ACIDOPHILUS

Louis Pasteur discovered pasteurization, the method of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria. Years later at the pasteurization institute, Elie Metchnikoff researched and discovered the health-promoting capabilities of lactobacillus bacteria when he observed that people who ate yogurt tended to live longer.

More than 400 different kinds of bacteria live in our gastrointestinal tract. The body depends on beneficial bacteria to manufacture B vitamins as well as to produce lactase and other antibacterial substances.

60 to 70 MILLION AMERICANS SUFFER FROM DIGESTIVE DISEASES
(According to the National Digestive Disease information clearinghouse in Bethesda, MD.)

Commercial food processing procedures often destroy viable beneficial organisms, making it difficult for the body to maintain good intestinal flora. Even the majority of yogurt products no longer contain a viable acidophilus culture. Preservatives, additives, high-fat diets, alcohol, birth control pills, and stress can all result in poor intestinal flora. Antibiotic drugs are especially damaging to intestinal flora and kill all kinds of bacteria, both good and bad. The effects of antibiotic use on intestinal flora can last for weeks even after the drug is discontinued; often leading to yeast overgrowth, chronic infections, poor digestion, fatigue or allergies.*

Acidophilus supplements can reintroduce beneficial bacteria into the system. Important benefits of acidophilus supplementation can include:

1. Keeping constipation and diarrhea under control.
2. Counteracting lactose intolerance by its association with lactase.
3. Reduction of bad breath.
4. Reduction of internal gas.
5. Cholesterol control by promoting normal absorption of dietary fats.
6. Suppression of candida yeast.
7. Suppression of a number of intestinal disorders.
8. Prevention of intestinal contamination from infectious organisms common in some foreign countries.

Sources:
Stay Healthy With Nutrition, Elson M. Haas, M.D., Celestial Arts Publishing 1992.
Nutrition Science News, Anthony Cichoke, D.C. August, 1997
Intestinal Bacteria and Health, T. Mitsuaka, Harcourt Brace, 1978
Annals of Internal Medicine, H.D. Hilton and P. Isenberg, 1992

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended for the diagnosis or treatment of any heath problem or for the prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have and/or suspect you might have a health problem, are pregnant and/or nursing.