Your body is home to a wide variety of creatures too small to see . Together these creatures play a crucial role in the health and welfare of your body. Most people know their guts house bacteria, but many are unaware of how important they are to overall health.
We give them a home, and they provide us with many benefits. It’s a symbiotic match made in heaven – a relationship where both organisms benefit.
1. Developing Gut Flora:
The bacteria that inhabit the gut early in life help the cells of the gut grow and develop. They also help to train the immune system. The gut flora actually work in concert with the immune system in order to help it grow and develop, and to help fight bacterial and other infections as we mature. theory that gut bacteria can have a calming effect on an overactive immune system. This creates hope for the possibility of new ways to reduce asthma and eczema.
2. Digesting Food:
The various sections of the colon contain different bacteria and they each have distinct jobs. The bacteria in the first part of the colon help to ferment and digest carbohydrates, and the ones in the latter part of the colon help to digest fats and proteins.
3. Deriving Nutrition:
Since the bacteria in the colon are digesting foods that were missed earlier in the digestive process, they are helping us to absorb nutrients that would not otherwise have been absorbed.
As these bacteria are munching on food, they help us absorb key vitamins such as biotin and vitamin K. They also help to balance water in the gut.
4. Good versus Bad Bacteria:
The populations of bacteria that live in your gut are a combination of both good and bad bacteria. And while you might think that you would want to get rid of all the bad bacteria and keep only good bacteria, it is actually the balance between the good bacteria and bad bacteria that is considered the healthiest.
The good bacteria are bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and others. The good bacteria help us digest food, maintain a healthy gut, provide us with nutrients and vitamins, and fight off bad bacteria. These good bacteria can be taken as a probiotic supplement.
Bad bacteria become problematic when their numbers grow too large in proportion to that of the good bacteria, and this is when they begin to create health problems. Bad bacteria include those which cause disease such as Salmonella, Clostridium, and others. Even yeasts such as Candida are fine in small amounts; they only become problematic when their numbers increase uncontrollably.
Gut Bacteria and Conditions
A whole host of health conditions can be traced back to poor gut ecology. Gut problems, including gas, bloating, constipation, Crohn’s, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and ulcerative colitis can all be improved through a better gut ecosystem. A good ecosystem is linked to less colon cancer. Even diseases such as asthma and arthritis are thought to be linked to gut ecology.
Repairing the Intestinal Ecosystem
Step One: Bring in the Good Guys
There are too many things in our modern world that make it difficult for healthy bacteria to survive. If you have taken antibiotics recently, been under a lot of stress, or are eating poorly, then you need to consider taking probiotics.
Step Two: Up the H2O
You need to make sure there is enough water in your gut so that the bacteria can do their job, and be easily expelled in feces. An added benefit of having enough water is to help avoid constipation.
Step Three: Reduce the Bad Bacteria
The best way to reduce bad bacteria is to use a colon cleanse comprised of herbs that have been shown to reduce these bacteria.
Step Four: Reduce Stress, Increase Food Quality
You can do your gut a favor by reducing the amount of stress you have, and increasing the quality of the food that you eat. Since food is what you and the bacteria in your gut gain nutrition from, it makes sense to put the best food possible into your body.
An excerpt from"www.puristat.com/coloncleansing/gutbacteria.aspx"