by Debra Menager

Created on: February 14, 2009   Last Updated: February 16, 2009

Probiotics literally means for life: "Pro+ biota". Bacteria laced food and drink sounds unhealthy (it is, if it's the wrong type); but the right type aids digestion and improves health. Symbiotic relationships exist throughout nature; two different organisms, or species, supply something the other needs, without any detriment. Good bacteria thrive within human intestinal and urogenital tracts, allowing humans to thrive. In symbiosis, we live together well.

Since the mid-1990s numerous clinical studies have demonstrated probiotics' benefits: delaying allergy development in children, preventing and treating vaginal and urinary tract infections in women, and treating gastrointestinal disorders, such as IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

Northern Europeans and Japanese use brobiotics extensively. The United States has been slow to utilize their benefits. But recently American digestive specialists have begun encouraging their patients towards probiotics. This is a trend endorsed, and defended, by Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and others in traditional medicine.

According to Harvard Medical, good bacteria inside healthy intestines aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, contribute to immune function, and keep pathogens (bad bacteria) in check. 100 trillion bacteria, representing 500 different species inhabit every normal, healthy bowel.

Another delicate ecosystem dependent upon probiotic microflora (those good bacteria) is the urogenital tract. Vaginal spermicides, antibiotics, and birth control pills bacterial may upset the normal balance. Vaginosis, yeast infections, and urinary tract infections occur when harmful microorganisms invade and flourish. Dominant lactobacilli strains usually make the urogenital tract too acid, too inhospitable to these invaders. Probiotics assist in returning the normal balance. But probiotics are only part of the equation: appropriate treatment to eradicate infections, and to treat any secondary health conditions, is essential.

Gastrointestinal problems respond better to traditional treatments with probiotcs added to the regimen. In a clinical study, patients with H.pylori infections (cause of many stomach ulcers) were treated with a combination of antibiotics and either probiotics or a placebo. Those receiving Probiotics reported less pain, less gas, and less nausea. Lactobacillus GC has been shown to reduce by 60% infectious diarrhea in children and enfants. Diarrhea caused by radiation therapy (cancer treatments) also improved

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