A Healthy, Happy Microbiome for a Health, Happy Life.
The microbiome is the ecosystem of bacteria that lives in our digestive tract. There are billions upon billions of bacteria living in our gastrointestinal tract. You might think that because its GUT bacteria, it only affects the health of our digestive system; however it has affects on our immune system, cardiovascular system, metabolism, skin health and even our mood; basically our whole body. This is why sometimes our gut is referred as the second brain. Ever think of why we get gut feelings? This is the chemicals that are released in response to some sort of anxiety we are experiencing.
About 70% of our immune system is located in the gut, as it produces immune compounds to protect us against any pathogenic bacteria that somehow entered our body. Our gut should have a balance of about 80% good bacteria and 20% bad. If there is too much bad bacteria, dysbiosis can occur and this is what can cause us to have poor immunity, fatigue and digestive issues. Symptoms of dysbiosis can include bloating, stomach pains, diarrhoea, constipation, food intolerances, thrush, UTIs, skin breakouts and bad breath.
The microflora in our gut is dependant on the foods we eat, but a lot of the time, it's unlikely we get all of the different strains of bacteria needed for our bodies through our food. This is why it's a good idea to take a probiotic. Probiotics are live cultures taken by us to recondition our guts with good bacteria and eradicate the bad. These probiotics help with breaking down of undigested food, helping to absorb vitamins and minerals, controlling our metabolism and weight, helping the function of our immune system, controlling our nervous system which affects our physiological well-being as well as our cognitive function including memory.
Research has shown that taking probiotics alongside antibiotics can reduce the side effects of the antibiotic. This is because antibiotics are designed to kill all bacteria and this includes good bacteria which causes imbalance of the gut microbiome. Taking a probiotic before and alongside antibiotics prevents the bad bacteria getting the chance to colonise the gut, which is what causes antibiotic side effects, which are the same as the symptoms for dysbiosis of the gut; diarrhoea, thrush, digestive issues, etc.
1 in 5 people do not finish their course of antibiotics. It's important to finish the antibiotic course as anti-biotic resistance can occur. This is when pathogenic bacteria is not fully eliminated and in turn the pathogens have the opportunity to become immune to the antibiotic they were exposed to. Take probiotics 2 hours between doses of antibiotics to ensure the antibiotics don't kill the probiotics.
Because they are live cultures, probiotics aren't recommended to those with serious medical conditions, immunosuppressed, pancreatitis, cancer patients, patients, patients following open wound surgery.
There are so many different probiotics we have to offer for many different ages and conditions. We have a range of probiotics for both pregnancy and breast-feeding mothers. For pregnant mothers we have our Proven Lactobacillus and Bifidus for Pregnancy Plus Multivitamins, Minerals and DHA which has all the key nutrients to support you for healthy pregnancy and as well as the baby. Our range of probiotics for the baby post birth include Proven Lactobacillus and Bifidus for Breast Fed Babies and Proven Lactobacillus and Bifidus for Formula Fed Babies. There is instructions on how to feed these to the baby on the packaging. We also have the Optibac Pregnancy probiotic which can also be used for pregnancy, breast feeding and post birth. The Dr Wolz Curabiom Baby is a brillant product for both pregnant mothers as well as for newborns and up to 2 years old. Click the images below to be directed to the product.
For the likes of babies and children, we have the Optibac Baby drops for 0-3 years which contains 1 billion live cultures or the Optibac Babies and Children probiotics for 0-12 years which contains 3 billion live cultures as-well as vitamin D which supports the immune system of developing children. Our Dr Wolz has a strong range for babies and children. Dr Wolz KinderImmun is a good multivitamin for children over 2 years old which includes probiotics in it to keep their immune system ticking over. Udo's Choice Junior Blend is a good probiotic for children aged 5-18 to help optimise their gut when dealing with issues such as constipation, diarrhoea or after antibiotics.
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For a general, allrounder probiotic, we would recommend the Bio-Kult Advanced Multi-strain Formulation or Optibac Everyday. These can be used by the whole family to maintain your gut bacteria in good balance. If you have some of the symptoms of dysbiosis mentioned above such as bad stomach pains, constipation, diarrhoea, acne, reoccurring thrush and UTIs, etc. then we would recommend Micromax. Micromax contains probiotics and prebiotics to help completely recondition the gut. It has up to 80 strains of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The probiotics will feed off the prebiotics in this formula to allow for good bacteria multiplication and allow for colonisation of this healthy bacteria. For people with more serious issues such as IBS, Crohn's Disease, after antibiotics, UDO's Choice Super 8 Gold would be suitable to get your microbiome to meet its potential.
Click the images below to be directed to the product.
We have a large range of probiotics and other products for a variety of health issues. Any questions on the recommended supplementation for any of the products mentioned or queries of recommendations to find a product to suit your medical needs, please send us a message via live chat, or email us at info@microbiohealth.co.uk.
