Why Do We Need It

The etymology of the word “probiotics” comes from two words. “Pro” means “for” and “biotic” is taken from the word “biota,” meaning “life.” Probiotics are an essential part of Northern Europeans daily life. The people in that region traditionally eat foods, such as yogurt, that are fermented with bacteria. Probiotics are living microorganisms that can help to prevent and treat some illnesses by promoting a strong immune system and healthy digestive tract.

The human gut is home to more than 100 trillion bacteria that form our “gut flora.” Healthy gut flora is incredibly important for our overall health and wellbeing, though there are many factors affect negatively the bacteria, living in and on our body:

A diverse, rich gut flora is considered healthy. When the diversity becomes limited, recovery from harmful influences is minimized. Our eating habits are our main impact on the profile of our gut flora. Food not only provides us with nutrients, but it helps bacteria to grow. A rich and balanced diet with a wide variety of whole food, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, etc. promotes the growth of different kinds of bacteria to diversify the flora in our gut.

Unluckily, in the last 50 to 60 years, the diversity of the western diet has become totally lost. Today, nearly 75 percent of the food supply of the entire world is dependent on only five animal species and 12 plants. In addition to that, we are all exposed daily to a variety of environmental pollutants that have been linked to different pathologies. These fertilizers and pesticides also stop natural probiotics from reaching the intestines alive.

Prebiotics improve the activity and growth of friendly gut bacteria. These are types of fibers that are undigested while passing through the digestive system. Their deficiency in daily diet is harmful to the overall digestive health. Fibers are an important part of many vegetables, fruits and whole grains. These prebiotics promotes short-chain fatty acids, which are the main nutrients of the human colon. By absorbing these fatty acids into the blood, we reduce our risk of inflammation and colorectal cancer. These fatty acids also promote digestive and metabolic health.

Physical activities are the body movements that burn energy such as cycling, walking, running, swimming, etc. Being physically active is highly beneficial to living a healthy life — it helps to reduce body weight, minimize the risk of chronic diseases, and lower stress and anxiety. What’s more, physical activities also improve gut health by altering gut bacteria.

Lack of physical activities and an unhealthy lifestyle can negatively affecting gut flora, as well as promoting the growth of bad bacteria that cause various health issues like bloating, obesity, constipation, etc.

No doubt, the antibiotic is important medicine to treat diseases and infections caused by bacteria and fungi. Antibiotics work to stop or kill bad or infectious bacteria. But antibiotics never discriminate between good and bad bacteria, and a single antibiotic treatment can bring harmful changes to the composition and diversity of gut flora.

Good sleep is a big secret to overall health, and sleep deprivation is linked to a variety of diseases and ailments, including heart diseases and obesity. We need to follow our body’s clock to keep our circadian rhythm in balance. Our gut follows this same rhythm and work in shifts — eating late at night and never following a timetable for proper sleep may also have harmful effects on the gut.

Today’s busy and unscheduled lifestyle is causing sleep deprivation and enhancing the abundance of bacteria that causes type 2 diabetes, fat metabolism, obesity and weight gain.

Being and staying healthy is not all about a balanced diet, physical activities, and adequate sleep. Heavy stress also causes harmful effects on our brain and body. Stress negatively affects brain functions and produces conditions like depression and anxiety. Similarly, high stress levels increase sensitivity and reduces blood flow in the gut, which can also alter the diversity of gut bacteria.

There are thousands of chemicals present in cigarettes, and at least 70 of them can cause cancer. Smoking is harmful to every single organ of the body and also increases the risks of lung cancer and heart stroke. Smoking also enhances the risk factor for inflammatory bowel diseases. But if you stop smoking, you can increase the diversity of your gut flora.

Alcohol and its high toxin count also has mental and physical effects on your overall health. Chronic alcohol consumption also causes serious health problems, including dysbiosis.

A gut flora high in friendly bacteria is essential for your health and wellbeing. To achieve this target, it’s important to change The vegetables, grains, and fruits we consume regularly do not provide the appropriate amount of probiotics. The fertilizers, pesticides and other various preserving and packing procedures we use today almost completely destroy the availability of probiotics in these natural food items. This is why it is becoming essential to use a quality probiotic supplement regularly to keep bacterial balance.

A gut flora high in friendly bacteria is essential for your health and wellbeing. To achieve this target, it’s important to change our daily lifestyles to enhance our healthy gut flora. To improve gut health, use the following tips:

Eating plenty of prebiotic fiber in our daily routine is beneficial for our gut health. Prebiotics are mainly found in foods such as legumes, asparagus, bananas, oats, onions, etc.

Polyphenols are not digested efficiently, and that is the reason they make their way to colon where they are digested by bacteria. Red wine, blueberries, green tea and dark chocolate are great main sources of polyphenols.

Improve your sleep time naturally by cutting out caffeine late in the day, taking a bath before sleep, setting your sleep routine, sleeping in a dark and comfortable room, and avoid using a cell phone right before sleep.

Proper medications, regular exercise and deep breathing are great activities for reducing stress levels. If your levels of anxiety and/or depression are unmanageable, it is also highly advised to consult your psychologist.

Probiotics are highly recommended for overall health and wellbeing, as well as to maintain the balance of gut flora. Fermented food like cheese, yogurt, pickles, kimchi, kefir and tempeh are excellent sources of probiotics.

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