I’m a big fan! Probiotics (from pro and biota, meaning “for life”) are getting a lot more attention as they are recognized and being studied for health benefits that go beyond only intestinal health. Clinical studies since the 1990’s have demonstrated that in addition to gastrointestinal ills they also work to treat and prevent vaginal and urinary tract infections in women, delay the development of allergies in children, treat diarrhea in children, and can aid in weight loss.

Microorganisms, including both bacteria and yeast,  live in the small and large intestines (also referred to as the gut). Collectively, all organisms in the gut are referred to as flora. An estimated 100 trillion microorganisms of more than 500 different species inhabit every normal, healthy bowel. These microorganisms generally don’t make us sick; most are useful and necessary as gut-dwelling bacteria keep harmful microorganisms in check, aid digestion and nutrient absorption, and contribute to immune function.

Probiotics may be useful in maintaining urogenital health. Like the intestinal tract, the vagina is a finely balanced ecosystem. The dominant Lactobacilli strains normally make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But the system can be thrown out of balance by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Probiotic treatment that restores the balance of microflora may be helpful for such common female urogenital problems as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and urinary tract infection.

Probiotic therapy may help people with Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical trial results are mixed, but several small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission of ulcerative colitis and prevent relapse of Crohn’s disease and the recurrence of pouchitis (a complication of surgery to treat ulcerative colitis).

Probiotics are strain-specific, and not all strains are necessarily useful. As always don’t self-treat if you believe you have a bacterial infection or have a serious illness. See your physician and discuss probiotics along with his or her recommended treatment. Probiotics may be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems.

Some conditions which may be helped by Probiotics:

• Childhood diarrhea
• Preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhea and infectious diarrhea
• Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome
• Vaginitis
• Aid in digestion and metabolism
• Diarrhea caused by C. difficile bacteria
• Treating Crohn’s disease
• Treating ulcerative colitis
• Treating necrotizing enterocolitis, a type of infection and inflammation of the intestines mostly seen in infants
• Preventing pouchitis, an inflammation of the intestines that can follow intestinal surgery
• Treating and preventing eczema associated with cow’s milk allergy
• Aiding the immune system

Two genuses of bacteria—Lactobacillus (L.) and Bifidobacterium (B.)—are the most beneficial strains commonly used in probiotics, and a complete probiotic should contain strains of both in order to provide protection for both the small and large intestine. Here are a few examples of specific strains of these genuses that have unique capabilities:

L. acidophilus strains predominantly live in the mouth, small intestine and vagina. They greatly benefit digestion by producing enzymes that break down food (e.g. lactase, which breaks down dairy), assisting in absorption of vitamins K and B, calcium and fatty acids, and protecting against infection and disease by lowering the pH of the gut to make it uninhabitable by bad bacteria.

B. bifidum predominantly live in the large intestine and vagina, and adhere themselves to the walls of each, thus preventing bad bacteria from colonizing. B. Bifidum also produces substances that lower the pH of their environment so bad bacteria cannot thrive, and enhances assimilation of minerals.

Many more strains exist that have shown specific beneficial properties – they aid nutrient absorption, produce key vitamins, improve digestion and immunity, balance intestinal and vaginal flora, protect us from antibiotic use damage and improve overall wellbeing. Consult with a qualified health practitioner for strains that are specific to helping certain health conditions (e.g. L. Rhamnosus, called the “travelers’ probiotic,” because it has shown protection against diarrhea while traveling).

But really, how DO they count those 10 billion microorganisms in each capsule:-))

Abstract from PloS One – A Peer Reviewed Open Access Journal.  For full scientific article see

http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698

Abstract: Background

Refined sugars (e.g., sucrose, fructose) were absent in the diet of most people until very recently in human history. Today overconsumption of diets rich in sugars contributes together with other factors to drive the current obesity epidemic. Overconsumption of sugar-dense foods or beverages is initially motivated by the pleasure of sweet taste and is often compared to drug addiction.

Though there are many biological commonalities between sweetened diets and drugs of abuse, the addictive potential of the former relative to the latter is currently unknown.

Methodology/Principal findings

Here we report that when rats were allowed to choose mutually-exclusively between water sweetened with saccharin–an intense calorie-free sweetener–and intravenous cocaine–a highly addictive and harmful substance–the large majority of animals (94%) preferred the sweet taste of saccharin. The preference for saccharin was not attributable to its unnatural ability to induce sweetness without calories because the same preference was also observed with sucrose, a natural sugar. Finally, the preference for saccharin was not surmountable by increasing doses of cocaine and was observed despite either cocaine intoxication, sensitization or intake escalation–the latter being a hallmark of drug addiction.

