiotics to take that I have found very effective.

1. Cultured Veggies

– Think of a tastier version of sauerkraut that you make at home.  These are incredibly tasty and the most beneficial, but you do have to make them.

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2. Wildbrine
– Cultured veggies that are already made for you.

3.  Inner Eco Wild Berry Coconut Water Kefir
– If you suspect that you have a leaky gut (which many, many people do) this coconut water keifr will not only provide you with great probiotics, but it will heal your gut and solve a host of other health issues that come from a leaky gut.

4. In-Liven – the best way to get your greens and your probiotics.  Mix it with apple juice or put in a smoothie when you first start, as the green taste is pretty strong…

5. Yogurt – Yogurt is a great way to start your probiotic journey, but don’t count on yogurt to be your hero.  Most yogurts have lots of sugar and milk is mucus forming for the body, so while yogurt is great, you will not notice huge results because of the other aspects of yogurt and digestion.

What are the best probiotics for children?  The inner-eco seems to be a favorite amongst my kids and the kids of my health coaching clients.  That being said, kids actually like sour foods like the cultured veggies if you start them early.  My kids crave the taste and have been taking cultured veggies and the juice since they were able to eat solid foods.

How often should I take probiotics? Every day is best for rebuilding your health, but even a few times a week will be beneficial.  With anything in life, the most consistent you are, the better the results.

Are there any side effects from probiotics?  Yes, bloating and frequent bathroom runs can occur.  If you get these side effects from probiotics, it means that YOU REALLY NEED PROBIOTICS!!!!

Here’s the thing.  When your body is over-run by bad bacteria and you introduce good bacteria, it will kill off the bad bacteria and as it dies, gas is produced.  This bad bacteria will die in the thousands and thus, you will be running to the bathroom.  So do probiotics cause diarrhea?  Yes, if your gut is already unhealthy and you gulp down the probiotics…

Is there a way to avoid the negative effects of probiotics?  Yes, simply introduce probiotics to your body in small doses at first.  Think baby steps.  When your body is accustomed to probiotics and your gut bacteria is in a healthy balance of 80% good and 20% “bad” then you can eat as many probiotic foods as you want and your body will simply rejoice.  🙂  My family and I will eat an entire WildBrine container in one meal with no side effect, but we have been eating probiotics for nearly 10 years on an almost daily basis.

But they are expensive you might say… 

Is your health worth more to you than:

Your cell phone?  

Your starbucks?  

Your cable TV?

A new pair of jeans?  

In the US we happily spend money on material goods and then complain about medical bills.

What if you could eliminate medical bills simply by spending as little as $20 a month on probiotics?

What if you could get rid of acid reflux?  

What if you could be the only one that doesn’t get that nasty cold or flu?

 What if you could loose that weight you can’t seem to drop?

What if you could boost your mood?

What if you could clear up your acne?

What if?

After visiting doctors almost twice a week for months and months, we turned around our son’s health simply through the use of probiotics.  His projectile vomiting quit.  His liver count returned to normal.  He was no longer anemic.  He started gaining weight.  The white spots in his mouth dissapeared.  He stopped screaming in pain.  All because of probiotics.

Take a chance, probiotics are worth it.

If you want to know more about how probotics can benefit you specifically when combined with other lifestyle changes contact me for a health coaching session, personalized to you!

Your health coach,

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P.S.  The links above to products are affilliate links.  Thanks for supporting this site and my research time.

p.s.s..  the cute little blue guy image is from http://www.fasticon.com

 

About The Author

Summer Brackhan

Mom, sociologist, teacher, author, musician, world traveler, parenting and health coach who believes healthy living incorporates body, mind and soul and that life is not about living in little boxes, but experiencing everything at its fullest.

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