When discussing bacteria, two points are key: 1) Make sure your body is taking in plenty of good bacteria and then 2) Make sure you are encouraging the good bacteria to thrive and not doing things to kill it off. How do we do this in our house? We take a probiotic supplement on a daily basis, eat organic, fresh produce as much as possible, minimally (if at all) wash the organic, fresh produce, and avoid using anti-bacterial hand sanitizers or soaps.
Lately, with all the hype and fear mongering over the flu- especially the piggy flu- you can find hand sanitizers prominently displayed in most public areas. Do you realize these could actually be helping spread illness, and not preventing it? See, even though the hand sanitizer companies claim that their products kill bacteria and help keep you well, what they don’t explain is that we need some bacteria in order to stay healthy. Good bacteria help keep your body in balance and ward off the bad guys from taking over. Problem is, these hand sanitizers aren’t selective of which bacteria to kill. They kill it all, up to 99%, as they claim. This is a huge problem because it depletes an already deficient (as I will explain later) body of its good bacteria, that was there to help ban the bad bacteria and keep you well. Squirt, squirt… You just rubbed it all away and now that alcohol smell is there to remind you: “You have an even bigger mess on your hands!”
What then is a better solution than hand sanitizers and antibacterial soap? If you are out and don’t have access to running water, try keeping a small bottle of colloidal silver with you. Colloidal silver is wonderful because it will kill the bad guys and leave the good guys. Or, make a natural solution with essential oils that help keep germs at bay, like tea tree oil. When you do have access to a bathroom, hot water and regular, old fashioned soap (like Dr. Bronner’s) is the best.
Probiotics are something I have always talked a lot about. Why? Well, in our current world, we have made probiotic supplementation a necessity for health and wellness. What are probiotics? ”Pro” means ”for” and “biotic” means “life” or “living organism”. Why do we have to supplement with probiotics and why can’t we simply get them from the food we eat? Current research tells us that our diet only provides us with one millionth of the healthy bacteria our ancestors used to consume. Farming practices have made our diets severely deficient- insecticides, herbicides, food transportation and storage, and poor soil all play a part in decreasing the amount of good bacteria available to us through our food. Our deficiency and the practices which make us deficient are only getting worse; therefore, I am so thankful probiotic supplementation is an option!
I have an incredible testimonial about probiotics. And, because of the cases I see in practice on a daily basis, I am even more thankful for my personal experience. Digestive problems are one of the major things I see in my office, and I believe the problem is getting worse and the cases are increasing daily. It is so sad! Our health and wellness is dependent on our digestive system because the stomach allows the good stuff in from our food and keeps the bad stuff out. If this system isn’t working at its best, we are in big trouble! I supplemented with probioticson a daily basis when I was pregnant, beginning a little before conception. Never once did I experience digestive problems while pregnant. I felt so blessed! I can only count a few moms on one hand who I know and/or see as patients that don’t experience some constipation and/or heartburn while pregnant. I was not one of them, and I strongly believe my probiotic intake had a lot to do with this. Then, once Harper was born, 14 months ago today, we never experienced digestive problems with him either. We were fortunate not to have colic problems with him (something I see a lot in the office too), he only spit up normal amounts as a newborn, and he has had at least two bowel movements a day (usually 4-6 a day is normal for him) ever since his birth. We have never gone a day without bowel movements! Talk to any mom, and you will know what a miracle that is. So many babies have constipation issues, and we are so fortunate not to have experienced this. Therefore, after religiously taking probiotics, and having both mine and Harper’s personal experience, I highly recommend them for overall health- especially for great digestion.
From now on, appreciate bacteria. They have gotten such a bad connotation, but they are absolutely vital (especially the good ones).
