What are pro-biotics, and what role do they play in the body?
Let’s back up a second before talking about probiotics and talk about
gut flora. Inside our digestive tract we have somewhere around 100
trillion bacteria happily living in us. We’re like a giant high-rise
building, and the bacteria are our tenants. About 7 lbs of “you” is
really bacteria that live in your intestines, from your mouth to the
other end. Our understanding of gut flora has advanced by quantum leaps in the
past decade or so but we’re still just scratching the tip of the iceberg
here. We now know that our gut flora helps us properly digest
our food, protects us from pathogens (harmful microorganisms), helps us
detoxify harmful compounds, produces vitamins and other nutrients, keeps
our guts healthy, and balances our immune systems.
Probiotics are a culture of “good” bacteria. Most often when we say
the word probiotics we are talking about a supplement (a pill or powder)
of beneficial bacteria, but we also use the word probiotics when
talking about fermented foods.
Does a Paleo diet typically reduce the need for probiotics?
Does healing the gut help restore a healthy balance of gut flora and
fauna?
Gut health and gut flora are a very chicken and egg type of thing.
Bad gut flora causes poor gut health. Poor gut health causes poor gut
flora. Depending on how severe the dysfunction, sometimes we have to
address both in order to get things working properly, sometimes not.
There are a variety of reasons that a gut can be messed up. If the
main reason is food-based (i.e., if the person is having food
reactions), then a program like the Whole30®
is superb for helping. However, a generally Paleo lifestyle (which
includes such thing as
adequate sleep, appropriate exercise, and stress management) along with
healthy whole foods would reduce the need for probiotics.
No comments:
Post a Comment