Probiotics-21st Century Heroes

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 October 2005, 03:00 CDT

By Gittleman, Ann Louise

Over the course of my career I have authored 25 books on health and healing. My book, Guess What Came to Dinner: Parasites and Your Health, published in 1993 and updated in 2001, first introduced America to the unwanted guests living inside of us, and how a healthy gut populated with at least 85 percent beneficial bacteria is the first line of defense against these hidden invaders. I also discovered the most helpful aid in assuring an optimum population of beneficial bacteria and parasites-proofing the gut with probiotics, the friendly flora. Friendly flora protect the system against pathogens by preventing them from attaching to the intestinal lining. The beneficial flora interfere with the ability of some parasites to adhere to the gut lining by blanketing all available surfaces-thus limiting the colonization of certain microscopic invaders like Giardia, yeast like Candida, and bacteria like E.coli.

Recently we were very alarmed to discover that most parasites- like the Smart Bugs today-have grown antibiotic and in some cases even herb resistant. For example, in the 8os and early 90s, most parasitologists would recommend a single course of Flagyl, the most commonly prescribed antibiotic, to quickly knock out Giardia, Amoeba hystolytica and maybe even Blastocystis hominis (the most common parasite of all these days). Then the patient would follow-up with a good probiotic for six weeks or so. Today, it might take three courses of Flagyl to kill these “smart protozoa,” and then they reappear-Flagyl resistant.

Throughout the world, killer diseases such as typhoid, malaria, TB, and gonorrhea, which have all been treated in the past with antibiotics, are now showing resistance to the same drugs. Our awareness of the deadly Smart Bugs began in the mid 90s when the most common types of bacteria-the Pneumococci-that cause pneumonia, inner or middle ear infections, meningitis, and fatal blood stream infections started to show resistance to penicillin. Ten years ago, about 5 percent of these kinds of infections resisted penicillin- now the number is over 35 percent.

This problem is becoming so critical that a group of international researchers of the American Society of Microbiology gathered in San Diego several years ago to sound the alarm that a new breed of disease-causing bacteria is becoming immune to a long list of common antibiotics, and vaccines can’t keep up with them either.

Probiotics are the single most important daily supplement to protect the body against antibiotic resistant bacteria-like the methicillin resistant Staph aureus. Drug resistant staph infections are most commonly spread in America’s hospitals through un-hygienic practices like unwashed hands of doctors or nurses, or an unclean stethoscope or bed railing.

According to the CDC, of the ten million patients entering U.S. hospitals, about two million catch bacterial antibiotic resistant infections and 90,000 die from them (this makes hospital infections in the U.S. the number five killer).

So I have come to believe that the best way to get rid of parasites and other pathogens is to make sure you don’t get them in the first place, to create an environment which is inhospitable to them.

Probiotics are undoubtedly our 21st century heroes. Probiotics mean “for life,” and this term is currently used to identify those good bacteria that have a documented beneficial effect on health. Probiotics, you will note, are the opposite of antibiotics, which mean “against life.”

Probiotics do many good things for our bodies besides functioning as a second immune system and manufacturing natural antibiotics. Probiotics:

*Digest food, especially fat, protein, and carbs

* Treat inflammatory bowel disease, colitis, Crohn’s, spastic colon, diarrhea, and Diverticulitis

* Treat arthritis, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, Epstein Barr virus, HIV/AIDS

* Control acne, psoriasis, and eczema

* Control acid reflux, heartburn, and peptic ulcers

* Control excess LDL cholesterol levels

* Improve circulatory function

* Prevent urinary tract and vaginal infections and inflammatory bowel disease

* Increase energy

* Balance sex hormones

* Maintain radiant, healthy skin

* Slow down the growth of pathogens

My latest book, The Fast Track One Day Detox, also utilizes probiotics, but this time as part of my detox weight loss protocol. As stated, friendly bacteria help to ward off pathogens, while helping you to digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates more efficiently. When your body is finally digesting and absorbing nutrients at peak efficiency, you won’t be nearly so hungry. You will be able to eat far less food with far greater satisfaction, resulting in effortless weight loss.

Fast Track debuted on the television program 20/20 this past April. It sent shock waves through the traditional medical community when I suggested that toxins and obesity were related, and that it was time we looked beyond just diet, exercise, and heredity for answers. It’s not just “calories in, calories out” anymore. We know for example that common drugs can pack on pounds. How often do we hear about people shooting up 20 pounds on Paxil or 30 pounds on a Depo-Provera birth control shot? There are at least six groups of meds in which drugs can pack on the pounds for literally millions of unsuspecting users: think of antidepressants, antidiabetes drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, mood stabilizers, and synthetic hormones. Well similarly, I believe, and the science concurs, that environmental mimics like pesticides and plastics found in food and drink packaging, flame retardants, hair sprays, shampoos, vinyl floors, dental composites, and water pipes are also unsuspectingly making us fat. In fact, a U.S. symposium entitled, “Obesity: Developmental Origins and Environmental Influences,” that took place just a year ago confirms that in utero and neonatal exposures to environmental toxins that function as endocrine disrupters play a role in human obesity.

