In the last two years, there has been an explosion of information in the scientific literature on the importance of keeping the lower part of the digestive tract functioning perfectly. The information is important enough that all of us need to put it in a new perspective if we are to have any hope of a healthy life. It is even more important when it comes to guaranteeing health to our children and grandchildren.

The new information I want you to know about… A lot more is going on inside us than we thought. We have learned that there are approximately four pounds of bacteria (flora), that exist in a complex bacterial/yeast/fungal milieu in the intestines (gut). This milieu is composed of beneficial and harmful varieties that co-exist, and are not only harmless, but actually helpful when in balance. This “good guy” and “bad guy” balance affects a lot more than the gut.

We now know that two thirds of our immune system is located in the gut lining. This means that if your gut flora is out of balance, your immune system has to work overtime, which results in immune suppression and increased risk to infections and cancer. But we also know now that the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems work together as a unit, and anything that affects one will affect all three. I think the most astonishing research is that surrounding autism, an often severe form of mental/behavioral dysfunction. The research shows that when the gut problems of autistic children are brought into balance, the behavioral problems are improved, and often completely cured. This research is crossing over to other areas of mental health and is resulting in equally remarkable positive results. In fact, we are learning that when the gut is dysfunctional, all areas of the body will be affected to some degree.

How can this affect you and your family??? Behavioral problems in children have become a national disgrace. The numbers of youngsters on Ritalin and other behavioral modifying drugs has reached epidemic proportions. The number of youngsters with frequent severe repetitive infections is growing annually (example, ear infections), and childhood cancer is increasing at an alarming rate. Amazingly, this imbalance in the gut flora is an important contributing factor.

I believe we have discovered the importance of keeping this system in balance and it is reasonable that imbalance contributes to seemingly disparate dysfunction and disease. Gut dysfunction produces serious risks.

How would you know if you had a problem??? The primary signs of gut flora imbalance are:

1. Chronic diarrhea or constipation. Optimally, bowel movements (BM’s) should occur after every major feeding. We have trained ourselves to have BM’s once a day, but any less than that is absolutely unacceptable and increases risk dramatically. Stools should be light to dark brown in color, relatively free of mucous, and most of the time should float. Stool consistency should be such that you leave no residue on the toilet paper. If your stool is so soft that you produce a mess on the toilet paper when you have a BM, your stool is too soft and your gut is out of balance. Have you noticed that when your pets are healthy they don’t mess on themselves when they have a BM?
   
   
2. Frequent gas and bloating. Contrary to what you see on television, it isn’t normal to have gas and bloating. Although these symptoms occur mostly after eating, some people have them throughout the day. In both cases, it suggests the gut is malfunctioning. It is the “bad guys” that produce gas or wind, and they do that when they are out of balance with the “good guys.” The more gas you have, the worse the gut flora imbalance. The worse the odor of the gas, the worse the imbalance. Occasionally, you may notice certain foods produce gas and bloating. That’s natures way of telling you that those foods are harmful to you. Pay attention to these body messages and act accordingly.
   
   
3. Chronic bladder and/or vaginal infections… These common problems are often caused by pathogens, most often yeast (candida albicans), migrating from the rectal area at night into the vaginal and bladder areas. It is why they tend to re-occur over and over. The doctor treats the infection but never gets to the cause, so the infections always come back. Additionally, antibiotics are one of the major causes of gut flora imbalance, so the treatment of the symptom makes the cause worse.
   
   
4. Chronic food sensitivities and allergies. Imbalances in the gut flora result in a condition called leaky guts. This is a good name because it describes precisely what happens. The intestinal barrier actually becomes sieve-like and allows food molecules into the bloodstream that aren’t supposed to get in without first being digested. Then the body builds antibodies to fight those molecules and we start experiencing all kinds of allergy/sensitivity problems. This is very hard on the immune system and sometimes leads to auto-immune diseases (ex. rheumatoid arthritis).
   
   
5. Chronic colon problems like crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, celiac disease. Although imbalance in the flora is not the recognized cause of any of these diseases, it contributes to them, and they improve when the imbalances are corrected.

The answer to the problem, probiotics… Probiotics are the good bacteria that live in the intestines that can be given in pill form to re-establish the proper balance between the good and bad bacteria. For years, the physicians that knew about the importance of balancing the gut flora by supplementing a probiotic, used one containing lactobacillus acidophilus and bulgaris cultures. It’s what was available, and it worked reasonably well in most cases. It still does. Recently, as more research has been done, we have come to realize that many more bacteria are involved in creating this balance between “good guys” and “bad guys” in the gut. Some of the better probiotics on the market contain a number of “good guys” in addition to the standard lactobacillus acidophilus and bulgaris cultures. One, called I Flora, contains 14 strains of the most powerful and well-researched beneficial microorganisms needed by the human body.

What do they do? Probiotics perform, at present count, nine important functions.

1. They strengthen your immune system. The digestive tract is lined with immune tissue. In fact we have only recently learned that 2/3 of the immune system is located there. It protects us against toxic and infectious agents in the foods we consume and is involved in keeping the “good guys” and “bad guys” in balance. Today we are suffering more diseases that are the reflections of a weak immune system than ever before in history, from cancers to infectious diseases like Aids. When the gut flora, the balance between the “good guys” and the “bad guys”, is out of balance, the immune system has to work overtime. After awhile, it becomes fatigued and functions less efficiently. When this happens, and sometimes it takes years and even decades, the bodies immune capability is compromised sufficiently to put the person at increased risk.
   
