Probiotics: Why All the Buzz?
By Celeste Brinson, MSc, Nutritional Consultant

There is speculation that probiotics will one day be considered an essential food like vitamins and minerals. In the alternative health community, we know that probiotics are essential to overall health for a multitude of reasons. Cultures around the world have been aware of the specific health benefits of consuming probiotics for thousands of years and the good news is spreading.

What is a Probiotic?
Probiotic actually means “for life”. When you consider the opposite, antibiotic or “against life”, it’s no wonder people are having such a hard time recovering from antibiotics and rebuilding their immune systems. Seventy to 85 percent of your immune system is located in the digestive tract, and it is compromised of 3 to 5 pounds of probiotics! After a round of antibiotics, the ratio of good bacteria to bad bacteria is severely askew.

While antibiotics can be great for knocking out infection-causing bacteria, they knock out the beneficial, immune-boosting bacteria at the same time. Additionally, because of the lack of probiotics in the American diet, so many people are suffering from IBS, constipation, diarrhea, yeast infections, allergies, poor digestion, inflammation, chronic fatigue, tooth decay, eczema, high cholesterol, and a range of other ailments.

Most people are not even aware that these ailments are so easily remedied by taking a full spectrum probiotic. Not only does it boost the immune system and rebuild the intestinal flora (ridding one of poor digestion, bloating, gas, and diarrhea) but probiotics acidify the colon, help remove cancer causing agents, and assist in lowering cholesterol.

Probiotic Sources:
There are so many ways to incorporate probiotics into your daily health regimen. The easiest way is to take a full spectrum probiotic supplement, but there are many food sources as well. We have over 30 probiotic options at Plum Blossom Wellness, possibly more than any other product we carry! We offer a variety of pill supplements, probiotic goat yogurt (local!), Kombuchas, fermented whole food vitamin supplements, and kefir!

The Best Choice for You:
When choosing the probiotic best suited for your needs, be sure to look for full spectrum, fermented probiotic. Our favorite, Dr. Ohirra’s 5 year fermentation probiotic, contains 12 strains of lactic acid bacteria and is enterically coated to make it through the hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Looking for the right dose is also important. If there is a need for a therapeutic dose (20 billion or higher), be sure to choose a strong probiotic to lessen the amount of pills needed per day.

This is also a more cost effective way to take probiotics. Autoimmune responses, disease, and systemic Candida all require a therapeutic dose of probiotics, while daily maintenance and rebuilding beneficial vaginal flora often times only require smaller doses of full spectrum probiotics. Switching probiotics every six months or so has been shown to be beneficial because there are many different strains of bacteria in the human body and maximum benefit is derived from colonizing the full spectrum of probiotics.

Probiotics are a fundamental building block of good health. They support the immune system and keep the body clean and balanced. From fermented food, to yogurt, to kefir and probiotic supplements, there are many options for probiotic intake. Plum Blossom Wellness has over 30 options for probiotics supplementation; let us help you choose the right one for you!