In order to become healthy, one must engage in regular exercise and proper diet. However, there are cases wherein no matter how much exercise we do and how healthy we eat, if the food that we consume are not digested and absorbed properly, then it would be no use.
Our digestive health is one of the most important things we should take care of because it contains 70% of our immune system.
Some great ways to improve our digestive health is by eating raw vegetables and fruits, avoiding foods with additives, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners, and also by taking supplements.
As we all know our body contains bacteria. Whenever we hear the word bacteria, the first thing that comes to our mind is that they are harmful. However, that is not really the case since our body consists of both good and bad bacteria.
We occasionally get bad bacteria whenever we eat contaminated food, get exposed to pollution, or whenever we get wounds. There are chances of us getting illnesses such us colds, flu, and food poisoning if there are too much bad bacteria in our system.
On the other hand, good bacteria works by helping us digest our food and fight off the bad bacteria in our body. Without them we can get sick andeven at extreme cases, die.
What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are foods or supplements that contains good bacteria. Some food that contain probiotics are yogurt, cheese, and fermented foods such as kimchi, pickles, and kefir.
There are many types of probiotics. However, the most common groups are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteriu. Lactobacillus is commonly found in yogurt and fermented foods. It helps increase the body’s absorption of minerals and it can also treat diarrhea.
On the other hand, Bifidobacteriu are commonly found in dairy products. It can ease symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, enhance the immune system, and can also limit the growth of harmful bacteria in the body.
This group of probiotic are commonly used in supplements. Now that you are familiar as to what probiotics are, here is a list of benefits that we can get from them:
- It can boost the immune system
- It can help prevent and cure diarrhea
- Improves digestion
- Produce enough good bacteria to fight off harmful bacteria in our system
- Reduce the risk of getting a cold or a flu
- Improve vaginal health
- Helps reduce the severity of allergies and skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis
- It can help you lose weight
- Increases energy
- Can treat colic in children
- It can help cure kidney stones
How to Take Probiotics?
As what was previously mentioned, probiotics can either be taken by eating foods like yogurt, dairy products, and fermented foods, or by taking supplements.
If you decide to take supplement, you would probably wonder when is the best time to consume them and at what amount. The answer to those questions would ultimately depend on the brand of the supplement.
Each brand has their own formula and dosages, and would provide their recommended daily intake. However, there are some that does not provide this information.
1. Time
Although there is no scientifically-proven, perfect time to take them, it is best to take them after a meal or before bedtime. What makes is good to take after a meal is because when you eat, the stomach will produce acid to help break down the food.
This will give the probiotics a chance to survive and reach the intestines without getting exposed to too much acid.
As for the recommended timing before bedtime, this is due to the reason that it is that time wherein there are minimal activity in the stomach which makes its pH low meaning that there are less acid produced. This will again give the probiotics a higher chance of making it to the intestines (almost) untouched.
2. Dosage
You can’t just blindly take one and expect it to work. It is good to mention that taking too much can also harm you. The amount of bacteria recommended for daily consumption is 1 billion to 10 billion. However, this depend on a person’s situation.
For those that are taking antibiotics may need a bigger dosage at around 10 to 15 billion a day. As for those that has a relatively healthy digestive system, a dosage of 1 billion will do just fine.
Foods to Avoid
In case you did not know, there are foods that may be keeping the probiotics in your body from doing its job. If you want them to work like they should, then do your best to avoiding eating the following foods:
- GMOs
- Processed food
- Artificial sweeteners
- Fried foods
- Sugar
- Foods with pesticide
- Spicy food
Conclusion
Keeping ourselves and our loved ones healthy should be everyone’s top priority. Taking probiotics is a great step to achieve a healthy body. Probiotics are foods or supplements that contains good bacteria.
These friendly bacteria can be found in yogurt, dairy products like cheese, and fermented foods such as kimchi, miso, pickles, and kefir.It can boost our immune system, improve our digestion, fight off bad bacteria, reduce the severity of allergies and skin conditions, reduce the risk of getting a cold, improve vaginal health, and so much more.
For those that want to take probiotics, a question that would come to their minds is how to take them. The best time to take them can either be after a meal of before bedtime wherein stomach acid is not that present. Stomach acid can kill the bacteria in probiotics.
So if you take them in the recommended times, there is a huge chance that the supplement will reach you intestines without getting exposed to stomach acid. For the dosage, the recommended daily intake is from 1 billion to 10 billion.
For those that has a relatively healthy digestive system, an amount of 1 billion daily will do. On the other hand, for those that has problems or are taking antibiotics, a good 10 to 15 billion is recommended.