Conclusions

Our findings clearly demonstrate that intense sweetness can surpass cocaine reward, even in drug-sensitized and -addicted individuals. We speculate that the addictive potential of intense sweetness results from an inborn hypersensitivity to sweet tastants. In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to lead to addiction.

Fear dementia? Your diet, weight more important than genes, experts say

January 24, 2012|By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel

Anyone who has a close relative with Alzheimer’s shares the same worry: Am I next?

However, a growing body of research indicates that our lifestyles — particularly what we eat and whether we’re obese — play a greater role than our genes in determining our brain health as we age.

“For years, scientists thought that Alzheimer’s was primarily genetic,” said Gary Wenk, professor of neuroscience at Ohio State University. “We now believe that, while there’s a genetic component, Alzheimer’s is primarily a lifestyle disease.”

People do carry genes, including APOE-4, that predispose them toward the disease, but whether they activate those genes depends heavily on their lifestyles, said Dr. Stuart Lipton, professor at Sanford-Burnham Research Institute, where he’s scientific director of neuroscience, aging and stem-cell research.

“A myth exists that if the Alzheimer’s gene is in your family, you’re going to get it. But that only affects 1 percent of cases,” Lipton said. “What matters most is how you superimpose your lifestyle on top of your genetic background.”

A degenerative brain disorder that causes progressive loss of memory and intellectual and social skills, Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, affecting 5.4 million Americans, nearly half a million in Florida alone, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Though no cure exists, medications can slow progress.

Good, bad news

Although Americans may have more control over whether they develop Alzheimer’s than they thought, the primary risk factors are all on the rise.

“Looking at the rising rate of obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, we’re in a bad state of affairs,” Lipton said.

Obesity is linked to Alzheimer’s because it’s a risk factor for diabetes, and diabetics have a two to three times greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s, said Ira Goodman, a neurologist at Orlando Health. “We believe that’s because their impaired ability to use or make insulin contributes to neurodegeneration” —in other words, brain breakdown.

Goodman, like other neuroscientists, recommends eating fewer carbohydrates, which keeps insulin levels down.

He cited a study out of the University of Cincinnati that found that carbohydrate restriction helped participants who had mild cognitive impairment regain mental function. Researchers divided the 23 participants into two groups. One group went on a typical diet consisting of 50 percent of calories from carbohydrates for six weeks. The other group went on a low-carbohydrate diet, where fewer than 10 percent of calories came from carbohydrates.

Afterward, cognitive function stayed about the same in the first group, while in the low-carb group, function improved, according to the 2010 study, published in the Neurobiology of Aging.

Brain experts also recommend a diet high in protein and rich in colorful fruits and vegetables. The latter are strong in polyphenols and anti-oxidants, which have proven to boost brain health.

Role of stress

Controlling stress is also important for optimizing brain function. Stress increases cortisol, a hormone, in the blood, which increases blood sugar, which increases insulin, Goodman said. The neuroscientist also does research at Compass Research in Orlando, where studies are under way looking for medications to prolong brain health and slow mental demise.

In a recent study at Yale, scientists found that stressful events appeared to cause gray matter — the brain tissue that contains dendrites, which transfer information between brain cells — to shrink. The cumulative effects of stress lead to cognitive impairment and probably to memory loss, said researcher Rajita Sinha, professor of psychiatry at Yale Medical School and director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center.

Yale researchers asked 103 healthy volunteers ages 18 to 48 to fill out questionnaires to quantify the amount of stress they’d had in their lives. Then participants underwent brain scans.

Subjects who had experienced recent stressful events, such as loss of a job, house or loved one, showed markedly lower amounts of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, according to the study published in a recent issue of Society of Biological Psychiatry.

“The dendrites shrink with high levels of stress,” Sinha said. “But all is not lost. The brain is dynamic and plastic. If the stress is dealt with in a healthy manner, dendrites grow back.”

A healthful manner includes all the behaviors that help keep Alzheimer’s at bay: keeping blood-sugar levels steady, exercising, building good personal relationships and engaging in positive activities, Sinha said.

Of course, another primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s is getting older. Today, the chances of having Alzheimer’s by the time a person reaches age 85 is 50 percent, Goodman said. That risk rises to 75 percent by age 100.

“Even if you do carry a genetic predisposition, lifestyle modifications in midlife can greatly reduce the risk and delay onset,” Goodman said.