   
2. They help guard against colon cancers. The research shows that when the “good guys” are out of balance with the “bad guys,” officially called dysbiosis, the risk of colon cancer sky rockets. This is because of the compromise to the immune system mentioned under #1, and also because many of the “good guys” perform other valuable services. A good example is the work of a probiotic called L. salivarius. This “good guy” helps purify the colon by eating away putrefactive material, and is involved in repair by providing necessary enzymes and nutrients.
   
   
3. They help combat yeast overgrowth & fungal infections like Candida. Candida is an example of one of the “bad guys” when it is not in balance. We are presently experiencing an epidemic of Candida-caused diseases from fungus infections of the nails and skin, through cystitis (bladder infection) and vaginitis. Without supplementing a probiotic, the alleviation of symptoms is only temporary, and without using a probiotic, the antibiotics used to control the symptoms eventually make the condition worse. Smart doctors that keep current with the literature, give antibiotics concurrently with probiotics, thereby treating both the symptom and the cause simultaneously.
   
   
4. They help prevent constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, and bloating. These minor symptoms of digestive distress are often the signals that serious problems are just around the corner. They are one of the first signs that the gut flora is experiencing imbalance, dysbiosis. The restoration of this natural balance via probiotics often eliminates all of these early warning symptoms. These are symptoms on which we were taught to place minor importance. By paying attention at this stage, we can often keep more serious ailments, like colon cancer, at bay.
   
   
5. They help protect against osteoporosis and arthritis. The balance of the flora is essential to maintaining the proper pH (acid/alkaline) level. When the pH of the gut is off, the body can’t absorb various nutrients, i.e., vitamin B12, or minerals optimally. Compromised mineral absorption contributes to the risk of both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
   
   
6. They help overcome skin problems. Some skin problems are caused by an overgrowth of yeast, others by inadequate absorption of minerals like zinc, which is know as the “skin mineral” because of its well known relationship to acne and blemishing. When the gut flora does not adequately detoxify waste, it often is absorbed into the blood stream and then eliminated through the skin, resulting in a dermatitis.
   
   
7. They help lower cholesterol. The particular mechanism for this is being sought. Although we do not know specifically how the gut flora helps keep cholesterol from being reabsorbed after it is excreted via the bile, that is what happens. With all the medical emphasis on cholesterol and heart disease, I’m surprised this hasn’t made probiotic therapy popular.
   
   
8. They help enhance nutritional well-being. If your flora is out of balance you do not absorb the water soluble vitamins and minerals properly, and various dangerous chemicals that are detoxified via balanced flora can be absorbed into the blood where the body has to use the liver, kidneys, or skin to do that job. Obviously, when the flora is in balance we feel better.
   
   
9. They help boost energy. This is accomplished by facilitating the absorption of water-soluble vitamins and minerals. It is the water soluble vitamins and minerals that are the most critical factors in the function of the Kreb’s cycle (oxidative phosphorylation), the mechanism by which we make energy.

What causes this gut flora imbalance in the first place??? We have learned recently that stress plays a much greater roll than previously thought, and most of us today have more stress than we’d like. We have known for over a decade that antibiotics tend to kill the “good guys,” thereby allowing the “bad guys” to overpopulate and create all of the previously mentioned problems. For years, antibiotics have been known to be a major cause of gut imbalances. They should always be accompanied by and followed by a course in probiotic therapy to avoid serious future problems. Drinking chlorinated water throws off the gut balance. The chlorine poisons the “good guys” without effecting the “bad guys” very much. Years of drinking tap water often creates minor to moderate gut flora imbalances in everyone. Excessive sugar consumption is another major cause because it feeds the “bad guys,” giving them a growth advantage. Simple sugars from fruits and grains, and vegetables that turn to sugar quickly like potatoes and white rice, have turned out to be as detrimental as candy, and pastry. We eat too many simple sugars in our diets. Then, of course, there are things like cancer chemotherapy and other serious medial treatment that can destroy the intestinal lining. Thankfully, few of you will have to be dealing with those types of problems. Last but not least, old age takes its toll as well, and people over fifty do better to supplement with probiotics occasionally.

What should you be taking??? In my Vitalmins line, I carry a fine lactobacillus acidophilus and bulgaris culture called Lacto A & B. It did the job for years, and I still recommend it highly. Over the years, I found I needed a super strength product that worked quickly and efficiently even in the most difficult of cases. After three years of searching and clinical trials, I chose I Flora. I Flora contains a wide variety of beneficial organisms, and at 15 billion viable cells per capsule it contains four to five times more organisms than the average probiotic. Many of the probiotics I tested were also priced two to four times higher than I Flora, and although I was shopping for results, not price, the price was a nice benefit.

I usually use I Flora when a patient gets started on a program to stabilize a re-populate the gut, then I put them on the Vitalmins Lacto A & B, which is more than adequate for maintaining a balanced gut flora, and it is comparatively inexpensive. I usually recommend two I Flora once or twice a day depending on the severity of the problem. This is usually continued until well past the time when all symptoms have disappeared. Then I switch to Lacto A & B. I have begun to take Lacto A & B myself as a preventive measure a couple of times a week. The more I read in the literature, the more I think this is a good idea for all of us over fifty.

What do probiotics cost??? I Flora, sixty capsules, retails for $29.95, and because we can not have it made under our Vitalmins label we are only able to discount it to $24.00, but that is still a considerable savings. Our Vitalmins label, Lacto A & B, sixty capsules, retails for $13.00, but is only $6.50 to Preventics customers.

For information on Professional quality supplements at wholesale prices (50% off retail),
go to Preventics.

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