Probiotics - The Bodies Internal Endangered Species
by Kimberly Shannon

There are many advances in our health care we can be thankful for today. Prior to the 1900's poor sanitary conditions including deficient sewage waste systems as well as contaminated food and water were attributed to the main causes of death aside from natural causes. Once we began to understand more about the invisible world full of bacteria, things like indoor plumbing and the sterilization of medical instruments were introduced. As time has passed, we have become more and more conscience about our personal hygiene. This has resulted in a tremendous decrease in infectious diseases.

However, while there has been a tremendous decrease in deaths due to infectious diseases, starting with the introduction of penicillin in the 1940's, new issues within the disease related causes of death cropped up. The causes of death went from infectious diseases to chronic disease conditions. People are not dying from poor hygiene, they are dying from the depletion of something else.

And this is where our discussion turns to the dark side of antibiotics. The sad truth of the matter is this - the destruction of bad bacteria by means of antibiotics also kills our wonderful probiotic bacteria friends.

While antibiotics have attributed to the elimination of so many diseases, the constant abuse of these medications, which includes prescribing them for illnesses that are virus related, such as the flue or even the common cold. Virus related illnesses are those that cannot be treated or cured with the use of antibiotics Instead, they simply kill off both good and bad bacteria inside your intestinal tract without any rhyme or reason.

With the misuse of antibiotics comes the introduction of the antibiotic resistant bacteria. This has produced a cycle that keeps getting worse. Drug companies continue to manufacture and develop stronger antibiotics and the abuses such as mentioned above continue to happen. It is a never ending cycle that is become quite frightening when you learn about the consequences.

Each and every time we take antibiotics, we are depleting our intestines of that wonderful bacteria that helps us stay health. What is the solution?

It is not a secret that both bad and good bacteria are destroyed when taking these medications. So, why is it that along with our prescriptions for antibiotics, we are not then prescribed with probiotics to replace what has been lost through antibiotics?

Although antibiotics have really reeked havoc on good bacterial growth, we have added to their damage by our more modern lifestyles. Fast food, soda, diet products, processed foods and the total lack of eating well-balanced meals are also to blame. We are living in a world of convenience which is running at a very fast pace. This causes a great deal of stress, lack of proper amounts of sleep, emotional distress and so forth. Our bodies are simply bombarded day in and day out. Our intestinal tract that is at the helm of control over the fight for good health is exhausted. And we have only ourselves to blame.

How do we prevent our good bacteria from becoming part of an internal extinct species? If you're reading this article, no matter where you live, you have access to the solution. Even if it means ordering it online.

Helping our intestinal tract is just a matter of introducing the probiotics our bodies have lost and continue to lose daily. We can do this by adding into our diets the fruits, vegetables, yogurts and other foods that contain a wide variety of probiotics. We can also add them by way of probiotic formulas. In the next article I'll be talking about some of the more common foods that we can buy to encourage our healthy probiotic bacteria to grow and outnumber the bad bacteria.

For more articles by Kimberly Shannon on probiotic supplements and how they help our immune system, visit aktiv-k12.com