Good bacteria, called Probiotics, are friendly to the human body, and actually are very important to have inside of us. While many of us have heard of probiotics some people are still unsure or even confused as to exactly what they are and what they do.
I have been asked number of times to provide some clarity on this subject.
The following is a Q & A of the most common questions about probiotics. These are some of the questions that I have been asked over the years. At the end I have provided a brief list of the main points to know about probiotics as well as shopping points.
What are Probitics exactly?
Probiotics are bacteria that live in our bodies. Trillions of living cultures of actual bacteria. There are more of these bacteria living inside of us than there are cells that make up our body. An estimated 500-600 trillion live cultures of probiotic bacteria live inside the human body (the body is made up of an estimated 100 trillion individual cells). …show more content…
Yes. The word Pro-biotic is a contraction of the Latin - for (pro), and the Greek - life (bio), "for life." Probiotic means "for life." Probiotics are also referred to as friendly bacteria or intestinal flora.
Are these bacteria a part of my body?
No, probiotics are living organisms separate from our bodies but living within us. They have been there since birth and are supposed to be there. We actually need them.
Why do we have them?
Probiotic bacteria form a symbiotic relationship living within us. What they do for us is mainly two-fold.
Probiotics are an important part of digestion where they perform the final breakdown and absorption of nutrients from the food we eat. Our body cannot effectively get nutrition without these