You are probably aware of what probiotics are and that they are found in foods like yogurt. Do you know how critical they are to your overall health and well-being?

Probiotics are more than just the latest health trend or fad; they are very necessary microbes. Your body needs them, so you need to find a way to ensure you get your share. Your body's need for probiotics will never diminish, so plan to keep them around for life.

Let's take a look at the word probiotic. 'Pro' signifies promotion and 'biotic' means life. Taking a digestive health probiotic supplement will literally promote your life. Although they are commonly thought to only assist the digestive tract where they reside, probiotics actually have a much longer reach.

Increasing your store of friendly bacteria will benefit your gut, your immune system, and your mental well-being. If longevity and overall health is your mission, then your relationship with probiotics needs to be a long-term commitment.

Why You Should Take Probiotics

A regular long term routine of a high potency pre and probiotic supplement
can repopulate the colonies of your digestive tract. Diet, stress, and antibiotics are known to deplete your natural stores, so be sure to replenish them. Without a good supply of friendly bacteria, pathogenic versions can take over your gut, and eventually take over your body.

80 percent of your immune system lives in your gut, so you need the good guys to be nice and settled to prevent the bad guys from moving in. Multi strain probiotics can not only replenish depleted numbers, but they can also promote daily relief from gas, bloating, irregularity, and improve your overall mood.

Probiotics support our immune systems and can stimulate the defense responses we need to pathogens in the gut. Additionally, they are known for protecting from infections in our urinary systems too.

A regular stream of probiotics will help boost your mental health and have been proven to fight against depression and anxiety. You can also benefit from the reduction of allergies and a reduction in weight. That's right. Unhealthy gut flora can undermine the most aggressive weight-loss tactics. If you are doing everything right and still not shedding the extra pounds, take a closer look at your gut.

Why You Should Stick With It

Everybody is different so no one probiotics can work for everyone. It is important to remember that you may not get the same results as another person. What matters is that you stick with it. Do not get discouraged if you are not seeing results because there is any number of reasons that the probiotics you have are not working for you.  

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Dead strains: If you are not seeing improvements, then the probiotics you are taking may not be alive. By law, manufacturers have to put an expiration date on the labels. This is to inform you when the bacterial strains will no longer be alive and beneficial.

Probiotics are sensitive organisms and can deteriorate because of heat or the passing of time. Make sure you keep them stored is cool, dark places so you can have them around long enough to get the benefits.  

Getting to the end zone: The bacteria must reach your gut because this is where the communities reside. To reach their home, they first need to pass through your acidic stomach. 96 percent of probiotics are killed by stomach acid so this is not an easy trek for them to make. Having a coated capsule will help them make the journey unscathed as well as taking time-released versions.  

Make sure you get a probiotic that has a delayed delivery mechanism to make sure they reach their destination. They are no good to you when they get hit with stomach acid.

The daily habit: Make taking your supplements part of your daily routine. If you set a specific time for them, you will never forget. It can be easy to get carried away with a busy and distracting day. You need to remember that intermittent probiotics will not be as effective as daily doses.

Since they are best when taken on an empty stomach, then have them sitting by your bedside table and take them either as soon as you wake, or right before bed. Your health will not benefit from sporadic doses, so it needs a continual supply in order to provide the benefits you seek in return.

What You Should Do Next

After you have started taking probiotics, it is a good idea to switch things up. You don't want to switch your routine up because you have a good thing going with your probiotics. What you need to do is diversify.

Your gut contains close to 500 strains of bacteria so you want to provide as many as you can. Ideally, you will have already selected a probiotic with at least 7 different strains. You can also introduce probiotics through different food sources, just to keep things varied. Try probiotic chocolate or supplemental drinks.

The more good bacteria in your gut the better, so think of it as a party and all the good strains are invited.

Since illness is an unfortunate and inevitable part of life, you will experience a time where you need some antibiotics. These are great for destroying pathogenic bacterial strains but they tend to take out some of the good guys too.

Antibiotics can severely disrupt the flora balance in your gut which leaves you open to more disease than what you are taking the medication for. If you need to follow an antibiotic course, see it through to the end but make sure you increase your probiotic supplements. You want to make sure you keep the balance maintained so you can stay healthy.  

The Bottom Line

With all the stress and antibacterial product in our lives, it is important to stay on track. If you let your friendly gut flora down, they will let their defenses down and leave you exposed to a number of serious health problems.

You need to develop a strong relationship with your digestive bacteria and this takes time. Once you have a routine, do not stray. Your intestinal friends rely on you as much as you rely on them. This beautiful symbiotic relationship can stand the test of time and see you through a healthy and happy life.

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