The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “bacteria” is probably some sort of microorganism that can wreak havoc on your health. This may be true in a lot of cases, but not all the time. There are, in fact, ‘good’ bacteria that are living mostly in our intestines that serve as our guards against ‘bad’ bacteria. By increasing the number of these good bacteria, a person will be able to fight bad bacteria much more effectively. This is where the health benefits of probiotics come into play.

The ‘good’ bacteria are also known as probiotics. Probiotics are essential to a fully-functioning immune system, and can be increased or restored through the intake of certain food products and supplements alike. Increasing the amount of good bacteria in the gut by taking it as food or in liquid form or through food consumption can help improve overall health through enhancing gut health. Ingesting large quantities of good bacteria may seem like a new concept, but it really isn’t. In Europe, people have been eating foods like yogurt and cheese that are filled with probiotics. The same is true in Japan as well where probiotics drinks are widely popular.

What exactly are the health benefits of Probiotics?

• Probiotics may be able to improve mental health through restoring beneficial gut flora.

• Probiotics can counter the many negative effects of antibiotics, as antibiotic use permanently destroys the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut.

• For women, probiotics help in preventing yeast, vaginitis and other vaginal infections.

• The human body fights tumors and other forms of cancer naturally. Probiotics helps the human body in fighting carcinogens.

• Probiotics helps in food digestion.

• Probiotics enhances the immune system.

There are many health benefits of probiotics, noticed by cultures around the world. People in Asia and Europe, where Probiotics are widely used, have long been realizing the health benefits of this food supplement. If you are looking to improve your health, especially your digestive system, you should begin incorporating foods rich in probiotics into your diet or procuring a high quality probiotics supplement. Fermented food items such as sauerkraut, tempeh, miso or kefir are all rich sources of probiotic bacteria.