Probiotics

Unless you’re living a very secluded kind of life, you’ve probably heard of probiotics. You may equate it with yogurt. Yogurt does contain them, but it is only one source of a few certain kinds.

What are probiotics?

Probiotics means for life, and are the “good” or “friendly” bacteria you have in your intestinal tract. They assist with digestion, stimulate the immune system and help to keep a healthy balance between good and bad bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Some of the Benefits of Probiotics

they fight off candida and other harmful yeasts and fungi
they help to fight tooth decay
they reduce the risk of food allergy
they aid in the digestion of your food
they increase your immune system
they help to balance your hormones
they increase your energy
they help to relieve constipation and diarrhea

How to get them

Depending on which expert you listen to, some say the best way to get enough of the right kind of probiotics is to eat or drink them, preferably from fermented food or drink you’ve made yourself (most commonly yogurt and kefir). Other experts say if you take the right kind of supplement you can get the same benefits.

I recommend you look into both approaches and see which one works best for you. Do you like to make your own food? Then you’ll probably like to make your own yogurt and kefir. Do you hate to cook and like to take supplements? Then the supplement approach would work best for you.

The easiest and most common form for food and drink sources are yogurt and kefir. If you are purchasing these, make sure they say “live cultures” on the label. One of the most highly recommended kind of probiotic supplement is Dr. Ohira’s Probiotics. That is the supplement form that I take personally.

When to take them

It is advisable to take probiotics every day as a preventative measure. It certainly won’t hurt you to take them daily. Some experts have them on their top ten supplements to take every day list.

It is more important to take them when you are ill. Even more important to take them if you know you are fighting off any kind of fungal disease (not just candida). And most importantly of all, everyone should take them after you’ve had a round of antibiotics (wait until after the round is over, as the antiobiotics will kill the probiotics—which is the whole reason why you need them, because the antibiotics have just killed off all your good bacteria, your probiotics!).