Heal Your Gut with Probiotics

How well would you rate your gut health? The health of your gut can have an extreme 
impact on your level of energy, how quickly you recover from illness, and a lot of other 
daily details that influence your quality of life. One of the best ways to take care of this 
part of your body is through the use of probiotics, but there are few people who have a 
complete grasp of how these microorganisms work together to give you a healthier 
existence. In the next few pages, you find some great information on how to heal your 
gut with probiotics. 


1. What Are Probiotics?

If you’re somewhat unfamiliar with the concept of probiotics, then you’ll be happy to 
know that they could be a step towards some relief for a variety of issues in your gut. To 
get started, it would probably be beneficial to see where the belief in these tiny 
organisms began. 

To put it simply, probiotics are bacteria that are thought to have a positive effect on the 
body. The use of probiotics can be traced back to the first creations of cheese. In the 
early days of humanity, fermentation processes were used to help preserve foods that 
were considered to be valuable, primarily dairy products. 

A Brief History of Probiotics

Later, in the early 1900’s, a scientist by the name of Élie Metchnikoff hypothesized that 
the human gut could be benefited by the ingestion of microflora. This came about 
because he found that build up of large numbers of some bacteria could cause a toxic 
effect on the gut. These harmful bacteria tend to live in the large intestine interwoven 
with an overabundance of feces that has been trapped in areas of the large intestine. 

This same idea would be used to create the practice of colonic therapy, but Élie 
Metchnikoff’s primary goal was to modify the populations of microorganisms through the 
introduction of specifically selected bacteria that could combat the harmful bacteria 
populations such as those of the proteolytic type that are responsible for the complex 
tasks of breaking down or causing the rot of excess materials in the gut. 

Metchnikoff also noticed that people who had a diet the included fermented milk 
seemed to live longer lives. During this time, it became popular to drink sour milk that 
had been fermented using a bacteria called Lactobacillales. This practice became so 
popular that doctors began giving their patients instructions to drink this particular sour 
milk for all sort of ailments. 

2. What Probiotics Can Do

While it’s important to note that many people have different results with any treatment, it 
seems to be clear that probiotics have a serious place in health. With what has been 
discovered about the intestinal flora of infants, it appears that this information can’t be 
ignored, but what exactly can they do? 

They Can Help Prevent or Reduce Diarrhea

As mentioned before, scientists discovered that diarrhea could be helped by introducing 
bacteria into the intestines infants. Having such a sudden and inconvenient illness can 
put a damper on your day. Ingesting some probiotics can help you to get rid of that 
feeling in less than a day. Some studies even seemed to be able to create effective 
relief in as little as 12 hours. 

They Can Stop Constipation

You might be wondering how can probiotics be able to stop diarrhea, and ALSO stop 
you from being stopped up? This is possible because sickness like constipation and 
diarrhea can stem from a variety of factors. Hydration issues coupled with the 
overpopulation of some bacterial populations in your gut can have a massive influence 
on the way your body handles different foods. 

The resulting wastes will have to be eliminated from the body, and an interesting without 
the right bacteria to break things down can send wastes down the line without proper 
treatment.

Probiotics Can Help with Eczema 

There are a shocking number of children who suffer from the uncomfortable effects of 
eczema. Over the last few decades, the continued research of diligent doctors looking 
for cures have found that probiotics can reduce the intensity of eczema. While it’s not 
completely understood, scientists believe that they have found a door to treating the 
condition, but further research is needed. 



Your Mood and Emotions Can Be Affected

Science has been connecting diet and health to depression for years, but this is one 
component that most people might be surprised to hear. Studies have revealed that 
there is some correlation between unbalanced gut flora and emotional issues. The 8 to 
10 week studies involving the strains Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus saw some 
increases in cognitive efficiency, and were shown to have helped to control anxiety and 
depression. 

People who ingested the bacteria also saw some increase in memory function, but a lot 
more testing and funding for testing is needed before any long lasting conclusions can 
be reached from a scientific point of view. 

