For the last several years I have been emphasizing the importance of reducing belly fat, but just as important is getting one’s gut into shape on the inside.  What I’m talking about is intestinal health.

Antibiotics and probiotics are two key players here.  Antibiotics wipe out friendly flora in our intestines. This was clearly demonstrated in a study of patients taking the popular broad spectrum antibiotic Ciprofloxacin, commonly known as “Cipro”, which wiped out about 30% of the patients’ good bacteria population.  After treatment, it took up to four weeks to re-establish the original level of healthy bacteria, but some strains took up to six months or longer to re-establish.¹

While antibiotics are sometimes necessary to kill dangerous bacteria such as Strep and E. coli, they have historically been over prescribed.  Many of us are all too familiar with the pink bubble-gum flavored medicine we took as children.  As adults we may have begged our doctors for a magic fix in the midst of a bad cold, hoping to ward off a sinus infection.  Little did we know the consequences.

In children, frequent use of antibiotics is especially dangerous when it begins at an early age.  For instance, children who had been on antibiotics their first year of life had a significantly higher risk of developing asthma by the age of 7 and this risk increased with each additional round of antibiotics.² The overuse of antibiotics has also destroyed people’s intestinal and immune health and led to the creation of “superbugs” like MRSA.

And it doesn’t stop there. Without good bacteria to protect the gut, other bad bacteria such as those that cause foodborne illnesses are more able to take hold in the gut.

The importance of probiotics and their positive effects on the immune system cannot be over-emphasized. I wrote about this topic in my book Cracking the Metabolic Code, and for 20 years I lectured on, wrote about, discussed, and cajoled both patients and health professionals alike on this topic. Unfortunately, many of them looked at me like I had two heads.

We are now experiencing the many negative effects of our health care system’s failure to pay attention to this area of health — untold problems with opportunistic infections in hospitals, increased problems with autoimmunity, asthma, allergies, and increased gastrointestinal diseases and conditions. Even cancer risk increases when we don’t pay attention to our gastrointestinal health and the balance of gut flora.

But there is good news. Over the last decade there has been a groundswell of research in this area, and so finally, conventional medicine is starting to recognize the role that beneficial flora plays in our health. Scientists are now looking to replace antibiotics with probiotics to both prevent and cure certain diseases.³

Here are some examples of how probiotics have been shown to be helpful in the treatment of serious medical conditions:

• In the treatment of diarrhea, probiotics help crowd out diarrhea-causing bacteria like E. coli and Clostridium difficile.
• Probiotics increase the secretion of IgA, an intestinal immunoglobulin that helps fight infections and prevent allergies.⁴
• Probiotics have been shown to both prevent4 and improve symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.^5,6
• Probiotics help lower the risk of getting cancer in several ways.^7,8

A big lesson has finally been learned, and it has been such an important one that medicine is about to be changed forever.  That’s why I predict this health issue — gut microflora preservation and balance — is set to become the biggest topic of the coming decade.  In fact you will probably hear so much about it, you will get sick of it.  But in all honesty, it is a very good thing, because it should lead to many positive changes.

So for most people, the inclusion of a probiotic in their supplement regimen is a really good idea.  Be sure to choose one that is non-dairy cultured and guarantees the number of live active cultures at any point — in other words not just at the time of production.

Fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut, and tempeh can also be helpful.  See Laura’s article for more on how fermented foods can improve intestinal health.

References

1. Dethlefsen L, et al. PLoS Biol 6(11): e280. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060280
2. Kozyrskyjm, AL. CHEST.  2007;131(6):1753-1759.
3. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060610225845.htm
4. Corthesy, B. et al. J. Nutr. 137:781S-790S, March 2007
5. Shaughnessy, A.F., American Family Physician, 5/15/2005.
6. Child M. and McFarlane G. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584833.
7. Kilkkinen A, et al. Int. J. Cancer, 2008;123(9):2152-5.
8. Rafter J et al. AJCN, Feb 2007. 85(2): 488-496.

[Ed. Note: James LaValle is the founding Director of the LaValle Metabolic Institute, one of the largest integrative medicine practices in the country.  Dr. LaValle is the author of The Metabolic Code Diet: Unleashing the Power of Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss and Vitality and the Executive Editor of THB's The Healing Prescription.  To learn more, click here.]