Expanding Waist Lines

The environment is not only making us sick, but it is also making us fat. According to Dr. Paula Bailie Hamilton, who published her work in the 2002 Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, between the years of 1930 and 2000, the rise in the use of synthetic chemicals matched the rise in the number of overweight and obese adults in the U.S. Many animal studies with pesticides support his theory. Even with food intake cut by 50 percent, when animals were treated with various chemicals they more than doubled their total body fat. Growth hormones and many pesticides in the food supply are making both humans and animals fat. Pesticides act as toxic nerve agents, virtually paralyzing the functioning of certain areas of the brain involved in weight control by increasing levels of fattening hormones and increasing appetite.

Weight Loss and Toxicity: The Missing Link

We are THE toxic generation and therefore must become the DETOX GENERATION. The solution to all of these conditions is to limit consumption of animal fats because most oil-soluble toxins accumulate in fat. The problem is not the saturated fat content found in animal foods, it’s the toxins that are stored in the animal’s fat. Choosing organic dairy and meats, as well as eating organic vegetables and fruits, is another helpful way to lower your exposure to fattening toxins. For good measure, it is imperative to fortify our intestinal tracts with good bacteria, because over 75 percent of the immune system’s receptor sites are located in the GI tract-so the GI tract, especially the colon, functions as a secondary immune system.

Here’s where a good probiotic can enter the picture. R. Fuller undertook the most recent and accurate description of probiotics in 1989 that redefined it as “a live microbial feed supplement beneficial to the host by improving the microbial balance within the body.” Think of a probiotic like you do your daily multi-it is, perhaps, even more essential.

Basically, there are over 100 trillion bacteria and around 400 different strains residing in your GI tract. The key is to have enough of the beneficial and essential bacteria. The optimum balance is 85 percent friendly bacteria to 15 percent unfriendly bacteria. And the trick is to make sure that if you take supplements for your probiotic needs, your supplement can really perform.

There are certain strains of lactic acid bacteria that can attach to your intestinal lining and produce antibodies that are lethal to the most disease producing bugs like the methicillin resistant staph, as well as E.coli (which is harbored in manure used as fertilizer and then shows up on your imported foods) and H.pylori- the bug that causes ulcers, heart disease, migraines, and glaucoma. Simply put, probiotics crowd out the bad bugs by occupying most of the parking space in the bowel wall.

The most promising probiotic strain to be discovered since Metchnikoff isolated the beneficial bacteria from yogurt is the TH10 strain researched and formulated by Dr. I. Ohhira, one of Japan’s leading microbiologists, and a team of research scientists from Okayama University.

The TH10 strain is now available here in the U.S. in a probiotic formula known as Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics 12 PLUS. I have been an educator for this product for nearly five years since I discovered it and have found that after one day, my sensitive stomach no longer expe\rienced bloating, flatulence, and other assorted discomforts. The product utilizes primary research, not borrowed science.

For more information contact the U.S. distributor, Essential Formulas. They would be pleased to send interested individuals an index of relevant research materials and product information. You may contact them at 972-255-3918 or info@essentialformulas.com.

The Perfect Probiotic

* Contains only the recognized strains of lactic acid bacteria native to the human Gl tract.

* Can survive stomach and bile acids-enteric-coated capsules

* Can attach to the intestinal wall without damage

* Is free of chemicals, preservatives, and artificial additives

* Is hypoallergenic (including the capsule) and is CMO free

* Guarantees colony forming units (CFU) of at least 1.5 billion per gram

* Contains natural FOS as fortification and nutrition for the friendly flora

* Contains the medium in which the culture was grown (the supernatant) for beneficial growth by-products like antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and immune stimulators

* Does not require refrigeration at room temperature

* Has a shelf life of two or more years.

* Is safe for lactating mothers, babies, infants, and immunecompromised individuals.

The challenge we face in zist century America is that there are many modern day insidious and hidden factors that destroy our friendly flora. These include:

* Overuse of primary antibiotics

* Second hand antibiotics from beef, chicken, and pigs

* Yeast overgrowth like Candida albicans, which crowd out the probiotics

* Radiation

* Bacterial infection

* Excessive fiber intake

* Overuse of antiseptic natural agents such as Echinacea, barberry, goldenseal, and colloidal silver

* Chlorine and fluoride in the water

* Stress

* Excessive sugar intake

Ann Louise Cittleman, Ph.D., CNS, holds a doctorate in holistic nutrition. She has appeared on The View, Dr. Phil, and Good Morning America and has been featured in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Family Circle, Newsweek, Time, and many other publications. The bestselling author of The Fat Flush Plan and Before the Change and a columnist for First for Women, she lives in Post Falls, Idaho.