progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned centThe healthy human gastrointestinal tract is resident to millions of live microorganisms that aid in digestion and produce various nutrients including vitamins and fatty acids. Short chain fatty acids produced by bacteria in the gut are needed to feed intestinal lining cells. Natural antibiotics produced by gut bacteria keep the micro ecology of the gut in balance. Altered levels of microorganisms in our gut can result in illness and disease susceptibility. Probiotics are live microorganisms (bacteria and yeast) that have beneficial health effects through restoring the balance of gut microorganisms. Beneficial effects of probiotics include maintaining the gut epithelial lining cells (enterocytes in the small bowel) protective barrier function. This prevents overexposure of the immune system to foreign materials in the food we eat and protein products of bacteria and yeast.

Indigenous flora, gut microflora, intestinal microbiota, resident bacteria, and gut flora are all terms for the collection of live microorganisms present in the gut. When the normal balance of microorganisms present is disrupted this state of altered flora is called dysbiosis. Altered flora or dysbiosis that results in overgrowth of potentially harmful bacteria in the small bowel is called small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBO). SBO is commonly associated with malabsorption, excess bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Dysbiosis results in numerous adverse health effects but arguably the most dangerous is increased gut permeability or leaky gut. There are numerous causes for altered gut flora. Overexposure to anti-microbial antibiotics and anti-fungal medications in our food and prescribed for various illnesses is a significant risk. The progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned centu

nd disease susceptibility. Probiotics are live microorganisms (bacteria and yeast) that have beneficial health effects through restoring the balance of gut microorganisms. Beneficial effects of probiotics include maintaining the gut epithelial lining cells (enterocytes in the small bowel) protective barrier function. This prevents overexposure of the immune system to foreign materials in the food we eat and protein products of bacteria and yeast.

Indigenous flora, gut microflora, intestinal microbiota, resident bacteria, and gut flora are all terms for the collection of live microorganisms present in the gut. When the normal balance of microorganisms present is disrupted this state of altered flora is called dysbiosis. Altered flora or dysbiosis that results in overgrowth of potentially harmful bacteria in the small bowel is called small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBO). SBO is commonly associated with malabsorption, excess bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Dysbiosis results in numerous adverse health effects but arguably the most dangerous is increased gut permeability or leaky gut. There are numerous causes for altered gut flora. Overexposure to anti-microbial antibiotics and anti-fungal medications in our food and prescribed for various illnesses is a significant risk. The progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned cent

teria and yeast.

Indigenous flora, gut microflora, intestinal microbiota, resident bacteria, and gut flora are all terms for the collection of live microorganisms present in the gut. When the normal balance of microorganisms present is disrupted this state of altered flora is called dysbiosis. Altered flora or dysbiosis that results in overgrowth of potentially harmful bacteria in the small bowel is called small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBO). SBO is commonly associated with malabsorption, excess bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Dysbiosis results in numerous adverse health effects but arguably the most dangerous is increased gut permeability or leaky gut. There are numerous causes for altered gut flora. Overexposure to anti-microbial antibiotics and anti-fungal medications in our food and prescribed for various illnesses is a significant risk. The progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned cent

ial overgrowth (SBO). SBO is commonly associated with malabsorption, excess bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Dysbiosis results in numerous adverse health effects but arguably the most dangerous is increased gut permeability or leaky gut. There are numerous causes for altered gut flora. Overexposure to anti-microbial antibiotics and anti-fungal medications in our food and prescribed for various illnesses is a significant risk. The progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned cent

progress of good hygiene measures such as water treatment (chlorination, filtration) is blamed in part as the hygiene theory for the rise of inflammatory bowel and autoimmune disease in developed countries. The lack of exposure to soil in childhood is also blamed as is the excess ingestion of highly processed foods containing carbohydrate and sugar levels feeding growth of bad bacteria while our culture has largely abandoned centuries old traditions of eating fermented foods containing live bacteria.

In contrast to the good microorganisms that reside normally in our guts, pathogenic microorganisms are those that can cause disease or illness when they are not held in check. They can do this through direct toxic effects on the gut, through the production of toxins that cause illness or by migrating through the bowel wall and entering the blood stream and infecting remote parts of the body.

Certain strains of pathogenic bacteria have the ability to migrate through the bowel wall by a process called translocation. The translocation of microorganism or their breakdown products is in part to blame for activation of the immune system. This activation can result in gut inflammation that further impairs the protective barrier function resulting in a vicious cycle of leaky gut related problems. If microorganisms get pass gut defensive barrier intact and reach the blood stream, distant infections can occur throughout the body including in the brain, heart, joints, and skin. Activation of the immune system and related processes can result in inflammation in these distant organs as well without actual infection.

Numerous studies are emerging that explain how probiotics, live bacteria and/or yeast that have positive health effects act by restoring the balance of microorganisms in the gut, produce these benefits.

References: Gut microflora associated characteristics in children with celiac disease. Tjellstr?m, B, et al. American Journal of Gastroenterology 2005; 100; 2784-2788

Bacterial antigens alone can influence intestinal barrier integrity, but live bacteria are required for initiation of intestinal inflammation