By SUSAN DUVE
Special to the Parade
Dr. Susan Duve
The word biotic is from the Greek biotikos, meaning: of or relating to life. We often use the word anti-biotic. Which means, “against life.” Antibiotics kill bacteria but not all bacteria should be killed. In fact, “healthy bacteria” are a health building essential to life, vitality and wellbeing.
Healthy bacteria in the soil feed nutrients through the roots of plants to help them grow and flourish, providing us with wholesome foods. Healthy bacteria in the human body protect and feed us in the same way, by helping with digestion and assimilation of essential nutrients.
That’s right! Every healthy person has within their intestines a colony of bacteria nearly as large as their liver. It is estimated that a healthy person maintains more healthy bacteria than the total number of cells making up their body! The human body has approximately 13 trillion cells; a healthy bacterial colonization of the inside and outside of the human body is estimated at 14 trillion microbes of various types. These healthy colonies do the job of keeping unhealthy bacteria in check, and more.
Healthy bacteria in your body:
√ Acidify the intestinal tract to make it uninhabitable by unhealthy bacteria, thereby supporting the immune system.
√ Assist in the breakdown of carbohydrates and digestion of milk products
√ Provide for better food assimilation and toxin release by the large intestine.
√ Healthy bacteria in the intestines can even create for you some vitamins you might not get otherwise!
These healthy bacteria have become known as probiotics. Published medical journals have featured probiotics over recent years. A recent MedLine search (published medical research internet site) showed 1,813 probiotic citations, including 175 discussions of clinical trials. A search of the same site for dates before 1990 showed only 13 citations. All of these studies indicate the varied benefits of healthy bacteria in our environment. Interesting to note, since these healthy bacteria have been serving human beings for thousands of years, why would they only recently come to the attention of medical researchers?
Antibiotics
Antibiotic use is likely the reason the health “industry” has recently been paying attention to the value of healthy bacteria. That’s because healthy bacteria silently served their healthful purpose until antibiotics came along. Antibiotics kill healthy bacteria, upsetting nature’s balance within us and lead to disorder and disease. That’s right! When antibiotics are used, the healthy bacteria are killed right along with the unhealthy ones. We need to do something proactive to make sure the healthy bacteria can live in our environment serving Nature’s purpose. If for any reason we take antibiotics, then we need to re-establish the healthy bacteria of our body. In fact, the same urgency which the “health industry” applies to antibiotics needs to be applied to probiotics.
The health problems that the published literature shows are improved by probiotic use are the very same conditions that often follow antibiotic use. If you or anybody in your family experiences these conditions from time to time you need to consider becoming proactive with probiotics.
Take a look at this brief list of conditions:
• Diarrhea
• Allergies
• Immune System weakness
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Hypertension
• Vaginal Infections
• Kidney Stones
• Lactose Intolerance
Probiotics Foods are a Nutritional Essential
Probiotics have been shown to help these conditions, but the real truth is that anything that disrupts the normal functions of the body (like antibiotics and refined foods) could cause any of the signs and conditions linked with nutritional deficiency.
Build Your Health with Probiotics
As long as humans have been civilized, food health has been enhanced with the assistance of probiotics. Every culture of the world has some type of food that is “cultured,” such as, yogurt, kefir, buttermilk and sauerkraut. It is important to include probiotics foods as a part of your lifestyle.
If you have taken antibiotics within the last few years, or if you suffer from any of these conditions listed above, we recommend you build your health with one or all of these whole food probiotic foods and support products listed below. The truth is that every person – men, women and especially children and older family members – would benefit from one or more of these supplements:
Lact-Enz – Is a gastrointestinal support that combines digestive enzymes with normal intestinal probiotics. Lact-Enz can be used for lactose intolerant people to help them digest milk products. Babies with colic are known to respond to a small amount of Lact-Enz on the finger during feeding. Contains: various digestive enzymes, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium longum.
Lactic Acid Yeast – Establishes the proper acid / alkaline (pH) balance vital for nutrient absorption. Improves protein and mineral assimilation, especially calcium. This probiotic is a yeast that is not aggravating to yeast sensitive individuals – it literally digests carbohydrates and turns them into lactic acid. It is vitally important for assimilation to have an acid large bowel. If you have intestinal gas – this may be exactly what you need.
Cyro-Yeast – This is a combination of Catalyn – See LiveIt! Lesson 1 and Lactic Acid Yeast. This is a great whole food product for general health building and for gastro-intestinal support.
Zymex – Aids in the establishment and maintenance of normal intestinal flora and proper pH, creating and maintaining a healthy intestinal environment.
Zymex II – Supports the healthy function of the gastrointestinal system by providing various digestive enzymes. This digestive enzyme product is supportive to the acid sensitive individual. This product is also very effective in correcting conditions of the bowel where unhealthy microbes have become colonized.
Editor’s Note: Dr. Susan Duve of the Duve Wellness Center & Natural Living Shoppe, located at 201 W. Queen Isabella, Port Isabel, can be reached at (956) 943-2300. Also, visit the website at www.duvewellness.com.
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