What in the World are Probiotics?

Pro biotic: For (pro) life (biotic)
Antibiotic: Anti (against) life (biotic)

I first really understood what probiotics were when one of my kids a few years ago took an antibiotic for an abscess. With everything in me, I didn't want her eczema to flare up again, so I gave her a probiotic. Since then, our family takes probiotics almost daily. I use it for cavity prevention, after someone has thrown up to get the good bacteria flowing again, before someone throws up to get rid of the bad bugs, indigestion, and as an illness preventative.

You've seen the ads. Probiotics this, probiotics that. Yet, when I suggest them to people, they still give me a blank stare like they haven't heard of them.

Probiotics are incredibly important for you immunity, your digestion, your skin, really everything.

Why do you need them?

Short explination: Your body has a balance of bacteria in your system. The good bacteria keeps you healthy. The 'bad' (I put bad in quotes because it's not that the bacteria is so much bad as it can become bad, like my little 4 year old when she wants candy and I won't give it to her), so the bad bacteria can over run the body when you don't have enough of the good bacteria and wreck havoc on your system, causing all sorts of symptoms like yeast infections, fatigue, brain fogginess, eczema, lowered immunity, etc.

Probiotics are basically your good bacteria. The bad bacteria, namely yeast, can literally eat you from the inside out if it's overrun in your system. The role of yeast in our body, is that it primarily helps your body decompose after you have died. But if you have too much of it and not enough good bacteria, it can help you decompose while you are alive.

Why does our good bacteria die off? We are inundated with antibiotics....
stress, processed food, literal antibiotic medicines, other pharmaceuticals, vaccines, plastics...we are all exposed to toxins that kill off our good bacteria.

There are tons of studies on probiotics, like how it increase brain function, immune function by up to 70%, prevent tooth decay, improve behavior, improve digestion.

Here are some studies to whet your whistle:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=8167051&page=1
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56Q4PX20090727
http://www.naturalnews.com/026802_probiotic_probiotics_disease.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/026772_colic_bacteria_health.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/024968_probiotics_probiotic_health.html
http://mizar5.com/probiotics.html

With the cold and flu season fast approaching, if you do nothing else to boost your immune system, incorporate probiotics into your routine. They come in many forms:

pill
liquid
chewable's
powder
food, like some yogurts, sauerkraut, and miso

You can also make your own probiotics quite easily and inexpensively, but whatever you get, make sure that your probiotics are refrigerated. It dies in heat, which is why people who live in hot climates need even more supplementation!

Here is a short list of symptoms caused by too much bad bacteria and not enough good:

colic....lots and lots of colic
cradle cap that tuned into a lot of dandruff
eczema/dry skin
extensive diaper rash
prolonged wheezing after illness
psoriasis
unexplained anger
joint pain
fibromyalga
digestive problems
bloating
cramping (during menses or not)
diarrhea
earaches
asthma
allergies
athletes foot
gluten and or casein intolerance/Celiac disease
fatigue
IBS/Chrohn's
endometriosis/PCOS
mastitis (breastfeeding infection)
thrush
sore/cracked bleeding nipples during nursing

To remedy this, I suggest you take the Cand-e-Cleanse from www.herbalogie.com and a good probiotic and fish oil supplement, like Barlean's Lemon Swirl (My kids fight over who gets the fish oil first, it literally tastes like liquid Lemonhead candies). I had to tincture my own cand-e-cleanse formula (and added a little bit of sweet cinnamon to offset the bitterness) to give to my kids, but once their gut was in check, the difference was amazing! I can always tell just by their behavior alone when their gut is off balance now, it's that drastic.

If you have experience with probiotics, please post which brands you and your kids like best!