Mercola - Natural Health Products & Articles

When one talks about bacteria, the usual reactions are that of disgust and worry because these microscopic organisms have a reputation for causing disease and are almost always dismissed as germs.

Does the idea of consuming a few billion a day alarm you? Don't be surprised because not all bacteria are bad. There are types of bacteria that are beneficial to your health.

Your body contains an estimated 100 trillion bacterial cells from at least 500 species that are found mostly in the gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria in your gut outnumber the cells in your body by a factor of 10 to one.

This gut flora has incredible power over your immune system, which, of course, is your body's natural defense system that keeps you healthy. Eighty percent of your immune system is in your gut.

This means that your body's health is largely tied into the health of your gut; it's difficult for one to be healthy if the other is not.

However, gastrointestinal tract function may be affected when the delicate balance between the "good" and "bad" bacteria in your gut is disturbed by factors such as stress, illness and antibiotics.

Also, if you are fond of eating sugar (which is part of the typical American diet), you are feeding the "bad" bacteria in your gut, which are more likely to cause disease than promote health.

Fortunately, you can help maintain the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your intestinal tract by taking probiotics, live microorganisms that contain strains of the good bacteria in your gut.

Probiotic literally means "for life." Consuming probiotics is not something new. Northern Europeans and the Japanese eat a lot of foods that are fermented with bacteria, such as yogurt.

Probiotics are the reason why yogurt has practically taken over the dairy section of the supermarket.

Natural health expert Joseph Mercola believes that quality probiotic supplements are one of the few supplements that can benefit nearly anyone. However, based on his experience, they are also among the trickiest to recommend.

Dr. Mercola has been evaluating probiotic supplement brands for the last 15 years, including the different bacteria strains and their benefits, manufacturing practices, and the delivery of the microorganisms to your body.

Mercola recommends New and Improved Complete Probiotics , a probiotic supplement containing 10 good bacteria strains (including 3 types of Bifidobacterium and 7 types of Lactobacillus). These 10 strains provide these probiotic benefits:

• Maintains the ratio of "good" to "bad" bacteria by promoting the optimal environment for the growth of good bacteria
  
• Supports the production of B vitamins (especially folic acid and biotin) and vitamin K
  
• Promotes mineral absorption
  
• Supports your protein and carbohydrate digestion
  
• Enhances metabolism and the breakdown of toxins
  
• Helps maintain appropriate bowel transit time
  
• Produces lactic acid to support digestive function and colon pH balance
  
• Helps maintain healthy serum lipid and blood pressure levels
  
• Helps support normal immune response
  
• Helps promote oral health

Each capsule delivers at least 66 billion good bacteria that will give your gut and immune system that healthy edge.

Contrary to the saying that "Death begins in the colon," Dr. Mercola believes that life is promoted and enhanced in the colon, particularly if you have a quality probiotic supplement to help you out.

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