Billions of Microscopic Bacteria Want to Be Your Friend

In 2001, a young girl from Canada's East Coast, named Lindsay Edmund put together a science fair project. The findings from this high school assignment were later published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association. Here's what she did...
Lindsay completed a survey of 100 physicians. She discovered that they all prescribe antibiotics regularly. Yet only 10% recommend probiotics together with the antibiotics. And only 18% were even aware there was any research on introducing good bacteria. So...

You’re About to Gain More Probiotic Knowledge Than 82% of Nova Scotian MDs (the subject of my next two columns).
As you may already know, the right types of gut bacteria are essential for a healthy intestinal tract. Gas and bloating are often caused by too many unfriendly bacteria feasting on your lunch and excreting toxic and gaseous waste in return. Good bacteria will keep their numbers down.
In fact, many more MDs are now recommending women take probiotics after a course of antibiotics. As 80% of female patients tell me, antibiotic treatment almost always leads to a nasty yeast infection.
But not only should you take probiotics AFTER the antibiotic treatment but also during. It's so important you don't do this wrong — otherwise the antibiotics will wipe out whatever healthy bacterial flora you introduce.
Many people experience constipation or diarrhea with antibiotic treatment and this may be partly why. If you wipe out all life in your colon, you can't expect it to work properly. "Probiotics" comes from the Latin, meaning "for life." Antibiotics, on the other hand, means "against life." Antibiotics kill off bacteria. Probiotics introduce healthy, essential bacteria.

As I was saying...
ONE Course of Antibiotics Wipes Out 99.9% of ALL The Bacteria in Your Colon

Yep, that means the bad guys AND the good guys. Worse still.... oftentimes, the unfriendly bacteria will grow back faster. Now the ratio is off. Your gut, lungs, urinary tract, skin, etc. are under the rule of a new species. On top of that... conventional meat, eggs and dairy products contain antibiotics. The conditions in which we raise livestock have become so inhumane, filthy and crowded that antibiotics are automatically added to feed. So, if you're eating non-organic animal products, you're constantly giving the friendly and UNFRIENDLY bacteria in your gut small doses of antibiotics. Not sufficient to wipe them out, but enough to build up their resistance.

Instead, you want to keep the bad guys weak and let the good guys rule. And boy, do they know how to take up space... I'll get into those creepy crawly details next blog post, along with 4 other reasons why probiotics can improve your life (it's not just about your gut).

What you can take away from this column is… the importance of switching to organic milk, cheese, eggs, butter, chicken, fish... anything that comes out of an animal. Not only are conventional animals treated with antibiotics but they are also pumped full of artificial hormones to force them to grow faster or produce more milk. Many of my patients have found that switching to organic has relieved their intolerance to milk. They were in fact not intolerant to the milk, but to the hormones and antibiotics that were being fed to the cows.

On top of that these cows are being fed genetically modified, pesticide-sprayed grains and other crops. And now the FDA has just okayed cloned meat for human consumption.

Sure, it'll cost you a little more to eat free-range, grass-fed, organic animals products... but you'll probably pay three fold in health care if you stick with the conventional.

PART 2

You need live bacteria in your gut. But you need the right kind. Some help, some hurt. The more good guys you have in your colon, the less the bad guys can have control. Your intestinal tract has one-hundred thousand BILLION bacteria living inside it! If you write that out it's the number one followed by 14 zeros. 100,000,000,000,000! That's TEN TIMES the number of cells you have in your entire body! 30 - 50% of your fecal matter (AKA poop) is bacteria. Up to 500 different species. Your colon's literally a zoo!  And that's only in your GI tract...

5 Ways Probiotics Can Change Your Life

I'd like to share five ways probiotics can improve your life (not just your gut)…

1) They Supply 5-10% of Your Body's Fuel: One of your gut bacteria’s favourite foods are fibers from plant food (which we can't digest). Healthy bacteria transform fiber into a fatty-acid called butyrate. Butyrate gets burned as fuel by your colon cells. Plus, it's been shown to help decrease the growth of colon cancer cells.

2) Keeps Your Immune System On Guard: 70% of your immune system lies in your intestinal tract. Supplying these beneficial bacteria keeps it active and fit so that when a serious bacterial invasion takes place, it will be ready to defend and defeat.

3) Dairy Aid! Lactobacillus bacteria have been shown to help you digest the troublesome sugar lactose found in dairy products.

4) Heavy-Metal Detoxifying! Bacteria bind onto heavy metals in your colon. Instead of these poisons going to your heart and brain, they’re vanquished with your next trip to the restroom.

5) Improved Skin Health and Decreased Allergies: By altering your gut's immune system, probiotics can significantly help with eczema and allergies.

Most people don't necessarily have to take probiotics every day. I'd recommend you follow a strict regimen for at least 60 days. After that once every couple of days, or whenever you eat meat (e.g., beef, pork, veal, etc.) or your stomach feels upset, may be enough. Especially if you're already eating probiotic-rich, fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut or miso.

If you ever have food poisoning with diarrhea, taking probiotics continuously every hour, can help produce rapid relief. Many have found this completely cures intestinal infections in a matter of hours.

I'll now give you some general guidelines for improving your immune system with probiotics and avoiding unnecessary harm if you ever need to take antibiotics. The stronger your immune system, the more in balance your gut's bacteria will be... which of course, means the more regular your bowel movements will become.

So Here Are Some Tips To Help Out Your Microbiological Friends...

•    Buy only meat, chicken, eggs and dairy products that are antibiotic-free.
•    Don't take antibiotics for every common cold! Most common colds are caused by viruses and antibiotics are USELESS against viruses while wiping out 99.9% of your colon's healthy bacteria.
•    If you do take antibiotics to fight off a bacterial infection, make sure you complete the FULL dosage prescribed — even if symptoms disappear early. You must wipe out the infection completely or else the strongest bacteria will survive and pass on their resistant genes to their offspring. Just make sure you...
•    Take a probiotic supplement about THREE HOURS AFTER each dose of the antibiotic. This will ensure any killed bacteria in the gut from the antibiotics will be replaced. Continue for 2-3 weeks after completing the prescription. Then return to a normal daily dosage...
•    Take a high-quality, probiotic each day. About 10 billion bacteria per day is sufficient.

Yours in Natural Health,

Dr. Karlo Mauro, B.Sc., Hons. B.A., M.S.Ed., N.D.
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, care@thenaturopath.ca and Dr. Mauro can also be reached at: 519-739-2402

http://www.3WeekDetox.com
http://www.ConstipationReliefForWomen.com
http://www.DrKarloMauro.com

Part II on probiotics follows in the next column. You'll learn how to replenish your healthy bacteria during and after antibiotic treatment. Are antibiotics good for colds? Discover the undeniable truth…

Disclaimer: Information provided in this email is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease. Statements are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified physician. You should always consult with a health care provider before treating an ailment. All case studies are anecdotal. Results may differ from person to person.