Keeping our bodies in tip-top shape is at the forefront of most people's minds. Healthy diet, exercise and stress management are things for which people are striving in order to feel good on a daily basis. What many people do not take into consideration is the importance of proper digestion. This includes many factors such as proper food combining, not eating while under stress or rushed, fully chewing your food before swallowing, and the importance of friendly bacteria in the intestinal system. Friendly bacteria - is there such a thing? You bet! Acidophilus (Sangster's Super Lacto-Dophilus) is the name commonly given to the many different strains of friendly bacteria in the human body. They are mainly found in the digestive system, the skin and vaginal mucosa to protect against harmful bacteria.
Friendly bacteria have many important functions in our bodies. Their most important function is in the digestive tract to assist in proper digestion and absorption of foods, and the detoxification of the entire intestinal tract. It is here that they are necessary for the production of many vitamins, especially the B vitamins. Our foods pass through our stomach to the small intestine where the majority of the food is digested and the nutrients are absorbed. The remaining food then passes to the large intestine (bowel), where some minerals are absorbed. The large intestine's primary function is to detoxify digested food and prepare it for elimination. Regular bowel movements not only protect us from intestinal distress but also from possible cancer. The longer waste remains in the large intestines, it becomes more likely that carcinogens will attack normal cells and contaminate your body.
Friendly bacteria live on the intestinal walls among the finger-like membranes called villi. These villi absorb nutrients that come in contact with them so they can be transported across the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. It has a natural antibiotic activity called acidophilin which has been shown to inhibit many different types of bacteria, including strep, staph, and salmonella. This action will help the immune system by controlling the amount of putrefying or "bad" bacteria in the intestines that may be absorbed into the bloodstream. This control keeps the growth of bad bacteria, called coliform, in check.
A healthy intestine contains about four pounds of bacteria, with 85% being friendly and 15% being coliform bacteria whose job is to break down any decaying matter in the intestine. In today's world the opposite percentage is usually true. Poor dietary habits, lack of fibre in the diet, foods that are contaminated with hormones, pesticides, and the use of contraceptives, corticosteroids, aspirin and antibiotics can lead to this imbalance of friendly to bad bacteria. The result is usually chronic bloating, flatulence, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, yeast infections, and/or skin eruptions. It may also lead to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and chronic yeast infection (Candidiasis). Herpes simplex or cold sores have also been linked to low levels of friendly bacteria. Supplementing your diet with a friendly bacteria preparation like Sangster's Super Lacto-Dophilus may relieve many of these conditions.
Another benefit of adding friendly bacteria in a supplement form has been relief from certain food allergies. Some allergies can be eliminated with proper digestion of foods. For those people who like to travel, Sangster's Super Lacto-Dophilus can protect against dysentery (traveller's diarrhea) by increasing their resistance against pathogenic organisms. Supplementing with Sangster's Super Lacto-Dophilus also has relieved bad breath and skin problems.
Supplements come in many forms. Some have single strains of bacteria and others are formulated as combinations. The human body contains hundreds of different strains of friendly bacteria; therefore, it would be wise to take a supplement containing a combination of different strains. It is known that actively growing bacteria can inhibit each other but, in a supplement form, most of these bacteria are in dry powder or freeze-dried form. They are dormant and will not have this effect on each other.
The two main strains of friendly bacteria are L. acidophilus and L. bifidus. These should be included in all preparations. S. faecium is another strain that is generally added. Research has been continuing since 1965 on this strain and it has been adopted by the World Health Organization for use in Bangladesh where there is extensive incidence of diarrhea. In a quality supplement these three main strains of friendly bacteria should be present. Other strains include L. acidophilus rhamnosus and bifidobacteria.
The type of capsule these preparations are in makes a difference on which one is best suited for you. A regular capsule will open up in the stomach and the friendly bacteria will inoculate the mouth, throat, stomach, and digestive tract. This is beneficial for people suffering from bad breath and bacterial problems in the throat and stomach. For those suffering from more serious intestinal problems, an enteric-coated capsule would be the best choice. The enteric coating allows the capsule to pass through the harsh acids of the stomach and release the friendly bacteria in the intestines. Regular type capsules should be taken at meal time, while enteric-coated capsules are preferred on an empty stomach. Sangster's has also recently introduced a cherry flavoured chewable tablet with 1 billion active cells.
By: Sharie Hohn, Master Herbalist & Symptomatologist
Bacteria
