By Dr. Joseph Mercola
     with Rachael Droege

Back when the soil in which our food was grown was healthy and unpolluted, humans regularly consumed beneficial soil- and plant-based microorganisms along with their food. These organisms helped to digest the food and keep pathogenic substances in check. However, during the last five decades pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals have generally destroyed the richness of our country's soil, including the beneficial microorganisms, commonly known as probiotics.

Meanwhile, our diets have grown increasingly focused on processed foods, sugars and refined grains, and our environment is full of chemicals, pollution and pharmaceuticals. For most, this has led to a substantial increase in harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract. Everyone has about 100 trillion bacteria in their gut; ideally, beneficial bacteria should make up about 85 percent of the intestinal tract, and harmful bacteria about 15 percent. However, most Americans have the inverse ratio of 15 percent good bacteria to 85 percent bad. This can seriously compromise the immune and digestive systems, leading to a number of chronic diseases, and likely plays a large role in the estimated 100 million Americans who suffer from some form of digestive disease.

If Americans were eating truly healthy diets it would generally be possible to maintain a healthy bacterial balance in the gut without the use of probiotics. However, as I mentioned above, our typical diets are so dependent on sugars and grains that nearly everyone can benefit from probiotics, as nearly everyone has a ratio of good to bad bacteria in their gut that favors the bad bacteria.

Typically, when you hear about the benefits of 'friendly bacteria' it has been assumed that the bacteria must be live in order to boost your digestive system. However, the researchers of a study in the February 3, 2004 edition of Nature say that live bacteria aren't necessary. They tested the effects of good bacteria on mice with colitis, a condition similar to inflammatory bowel disease in humans, and found the bacteria were just as effective when inactivated with gamma-ray radiation as when live cultures were used. This means that probiotics would yield health benefits regardless of whether or not they were live.

Here is just a partial list of symptoms that can often result from an imbalance of bacteria in the intestinal tract:

• Gas, Bloating and Indigestion
• IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Diarrhea and/or Constipation
• Skin problems such as Acne, Eczema & Psoriasis
• Bad Breath and Body Odor
• Delayed development in children
• Candida Yeast Infections
• High Cholesterol Levels
• Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia
• Frequent Colds and Flu

The best type of probiotics, which are often referred to as "nature's first probiotic," are Homeostatic Soil Organisms (HSOs). HSOs are grown in a substrate of naturally occurring live enzymes, vitamins and minerals that are designed to optimize the digestive terrain, bowel and immune system function. These unique microorganisms are shown to devour undigested matter, and eliminate yeast, parasites and bad bacteria from the intestines.

Unlike many other forms of probiotics, HSOs are not affected by stomach acid, so they're able to move through the intestinal tract where they form colonies along the intestinal walls, actually crowding out harmful bacteria and pathogens. They work to improve the environment of your intestinal tract by:

• Dislodging accumulated decay from the walls and flushing out waste
• Breaking down foods to its most basic elements, which allows total absorption through the digestive system
• Producing specific proteins that act as antigens that boost the immune system's ability to ward off disease
• Combating harmful molds, yeasts, fungi, bacteria, parasites and viruses
• Working with tissue and organ cells to metabolize protein and eliminate toxic waste
• Stimulating the body's production of natural alpha-interferon, an immune system enhancer and virus inhibitor
  

We now offer Probiotics, the purest and most highly effective probiotic, in our Web site store to give readers easy access to this beneficial line of probiotics. Of course, if you want to achieve optimal results you must use Probiotics in conjunction with a healthy diet, which means increasing your intake of metabolically appropriate vegetables and decreasing your intake of sugar and carbohydrates.

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