Weight Control

Now you’re probably aware that bacteria help the human body to do all sort of tasks. 
One of the most important tasks that the body needs hep to perform is the breakdown of 
the food you eat into its most simple pieces. Bacteria that produce acids work quickly to 
break down many of the foods that you ingest so that your body can absorb the 
released nutrients from an easily convertible source. 

As these tiny bits of chemicals pass through your intestines they are absorbed and sent 
to storage where they can be brought out at a later date to make repairs to your body, 
or as simple fuel to keep you alive and kicking. 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Even though the mechanisms that control the reaction that your body has to stimuli isn’t 
fully understood, positive results have been discovered in connection with probiotics 
and IBS. The introductions of helpful bacteria to the gut during testing have shown that 
it’s possible to slow down or arrest a lot of the inflammatory response that takes place in 
the gut for most IBS sufferers. 

In 2012 a study claimed that nearly half of its test subjects showed a decrease in 
discomfort and bloating. That is encouraging news for people who live with this disease 
and are constantly looking for a way to deal with the inconsistency of living a life at the 
mercy of a disease. 



Cholesterol

Though there are some relatively benign but useful things on the list, the points that 
remain can have a huge impact on not your quality of life, but also your longevity in 
general. Scientists have begun looking into other biological reasons for weight gain. 
Apparently, some trials based on using Lactobacillales have yielded favorable results. 
Doctors believe that introducing the Lactobacillales into the body helps the body to 
break down the concentrated lumps of cholesterol in the bloodstream.  

This is possibly because the bacteria prevents the broken down cholesterol from 
solidifying back into a mass that can deposit itself into a bottleneck in your bloodstream. 
Cholesterol that remains in the bile form will be removed more efficiently and with much 
less effort, and you’ll be more likely to feel energized and ready for your day.  

Necrotizing enterocolitis

There is nothing more frightening than having the life of your child be threatened. When 
children are very young, they are dangerously exposed in a world that has many ways 
of ending their fragile young lives. One such condition called Necrotizing enterocolitis. 
This is a condition that is caused by the contamination of their child's intestines. 
Bacteria take up residence in the child's intestines, and the bacteria begin to erode the 
wall of the intestines, causing a sort of rot. 

This type of condition can be particularly life threatening for a baby, so a lot of care must 
be taken. This disease primarily affects premature children because they haven’t been 
exposed to all of the necessary bacteria that give them a chance to fight off the invading 
populations. Over the last 10 years, tests have shown positive results on the children 
who live with the disorder.   


3. Probiotics Found in Food 

Yogurt 

Perhaps the most widely known source of probiotic flora in the world, yogurt stands 
above most of the rest as the most recognizable of the bunch. Yogurt tends to contain  
Lactobacillus delbrueckii. The acidic nature of the bacteria gives the yogurt it’s 
distinctive taste ad coagulates the casein in the yogurt to give it a more solid texture. 


Kombucha 

This popular drink is known for its unusual flavor and its probiotic content. Kombucha 
contains the bacterium Saccharomyces, which is known for its ability to directly help 
with gastrointestinal issues.  


Sourdough 

This type of bread is not only great tasting, but also very healthy for you, and will help 
you to avoid some of the processing associated with modern bread production today. 
Sourdough is another food on this list that makes a great use of Lactobacillus. That 
makes it a good bread to eat when you have an upset or sensitive stomach. 

Sauerkraut

This cabbage mixture is a primarily European food that contains a helping of 
Lactobacillus. This bacteria is famous for its ability to help people who are lactose 
intolerant to be able to deal with dairy more effectively. It’s also great for a number of 
the other health improvements that have been mentioned in this article. 

Fresh Peas 

Peas are amazing little vegetables. You might not have ever known that peas contain a 
very powerful bacteria called Leuconostoc mesenteroides. This bacteria has the ability 
to stimulate your immune system. This can help you to defend yourself from a wide 
variety of illnesses that you might be vulnerable to if you has skipped the peas. 

Kefir 

This drink is a fermented milk drink that is very similar to the fermented milk of day. It 
contains important bacteria that can help you to process dairy, and also to help you to 
break down more complex nutrients into their more simple parts for use in the body. 
These bacteria are called Propionibacterium. 



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