probiotics

Probiotics are also known as friendly flora or "good" bacteria. They occur naturally under normal conditions in a healthy intestinal tract. Fifty to
sixty years ago eating a food like yoghurt (for acidophilus) would supply more than enough probiotics, but sadly this is no longer the case. In today's toxin-laden environment many people find yhat they need to supplement probiotics in order to maintain their good health.
In the 21st century we must proactively take responsibility for our own health.
Governments cannot solve all of our health problems or provide each individual with the care they need. Therefore, our first step must be to ensure we have all the basics our bodies need for good health despite the conditions that surround us and may affect our health.
Friendly flora such as lactobacillus and bifidobacterium must be present in the intestinal tract. They work around the clock, performing numerous functions critical to good health. A good probiotic product must provide billions of viable
organisms per dose in order to be effective in today's world. Not just billions before encapsulation, but billions that will still be viable when you take the supplement. Labels can be misleading in this respect. You must also have at least three different types of probiotics, not just acidophilus.
Our probiotic not only meets, but far exceeds these requirements. We over-formulate before encapsulation at 12 billion organisms. This process is absolutely unprecedented in the dietary supplements industry. We also add prebiotics (fructooligosaccharides), which are the favourite food of probiotics. These prebiotics help keep the probiotics viable longer. In addition, we add traditional herbals that have historically been used to soothe the gut and/or support intestinal health.
We believe that our probiotic is the finest product of its type in the world. It is made to exacting specifications in a state-of-the-art laboratory facility that has no rival in our industry. In the 21st century probiotics are no longer a luxury and (fortunately!) Our probiotic is here to meet the demand.

Probiotics can be destroyed by:
- Stress
- Alcohol
- Poor dietary choices
Benefits of probiotics:
- Probiotics promote healthy gastrointestinal ecology
- Probiotics support immune function
- Probiotics provide enzymes essential to hormone
balance
- Probiotics are known to digest as much as 7% of
vegetable fibres eaten
- Probiotics digest complex carbohydrates
- Probiotics are essential for maintaining a healthy colon
- Probiotics promote healthy stool production
- Probiotics support digestion and intestinal motility

Commercial yoghurt is nearly worthless especially if they contain high fructose corn syrup which is nasty stuff. The ones I've seen have a lot of "sweeteners" in it and I personally can't stand the "thick" texture of it -- that's one of the reasons I prepare my smooties in a cheap "bullet" blender thing so that its so icy that I eat it like ice cream.

Probiotic bacteria, defined as living microorganisms that have beneficial effects on human health, have mostly been studied in the prevention and treatment of different gastrointestinal diseases and allergies. Probiotic products, however, are usually consumed by the general, healthy population but not much is known what kind of effects they have on the immune system in healthy adults. It is not clear how probiotics exert their health effects, but one of the most probable action mechanisms is the modulation of immune responses via the gut's mucosal immune system.

The study, performed by the groups of Dr Korpela, Professor Vapaatalo and Professor Julkunen, will be published on April 7, 2008, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

This study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of probiotics bacteria in healthy adults. It was found that probiotics have an anti-inflammatory potential seen as a decrease in serum CRP levels and as a reduction in bacteria-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Understanding of the specific immunomodulatory effects of probiotics may help in designing future probiotics for targeted purposes. As the effects in the present study were investigated in healthy adults, the real impact of probiotics on inflammatory variables warrants further evaluation during inflammatory processes and in individuals suffering from various types of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.

This research was carried out in collaboration with University of Helsinki (Finland), Valio Research Centre (Finland), and the National Public Health Institute (Finland). Part of the study was funded by the Academy of Finland.

Reference: Kekkonen RA, Lummela N, Karjalainen H, Latvala S, Tynkkynen S, Järvenpää S, Kautiainen H, Julkunen I, Vapaatalo H, Korpela R. Probiotic intervention has strain-specific anti-inflammatory effects in healthy adults. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(13): 2029-2036 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/2029.aspCorrespondence to: Riitta Korpela PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Helsinki, Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, PO Box 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. riitta.korpela@valio.fi Telephone: +358-10-3813026 Fax: +358-10-3813019