Probiotics are bacteria, but they’re not the harmful bacteria that cause illness and infection. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), probiotics are live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. A  wide variety of these helpful bacteria live naturally in our bodies and help keep us healthy. By some estimates, our bodies contain more healthy bacteria cells than human cells.

These helpful bacteria comprise the “microflora” which inhabit our digestive and urogenital, including vaginal, tracts. They play a key role in our bodies’ natural defense systems, by resisting harmful bacteria and other organisms like yeast. But their numbers can easily be diminished by a variety of factors, including stress, diet, menstruation, age, obesity, the environment, and the use of oral contraceptives or antibiotics. When this happens, we become susceptible to illnesses and infections.

Antibiotics are commonly used to fight harmful bacteria and their effects on us. But antibiotics can also destroy helpful bacteria in the process. This then becomes a vicious cycle, diminishing protective microflora in an effort to make up for the lack of them.

There is, however, a natural alternative. By introducing new, healthy bacteria into our systems, we can help to restore our bodies’ normal balance. This reinforces our natural immune systems, so our bodies can continue to fight illness and infection.

To help maintain a healthy balance between yeast and bacteria, many health professionals recommend probiotic supplements such as Florajen Acidophilus with 11 billion beneficial bacteria including acidophilus in each capsule.

On-going Research:

Scientists are learning more each day about the role of microbes in keeping people healthy and the multitude of health benefits associated with consuming the right type and levels of probiotic microbes.

Research has suggested that probiotic bacteria can:

• Help reduce the risk of certain diarrheal illnesses

•  Assist lactose intolerant people with lactose digestion

• Enhance the immune function

Some preliminary studies also report that certain probiotics can play a role in reducing the development of allergy in children, decreasing Helicobacter pylori colonization of the stomach, helping patients cope with side effects of antibiotic therapy, managing relapse of some inflammatory bowel conditions, decreasing the risk of certain cancers, decreasing dental-caries-causing microbes in the mouth, and keeping healthy people healthy.