There are a lot of food borne diseases known in the world today. A high percent of our population, especially the inhabitants of the African continent are lactose intolerant; meaning that yogurt and dairy products are prohibited to them. Some are prone to diarrhea at the first sight of eating street foods. Bottom line is, we cannot just eat everything just because all of them are edible. The reason is that, we have to take good care of our intestinal tract because food is a very important factor in our everyday survival. For that, we need probiotics, a kind of bacteria that will help in the flushing of unnecessary and harmful substances in the intestinal tract.
Probiotics are good bacteria. A probiotic is known to have 3 to 15 million good organisms in every single dose. They help in the cleansing of the gastro-intestinal tract to maintain the metabolism of the body and to keep it from the threat of bad bacteria and other food borne diseases. Acidophilus is one of these probiotics. It is a bacterium which inhabits the human body and it aids a number of the body’s overall functions. It is also known for its use medically. Although it has proved to be useful in gaining medical benefits, it still needs medical prescription before use. Acidophilus is the collective name for all lactobacillus bacteria. To just note a few benefits which we could gain from this probiotic, refer from the list below. The bacteria are known to be enriched with:
- Vitamin K which is needed by the body for blood clotting and to inhibit abnormal bleeding.
- Lactase which is a digestive enzyme mostly active in infants because it functions to break down lactose and convert it into essential body sugars.
- Antimicrobials such as acidolin, acidolphilin, lactocidin, and bacteriocin to prevent the microbes that targets the body’s immune system
More than all that are mentioned, it also acts in treating different kinds of diseases such as:
- Bacterial Vaginosis where it is used in vaginal suppositories. A higher rate of successful treatment of this disease is owed to this type of bacteria.
- Diarrhea where the probiotic is used for specific types of individuals but most of the time used for infants.
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Lactose Intolerance wherein the bacteria acts as an elevator of recurring symptoms for these diseases.
There are many types of the
bacteria, modified to cure more medical diseases. This bacterium for the
information of many is unlike generic medicines distributed in pharmaceuticals.
Everyone who needs this probiotic must have a prescription from their
physicians. With this regard along with the need to keep it refrigerated
constantly (since this priobotic is known to lead to harmful intestinal
diseases if not refrigerated), there is a debate on which Acidophilus is best. To
settle this debate, Dr. Nicole Sundene, a Naturopathic medicine specialist
recommends four of the best Acidophilus available in the medicine world. Hence,
these four are the following:
- Jarrow: it is an over the counter medicine that is available in capsules, gums and powder. It is enriched with Saccharomyces Boulardii which is known to be effective in stopping diarrhea even those that are caused by the consumption of antibiotics.
- HLC Synbiotic: this one needs a prescription. It contains 130 billion organisms that replaces the damaged gastrointestinal tract for a week or two. It prevents the overcrowding of unfriendly yeasts that are a result of too much antibiotics, chemotherapy and the like.
- Acidophilus Pearls: it is a capsule type source of probiotic. It promotes the maintenance of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. This however is composed of vegetable and dairy components so it must be sought with a physician’s prescription all the time.
- Kyodophilus: it contains the probiotics modified to promote a stable functioning of the intestinal tract even when not using antibiotics and it restores the same system when there is an over dosage of the said drug.