PROBIOTICS & DIGESTIVE ENZYMES: The Path to High-Level Wellness

The ABC's of PROBIOTICS & DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
 

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Typically, when we think of bacteria, we tend to associate these microorganisms with pathogenic or infectious outcomes. But not all bacteria are created equal! Yes, some strains of bacteria, like E. coli, are bad guys, while other strains like L. acidophilus are actually good guys. The latter are known as probiotics, or beneficial bacteria. Consuming probiotics in our diets can help keep our digestive and immune systems running smoothly.

Historically, live bacteria were commonly eaten in food. There is archeological evidence that mankind has used lacto-fermentation as a way of preserving food dating back 1.5 million years. Scientists believe that the human GI tract evolved to adapt to a more or less daily supply of live lactic acid bacteria. We're designed to consume copious amounts of probiotics!

However, with the advent of food refrigeration, pasteurization, and other processing, the ingestion of microorganisms has decreased. In the United States today, we consume very few fermented food products, such as yogurt and sauerkraut. Sterilization of our food supply has limited our potential to ingest beneficial organisms previously consumed on a daily basis − and this may be part of the reason why so many Americans suffer from chronic gut disturbances.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as I write about in my book, WIRED FOR HIGH-LEVEL WELLNESS, is one of the largest contact points between our bodies and the environment. Not only does it serve to physically and chemically break down the foods we consume, it also serves as a barrier to harmful substances which may enter the body through oral consumption. In order to perform these functions properly, the GI tract relies upon a complex ecosystem of bacteria. The composition of this ecosystem, or flora “fingerprint,” is set in childhood and is unique to every individual. Once the flora “fingerprint” is established, those specific types of bacteria are then recognized as normal throughout our lives. The immune system is established in such a way that the body is able to distinguish between these good microorganisms and perilous invaders.

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From my years of research on Probiotics, I am pleased to report that numerous studies now show how daily Probiotics added to the diet help with the following:

• Happiness
• Depression
• ADHD and Autism
• Skin Vitality
• Anxiety and Stress
• Constipation and Diarrhea
• Colic
• Immunity
• Digestion
• Cold and Flu
• Allergies and Hay Fever
• Diabetes
• Dental and Oral Care
• Arthritis
• Weight Loss

 

The balance of bacteria in the gut can be disturbed due to a number of factors, including a lack of digestive enzymes, which is why I take E3Enzymes Supreme with each meal. Most people over 35 years old need to take digestive enzymes. E3Enzymes Supreme Enhanced with E3AFA help break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in our food, allowing nutrients to be extracted, absorbed, and carried through the blood stream to the organs and cells of the body.

This balance of bacteria can also be disrupted due to an overall poor diet, disease, stress, chemotherapy, medications (primarily antibiotics), personal hygiene products, house cleaners and environmental pollution (air, water and food quality, additives, preservatives, heavy metals, GMOs etc) in general. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, especially when used over the long term, can knock out many of the normal beneficial flora, setting the stage for the proliferation of competing, possibly disease-causing organisms that are often resistant to these agents. Accompanying them with regular, simultaneous probiotics intake helps to mitigate this unfortunate effect. Anyway, a good start is to avoid processed foods, refined sugars and high-fructose corn syrup - it is the first building block of a healthy gut – nutritionally void sugars promote bad bacteria and Candida yeast growth at the expense of good bacteria that help us in the digestive process.

Pathogenic organisms are always present to some extent in the GI tract. In a normal, healthy state, the beneficial bacteria outnumber these potentially harmful bacteria (the ratio is 85% helpful bacteria to 15% harmful bacteria). When the beneficial and harmful bacteria levels become imbalanced, this is referred to as dysbiosis, which can lead to episodes of digestive upsets in the short term and set the stage for the development of conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and deadly antibiotic-associated diarrhea from C.difficile infection.

When we add fermented products such as fermented veggies to our diets, we can boost our consumption of probiotic lactic acid bacteria, which can replace harmful organisms in the digestive tract with helpful ones and keep the healthy balance intact. The first to discover this possibility was the Russian scientist and Nobel laureate Eli Metchnikoff, who in 1908 hypothesized that eating fermented milk products improved the health and lifespan of Bulgarian peasants (many of them lived to be 100 years old!). Metchnikoff concluded that consuming fermented milk helped to “seed” the intestine with friendly bacteria, thereby suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria. Consuming fermented veggies can do the same.

Consuming fermented foods regularly can apart from correcting digestive issues also positively influence heart disease, blood pressure, arthritis, food allergies, obesity, gum disease, our mood, overall detoxification and much more. Probiotics help in more efficient digestion, enabling us to get more out of the foods we eat. Even mere nibbling of a fermented side dish in the course of a regular meal makes a huge difference to the digestive process. In as little as 24 hours, significant differences in the the gut flora composition can be detected, especially when you combine the E3Probiotics with E3Enzymes Supreme.

 

The Brain-Gut Link

Proper immune response helps stop excessive, chronic inflammation, the root cause of arthritis, in the tracks. “Killer cells” production is activated and increased by friendly gut bacteria. Low level of these allies of our immune system is common among type II diabetes sufferers.

The brain-gut link is also not fully appreciated, with one influencing the other and vice versa - UCLA associate professor of medicine Dr. Kirsten Tillisch said, "Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut.” It has been demonstrated that consumption of fermented products results in better task related responses, corresponding with increased cortex activity and mid-brain instrument neurotransmitter pathway improvements. Our gut literally serves as our second brain, and even produces more of the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Whether through fermented vegetables or through E3Probiotics 50 Billion capsules, or better yet using both as I do, make sure you do supplement your diet with probiotics. Your health will flourish as a result!