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Bacteria: The Good, Bad and the Ugly
by Gloria Gilbère, N.D., D.A.Hom., PhD.
We in colder climates are all waiting for the sun to shine, warm weather to return and the anticipation of traveling and getting outdoors. Those of you in warmer climates are continually faced with health conditions that arise from rapid bacterial growth. The victims of multiple allergic response syndromes (MARS) and immune system challenges are getting by day by day waiting until the time they can again look forward to enjoying life, regardless of the weather. Whichever category you find yourself in, the importance of supplementing and protecting your intestinal immune defenses cannot be overstated.
Scientists now confirm that over 75% of our immune system is based in our gut
thats right, our gut. If we continually assault the health-enhancing bacteria whose job it is to protect us against invading health-depleting bacteria, we dramatically reduce our bodys ability to provide us with health and quality of life the difference between adding years to our lives and adding life to those years.
Because our world is now so global and interconnected we must, more than ever, be aware of the necessity to wash frequently to protect against disease-causing bacteria in any weather and in any region.
While it's well known that bacteria can harm us, it is also a documented fact that specific species of bacteria are essential to maintaining and restoring health.
The Health Consequences of Products to wipe-out germs
The dark-age view of bacteria has caused a surge of antibacterial products from soft soaps to disposable wipes that claim to "wipe-out" germs, to topical antibacterial creams that are, all too often, overused.
What many consumers fail to realize is that fancy, chemically-scented, antibacterial cleansers carry a very high price tag - suppression of the immune system.
It's difficult to imagine the same products that are meant to "clean-up" health-depleting bacteria/germs are also "cleaning-up" the good bacteria that protect us from disease.
Several studies and books have been published warning about the dangers of antibiotic resistance - decades before the issues caught public attention. More recently there are concerns even from a U.S. Federal Drug Administration advisory review panel regarding the safety of using antibacterial soaps on a daily basis.
Re-populating your Immune Village
The body's ability to protect itself from offending organisms can be enhanced or weakened by a variety of methods; the most important protection is maintaining an intestinal ecosystem with plenty of health-enhancing bacteria from probiotics.
A prevalent source of digestive illnesses from bacteria that grows rapidly in heat, regardless of the season, carries with it the higher risk of infection, especially those from food that is not properly refrigerated or those found in contaminated water.
There are three types of bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract:
1. Beneficial (friendly, health-enhancing)
2. Pathogenic (hostile, health-depleting)
3. Neutral
In order for our GI tract to protect us from health-depleting organisms, it must ideally contain approximately 85% health-enhancing (good) bacteria, and 15% health-depleting (bad). During times of illness, antibiotic use, over-use of antibacterial soaps, or excessive stress, the percentages are reversed, making us vulnerable to disease and eventually escalating to multiple allergic responses.
Probiotics are essential to a wide range of bodily functions including, but not limited to, the following:
Support of white blood cells to fight disease
Control of putrefactive bacteria in the intestines
Enhancement of blood structure by providing essential nutrients
Assists digestion by making it readily available for absorption
Manufactures vitamin "B's" including abundant B-12
Reestablishing intestinal terrain "killed off" by chlorinated water
Manufacture natural antibiotics, like acidophilin produced by acidophilus - effective against many types of bacteria, including Streptococcus and Staph
Lessening of intestinal stress from food poisoning while also aiding overall digestion
Improving peristalsis and helps normalize bowel transit time
Assists in normalizing cholesterol levels, according to studies showing regular use of lactobacillus bacteria
The next time you use that antibacterial hand and body cleanser, remember that you're killing good and bad bacteria. Isn't it better to wash more frequently with hot water and regular soap than to subject your immune system to yet another insult? It's bad enough that we consume animal products that have been fed antibiotics and growth hormones that compromise our defenses, now we're assaulting our bodies by killing the army that defends us.
The secret to staying healthy in a world occupied by immeasurable amounts of health-depleting microorganisms is to take probiotics on a regular basis, not only when illness is tapping you on the shoulder.
The following is how and when I use and recommend supplementation with probiotics:
Gloria consults worldwide via telephone, for more information log onto her website at www.gloriagilbere.com
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