Probiotic, The Power of Nature.

Today's Fitness and Daily Health Tip

Before you were born, your intestines were free of microorganisms. They were virtually sterile. From the moment you passed through the birth canal swallowing flora on your way out, however, bacteria (both beneficial and harmful) began a fight for dominance destined to continue until the day you die. If you were breast-fed, somewhere between days four and seven after you were born the "good guys" won the battle and staked their claim to virtually every square inch of your digestive tract. It's a battle that's never totally won, however, as the harmful bacteria are never completely eliminated. But in a healthy body, the bad guys never get a chance to gain a foothold to colonize and reproduce exponentially. One of the problems, of course, is that every second of every single day, we are constantly exposed to billions of potentially harmful microorganisms, with every breath that we take, bite of food that we swallow, or swig of water that we drink.

Researchers now realize that one of the chief reasons breast-fed babies get so many fewer infections than formula-fed babies is that mother's milk tends to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, whereas store-bought formulas have no such beneficial effect. In fact, the primary role of colostrum, the fluid in the breasts that nourishes the baby until the breast milk becomes available, is to "launch" the baby's immune system. The net result is that, in a breast-fed baby, beneficial bacteria (such as acidophilus and bifidobacteria) control over 90 percent of the intestinal tract. These microorganisms, in turn, produce a large amount of essential byproducts in the intestines, which act as a barrier to the growth of pathogenic microbes that can cause disease and infection. When you're healthy, over 100 trillion microorganisms from some 400 species flourish in your intestinal tract. They cover virtually every square inch of available surface space from your mouth to your anus, thus crowding out all harmful bacteria—allowing them no place to gain a foothold. They also aid in digestion, absorption, and the production of significant amounts of B vitamins, vitamin K, and enzymes.