The term probiotics suggests the opposite of antibiotics, and for good reason. Probiotics are the natural live microbial supplements that are known to be beneficial in maintaining intestinal balance.

Most people are familiar with antibiotics, which physicians prescribe to combat strains of bacteria which cause disease. In contrast, other strains of bacteria promote health and are called probiotics, from the Greek meaning "for life." Probiotics are live microbial supplements which beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal balance. Although anecdotal health claims for the regular consumption of cultured dairy products have circulated for centuries, only in this century have scientists begun to understand how these foods support health.

In 1908, Nobel Prize-winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff of the Pasteur Institute in Paris provided the first evidence that microorganisms may be responsible for the health-promoting effects of fermented milks. After observing that Bulgarian peasants lived to ripe, old ages, Metchnikoff became convinced that their health and longevity were linked to microbes in the soured milk they copiously drank. In his book The Prolongation of Life, he suggested that disease-causing ("bad") bacteria could be eliminated by ingesting large amounts of Bulgarian sour milk, which contained a beneficial ("good") bacterium later identified as Lactobacillus bulgaricus. These organisms were part of a group called Lactobacilli, or bacteria that produce lactic acid as an end product of milk fermentation.

Organisms require good bacteria to break down nutrients for digestion. Living systems require bacteria to decompose waste. Unfortunately, antibiotic therapy kills all bacteria, both bad and good, thus debilitating digestion and slowing decomposition. Also, by relying on antibiotics, organisms never develop their natural immune response mechanisms. They become even more vulnerable to disease. Further, continued use of antibiotics has, in some cases, led to stronger, more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Antibiotics increasingly fail against common bacteria, leaving some deadly diseases untreatable, in animals and humans alike.

Because antibiotics are used liberally in the production of many human food sources, these syndromes tend to pass to humans through the food chain. As a result, destructive bacteria are getting stronger while humans and our food sources are getting weaker.

Probiotics reduce the level of infection and mortality. Probiotics out-compete disease-causing bacteria for food. When our bodies are introduced to a large quantity of these good bacteria -- probiotics -- it is like unloading several busloads of hungry tourists at an all you-can-eat buffet. In their haste to chow down, the newcomers bump the pre-existing bad bacteria out of the nutrient queue. The old bacteria, often bad bacteria, never having had to compete for food, cannot keep pace with the aggressive probiotics.

Probiotics allow the body to become less inhabitable for bad bacteria. Not only do probiotics bacteria have terrific appetites; they excrete enzymes -- exoenzymes -- as a natural byproduct of their metabolic activity, just as humans perspire. The enzyme excretions infuse the flora medium, changing its chemistry. Conditions become even less copacetic for the bad bacteria, already weakened from losing out at the trough.
Probiotics speed the breakdown of organic waste fragments (dissolved proteins and unused feed), thus lessening sludge build-up. If sludge is not removed or does not decompose, dangerous concentrations of sulfide, nitrite, ammonia and various organic acids can occur.

Long before it became possible to see bacteria with the aid of microscopes, people used these minute organisms to produce cultured dairy products such as cheese, sour cream, and yogurt. Fermented milks have been safely consumed throughout the world for thousands of years, as evidenced by their depiction in Sumerian wall paintings dating back to 2500 B.C. and their mention in the Old Testament (Genesis 18:8). Yogurt consumption is part of the folklore of many long-lived populations, including the Ural Mountain people, many of whom live more than 100 years! Widely recognized as an important part of a healthy diet, cultured dairy products have grown in popularity, with more cultured dairy foods available today than ever before.

FOOD SOURCES OF LACTOBACILLI* FROM AROUND THE WORLD

THE BIRTH OF PROBIOTICS

LACTIC ACID-PRODUCING BACTERIA TIP THE SCALES TOWARDS HEALTH

The human gastrointestinal tract is a diverse and complex ecosystem harboring more than 400 species of bacteria. Their importance is demonstrated by their impressive presence: The large intestine alone contains about 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) of bacteria! This quantity of bacteria is not surprising given the tremendous effect of bacterial growth and metabolism on human health.

Not all bacteria are created or act equally, however. Some benefit the body and are required for optimal health, whereas others harm the body by producing toxins and even carcinogens. Those producing lactic acid promote health. By turning lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid, they lower the pH of the colon and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. When lactic acid-producing bacteria are in short supply, undesirable bacteria can increase in number. The results can range from simple digestive discomfort to more serious gasrrointestinal disease. Imbalance - a scarcity of "good" bacteria or a surplus of "bad" bacteria - can set the stage for a cascade of events that may ultimately trigger disease.

EXAMPLES OF LACTIC-ACID PRODUCING ("GOOD") BACTERIA

Bifidobacterium bifidum
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus casei
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Streptococcus thermophilus

Did you know... some good bacteria have names that sound like bad bacteria?

