Dr Mercola - Probiotic food produced locally represents a nutritious and affordable means for people in some developing countries to counter exposures to toxic metals. Probiotics also have dozens of other beneficial pharmacological actions,4 including: Anti-bacterial Anti-allergenic Anti-viral Immunomodulatory Anti-infective Antioxidant Antiproliferative Apoptopic (cellular self-destruction) Antidepressive Antifungal Cardioprotective Gastroprotective Radio- and chemo protective Upregulates glutathione and certain glycoproteins that help regulate immune responses, including interleukin-4, interleukin-10, and interleukin-12 Downregulates interleukin-6 (a cytokine involved in chronic inflammation and age-related diseases) Inhibits tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitor, NF-kappaB, epidermal growth factor receptor, and more Its also important to realize that your gut bacteria are very vulnerable to lifestyle and environmental factors. Some of the top offenders known to decimate your microbiome include the following—all of which are best avoided: Sugar/fructose Refined grains Processed foods Antibiotics (including antibiotics given to livestock for food production) Chlorinated and fluoridated water Antibacterial soaps, etc. Agricultural chemicals and pesticides Pollution Brain Health Is Strongly Tied to Gut Health While many think of their brain as the organ in charge of their mental health, your gut may actually play a far more significant role. Mounting research indicates that problems in your gut can directly impact your mental health, leading to issues likeanxiety and depression.5 For example: • One proof-of-concept study6, 7 conducted by researchers at UCLA found that yogurt containing several strains of probiotics thought to have a beneficial impact on intestinal health also had a beneficial impact on participants brain function; decreasing activity in brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation such as anxiety. • The Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility8 reported the probiotic known as Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001normalized anxiety-like behavior in mice with infectious colitis by modulating the vagal pathways within the gut-brain. • Other research9 found that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus had a marked effect on GABA levels—an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is significantly involved in regulating many physiological and psychological processes—in certain brain regions and lowered the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior. Previous studies have confirmed that what you eat can quickly alter the composition of your gut flora. Specifically, eating a high-vegetable, fiber-based diet produces a profoundly different composition of microbiota than a more typical Western diet high in carbs and processed fats. This is part and parcel of the problem with most commercially available yogurts—theyre widely promoted as healthy because they contain (added) probiotics, but then theyre so loaded with ingredients that will counteract all the good that theyre basically useless... The negative effects of the sugar far outweigh any marginal benefits of the minimal beneficial bacteria they have. Remember, the most important step in building healthy gut flora is avoiding sugar as that will cause disease-causing microbes to crowd out your beneficial flora. Surprisingly, Mark Kastel notes that some of the organic brands of yogurt actually contained some of the highest amounts of sugar! Its important to realize that some yogurt can contain as much sugar as candy or cookies, which most responsible parents would not feed their children for breakfast. Artificial flavors are also commonly used.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 09:11:31 +0000
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