“Everyone Knows Someone Who Needs This Information!” (TM)
Diabetics and obese people need this life-giving information, as do those who want to lose the post-pregnancy bulge or remain at normal weight! I am continuing this series, for friendly intestinal flora (probiotics) are crucial for health and life itself.
Be sure to read the first articles at:
Probiotics for Diabetics and Pregnant Moms – Intro
Diabetics Need Probiotics – Part 1
Serious issues for all diabetics are nutrition, immunity and energy.
Diabetics’ cells are actually being starved — of nutrition (even though they may eat well) and consequently, starved for energy production. Probiotic bacteria in kefir* actually help produce nutrients; help your body absorb nutrients; help reduce stress on the immune system and provide tools for immunity.
South African, Ingrid van Heerden, D.Sc. is aware of her country’s great need for strong immunity, as they fight rampant AIDS, as well as winter influenza strains like Swine Flu. She recommends supplementing with friendly bacteria as “probiotic containing foods like kefir are important for maintaining a strong natural defense system because they stimulate the production of immunoglobulin in the intestines, which improves the body’s immune response”.
Facts to know:
___ Your intestinal tract is colonized with more than 100 000 billion micro-organisms. So, there are approximately 10 times the number of micro-organisms in your body than there are your own body cells!
___ You have about 300 – 500 different strains of intestinal flora; only about 50% of the species are known to mankind.
___ Kefir generally incorporates more known friendly bacterial strains than yoghurt does. It’s milk-based source will be an easier transition in daily diet use than many other healthy probiotic foods. Kefir is especially good as an option for children and the elderly, as it it more digestible than other milk-based products (even better than yoghurt) due to lower curd surface tension.
___ As fewer babies are being breast-fed, and as fewer people continue to get friendly flora from raw, washed vegetables and fruits as well as kefir and yoghurt, more intestinal problems and body-wide health problems are arising, at all ages.
___ Mothers given kefir from the first tri-mester onward were able to lose more post-delivery weight than Moms who were not given kefir, a Finnish study showed.
___ Kefir helps weight loss.
___ Lack of exposure to these friendly micro-organisms is a likely cause of rising incidence of allergies and asthma.
___ Receiving probiotics via mother’s milk is one of the best ways to get your life-time resident population, says Bengt Björkstén, Professor of Allergy Prevention and Paediatrics, Centre for Allergy Research, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Encourage your new Moms to breast feed!
___ Your friendly bacteria need the foods inulin and oligofructose available from the soluble and insoluble fiber in vegetables to feed them and help them stay healthy! Foods which provide excellent sources are: chicory endive, artichokes, asparagus, salsify, leeks, onions and garlic. But, all vegetables help, to varying degrees, as these are important fiber components are available in 36,000 varieties of plants.
___ Additional sources: honey (only careful use by diabetics), rye, banana, maple sugar (again, careful use by diabetics), oats and oat bran.
___ Just the inulin and olifofructose fibers are fermented by specific, friendly bacteria in your colon, to make a positive change for you and them! They stay healthy and increase their colony size, which is important as they are your immune systems first battle-line troops. And, they make important B vitamins for you, to help you with nerve health and to combat stress, and the friendlies help you absorb calcium better. They also help to keep your intestines at the correct pH levels.
___ When the balance of microbiota is disturbed, the person involved can become susceptible to disease. You have to have the friendly bacteria in sufficient numbers to fight off the harmful, even life-threatening, bacteria. Several factors, like stress, altitude changes, erratic eating patterns, improper foods, lack of proper foods, parasitic organisms, food additives, chlorinated water, diarrhoea, and use of antibiotics, could contribute to such a disruption.
___ Several studies have shown that we need 1 – 10 billion bacterial cells of a specific strain for a probiotic to be effective. First colonization begins from the birth canal, but with increasing incidence of caesarian births, this process may not happen well or at all.
Next chance for proper inoculation is through breast milk, but we have to increase the numbers of Moms who are breast-feeding!
After that, discuss using kefir with your pediatrician, when your baby is allowed new foods, and from then on, have you and your baby taking probiotics daily, and have the rest of your family using them too!
The colonization process speeds up noticeably once solid foods are given.
Probiotics are critical if your baby (or adults) are prone to diarrhea.
___ If you are using a cow-milk based formula to feed your baby, research has shown that “ongoing treatment with probiotics can help to break down the milk sugar, improving the baby’s lactose tolerance. The colonies of good bacteria will re-establish and provide the natural digestive assistance needed.”
And, as pasteurized cow-milk is implicated in the destruction of the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas in Type 1 diabetes, this is something to discuss with your pediatrician! Newborns have been shown to safely tolerate treatments with probiotics, so talk this over with knowledgeable medical professionals.
___ Research shows that our modern lifestyle and fast-food diets are not conducive to healthy intestinal flora colonies. Period!
So, I encourage you to start incorporating more probiotic foods into your diet.
* Probiotic food choices are:
kefir
active, live culture yoghurt (read the labels!)
slow-made, naturally fermented sauerkraut or pickles — home-made or Bubbe’s brand
tempeh
miso
natto
kim chee
probiotic supplements — acidopholous and bifido bacteria strains, minimum
Be proactive. Only you can turn your health around.
Best to all — Em
(c)2009 Em http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
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