A healthy colon is a key indicator of overall health and wellness. There is a good reason the amount of searches relating to probiotics and fibromyalgia are on the steady rise.
Roughly 90% of people experience digestive inconvenience from time to time; while the occasional upset stomach or bout of diarrhea is not uncommon, frequent or more severe cases may be an indication of a more serious health condition.
Fortunately, research is demonstrating effective treatment with probiotics for gut and colon health.
Why Gut and Colon Health Matters
With roughly 70% of women indicating that gut or colon issues disrupt their life on a daily basis, understanding how probiotics support digestive health is key to preventing further disruption.
Gut and colon health is important because digestion and absorption of key nutrients, vitamins and minerals is key to supporting proper function of nearly every system in the body, including energy production and support of immune system function.
As food enters the gut, it is immediately mixed with acid, starting several chemical reactions that lead to the breakdown and initial absorption of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.
As food moves from the gut into the large and small intestines, where it is met by billions of the hundreds of trillion of bacteria waiting to further breakdown and absorb nutrients; this is where probiotics are key to this process.
Supporting Digestive Health with Probiotics
Probiotics are the good bacteria, found naturally in the digestive system, but also from food sources like yogurt, kefir and probiotic supplements.
However, the digestive system is also full of harmful bacteria, also occurring naturally and from food sources. In fact, scientist estimate that healthy intestines have between 3 and 5 pounds of bacteria inside.
While most of the bacteria that make us sick, like E. Coli, are destroyed in the acid of the stomach, occasionally harmful bacteria enter the intestines, causing diarrhea, intestinal infections and other conditions like irritable bowel syndrome.
Probiotics and Gut and Colon Health
Doctors have found that optimal gut and colon health occurs when a there is at least 85:15 ratio of good bacteria to bad bacteria. When this ratio becomes skewed, digestive problems start to occur.
Your body has ways of letting you know when your bacterial ratios are out of whack, including bloating, diarrhea, constipation, excess gas and stomach cramping.
When this occurs, it is generally a sign that you need to increase the amount of probiotics being consumed; there are several ways to do this.
Nutritionists recommend consuming between 10 and 25 billion colony forming units of good bacteria each day. Consuming this amount of probiotics provides the good bacteria required to minimize the harmful effects of bad bacteria.
Probiotics improve gut and colon health by eating food and inhabiting the space of harmful bacteria, they basically kick the bad bacteria out of the digestive system.
Realize the proper amount of probiotics each day by consuming the equivalent of one serving of yogurt or kefir, either through whole food or supplement sources.
Ensuring healthy gut and colon function through probiotic supplementation ensures a healthy digestive system and a stronger, more responsive immune system; resulting in an overall improved quality of health and well-being.
