If you have indigestion, bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, or something more chronic like Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Crohn's Disease, you may be wondering about the benefits of probiotics.
Probiotics are known for improving the health of your digestive system. Many people either take probiotic supplements or eat foods with probiotics, such as yogurt. The probiotics are good bacteria for your system and they help to keep the bad bacteria from growing. The benefits of probiotics are many: improved immune function, allergy prevention, digestive support, improved nutrient absorption, and more. These benefits were discovered with certain strains of bacteria, so you can't just purchase any probiotic supplement or eat a fermented food and expect to get the result you're looking for.
There are other concerns with probiotics as well. Aside from the fact that many supplements on the market do not have sufficient quality or quantity to achieve the hoped-for benefits, the strategy of introducing a couple of different bacteria into your system has come under scrutiny recently. You have 100 trillion bacteria in your gut. There are estimates that you have between 500 and 1000 different kinds of bacteria growing in your gut! With that much variety and complexity, how can you know which bacteria will help and which will make your problem worse?
Fortunately, scientists have discovered prebiotics. Prebiotics come from food - they are the non-digestible parts of certain foods, and they provide nourishment to the good bacteria in your gut. So they have a couple of things going for them: they are natural substances, and they already work in your system-you just need to be sure to get them into your diet.
As you eat certain starchy foods, the parts you can't digest known as prebiotics feed the good bacteria in your gut. Prebiotics are found in plant foods such as onions, asparagus, bananas, apples and many types of berries. The benefits of prebiotics include, along with a much better functioning digestive system, better vitamin and mineral absorption, a stronger immune system, reduced allergy development and a healthier heart. And, they are safe and effective in their whole-food state. I would not recommend consuming inulin or FOS (two types of isolated prebiotics) added to foods. In order to get the maximum benefit, you need the whole fruit or vegetable. Supplement form is okay as long as it's the food, and not the isolated substance.
Consuming prebiotics can eliminate bloating, indigestion and all those other symptoms of a poorly functioning digestive system. People seeking the benefits of probiotics may really be looking for prebiotics.
Candice J Hughes is an enthusiastic researcher of digestive health and natural products. Her research is available at http://www.prebiotic-supplements.com/. If you have indigestion, bloating, acid reflux, constipation or other symptoms of poor digestive health, including conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Crohn's disease, visit http://www.prebiotic-supplements.com/ now to learn about the product Candice recommends.
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