The Importance of Good Gut Bacteria

Is your diet loaded with highly refined foods?  Do you have a history of taking antibiotics, birth control pills and steroid hormones?  Do you drink chlorinated water?  Do you have a history of leaky gut, irritable bowel, colitis or Crohn’s disease?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, then there is a good chance that you have killed off much of the “good bacteria” that is found in our intestinal system. 

The primary function of the intestinal good bacteria is to 1) make vitamins for the body, 2) absorb nutrients from our food, 3) provide fifty (50) percent of our immune system, which protects us from infections, illnesses and diseases, 4) provide a barrier to keep foreign invaders from crossing into our systemic circulation, 5) keep the proliferation of the bad bacteria (yeast, fungus, candida, parasites) to a minimum.

At birth we are born with a tremendous amount of good bacteria and a small amount of bad bacteria.  It is this balance of power that keeps us in a state of good health.  It is when this balance of power is disturbed and the bad bacteria increases that can lead to health problems.  Such as a diet high in refined carbohydrates, a history of taking antibiotics, birth control pill and steroid hormones.  These are known to kill off and disrupt the balance of good and bad bacteria in our intestines.

The problem is toxins resulting from an overgrowth of bad bacteria (yeast, fungus, candida or parasites) are released into our system.  If the bad bacteria is held in check the body can handle the production of these toxins.  However, when there is an overgrowth of bad bacteria, toxins are produced that enter into the body’s systemic circulation.

These toxins are released in our system, cross over the gut wall, infiltrate our systemic circulation and cause problems with our health.  When these foreign invaders enter our blood stream a host of reactions occur.  Antibodies and histamines are released and depending on how strong our immune system functions will determine how well we protect ourselves from any type of  infection or disease.  Many of today’s health concerns such as fatigue, hormonal difficulties, weight loss, degenerative diseases and auto-immune diseases may be linked to an inappropriate balance of intestinal bacteria.

Many people take several rounds of antibiotics for infections and illnesses.  They have also taken birth control pills in years past.  However, if you do have a history of antibiotics, birth control pills, steroid hormones or a diet high in refined carbohydrates, you have probably disturbed the balance of intestinal bacteria.  The question we need to be asking is what have we done to restore balance?  Therefore, supplement our diet with probiotics (lactobacillus acidophilus and bifido bacterium) will help restore intestinal balance any put us back on the road to good health.

Dr. Len Lopez