Streptococcus, for instance, can be a beneficial bacterium, although most people think of strep throat when they hear the word. Streptococcus refers only to the shape of the bacterium, and has nothing to do with its ability to promote health or cause disease. (Strept means 'twisted" and coccus means "round.") Streptococcus thermophilus, Streptococcus cremoris, and Streptococcus faecium have been safely used for centuries to produce cultured dairy products.

EXAMPLES OF POTENTIALLY PATHOGENIC ("BAD") BACTERIA

Clostridium botulinum
Escherichia coli
Salmonella typhimurium
Shigella dysenteriae

Normally, there is a balance among the various bacteria inhabiting the intestine. However, with the onset of disease or the use of antibiotics, this balance is upset and the Lactobacilli are among the first to become depleted.

HOW BENEFICIAL BACTERIA PROMOTE HEALTH

Lactic acid-producing bacteria tend to healthfully combine with toxins (which may include cholesterol, heavy metals, and carcinogens) and bile acids. While this action prevents toxic products from being reabsorbed, it kills the microorganisms, which are then eliminated from the body as solid waste. This mechanism may help explain the increased longevity of people who regularly consume cultured dairy foods.

Lactobacillus acidophilus ("acid-loving, lactic acid-producing bacterium"), the most well- known bacterial hero, first gained attention as a dietary supplement in the 1920s. In 1935 the first results of clinical trials were published that showed that acidophilus normalized bowel function in patients with chronic constipation.

Since then, scientists have identified many other health benefits of lactic acid- producing bacteria, presumably resulting indirectly from their ability to:

• produce lactic acid, thereby increasing the acidity of the intestines and inhibiting bacterial villains such as Clostridium, Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli.
  
  
• decrease the production of a variety of toxic or carcinogenic metabolites. For instance, Lactobacillus acidophilus can suppress the formation of cancer-causing amines and cancer-promoting enzymes in the intestines of humans and animals.
  
  
• aid absorption of minerals, especially calcium, due to increased intestinal acidity.
  
  
• use lactose, to which many people are intolerant, to produce lactic acid. Because cultured milk products are much lower in lactose, they are better tolerated than milk alone. Additionally, Lactobacilli are capable of producing enzymes that break down lactose.
  
  
• produce a wide range of antibiotic substances (acidophilin, bacteriocin, etc.) which help control the level of pathogenic bacteria and ftingi such as Candida.
  
  
• produce vitamins, especially B-vitamins and vitamin K.
  
  
• act as barriers to prevent pathogenic bacteria from colonizing the intestines.

Good bacteria increase the resistance to disease. When resistance is low, the content of lactic acid bacteria in the intestines is considerably lower than usual. A compelling demonstration of this fact was an experiment in which only 10 bad bacteria (Salmonella) were necessary to kill a guinea pig with an inadequate amount of beneficial microflora, but about a trillion cells were required to kill an animal with its frill natural beneficial bacteria present!

HEALTH BENEFITS OF BENEFICIAL BACTERIA

Scientific literature documents the healthful effects of cultured dairy products and/or probiotic supplements in a number of conditions:

• diarrhea
• constipation
• colitis (inflamed colon)
• gastroenteritis (inflamed stomach and intestines)
• infections with pathogenic bacteria and fungi (e.g., yeast infections, infections causing food poisoning, etc.)
• flatulence
• lactose intolerance
• impaired digestion
• cancer, especially colon cancer
• poor utilization of food nutrients

The following factors can deplete good bacteria and upset their balance in the intestines:

• antibiotics, which can kill good as well as bad bacteria
• other drugs
• infections (bacterial, viral, and fungal)
• diet (highly processed, low-fiber foods)
• chronic diarrhea
• stress

• nutritional status
• efficacy of medications
• physiological function
• aging
• cancer
• immune response
• infection
• comfort

• Due to pasteurization, most popular brands of yogurt do not contain live cultures.
• Laboratory tests of various cultured milk products have shown that the bacterial strains that are supposed to be there often are not present or are present in very low levels.
• Cooked foods do not contain live organisms. All cultured dairy products should be eaten raw to take advantage of any probiotic benefits.
• Beneficial bacteria cannot survive the acidic environment of the stomach. Therefore few live organisms make it to the intestines to exert their beneficial effects.

Potency guaranteed! RBC's Mega Acidophilus are cultivated under strict conditions to guarantee high levels of active bacteria -much higher numbers than are found in a serving of cultured dairy foods! In fact, one capsule of Acidophilus supplement contains over 1 million live strains of acidophilus, and our Mega Acidophilus contains over 1 billion live strains for the ultimate in intestinal health.