This past week I was watching my local PBS station and there was a show on called The Road to Perfect Health with Brenda Watson. It seemed pretty interesting even though it was about a subject that I am completely unfamiliar with…probiotics. It was a fund-raising show so it took several very long sales interruptions (well worth it, but still long) before I got to see the entire show.
I started to write frantically when I realized how important this topic is for my health, and I knew I wanted to share the information with you. My notes are sketchy, but if you are interested in stopping (according to Brenda) just about everything from a cold to cancer, then probiotics is something worth researching.
Probiotics are the healthy/good bacteria in our intestines that eliminate the harmful bacteria that attack us from sources such as our water, food, and air. What else is left!? Brenda showed some interesting graphics of how these healthy bacteria attack and eliminate the harmful bacteria before it can cause any damage.
Brenda said that some of the biggest problems are we are eating too many “dead” foods. Processed foods don’t have any good bacteria, in fact, if you listen to nutritionists you’ll know that processed foods don’t really supply anything that we need to survive, just empty calories that make us think we are full. We are full…but not nourished.
She listed the Six Factors that Destroy “GPS” (I don’t remember what that stands for, but it’s your good bacteria). They are:
1. Over prescribing of antibiotics. This is coming from both physicians and also because our meat and farm-raised fish are loaded up with antibiotics to prevent them from getting sick and wiping out the entire population of animals. Naturally this means that dairy products are also a primary carrier of excess antibiotics. So that milk and yogurt you are consuming isn’t helping you as much as you’d like, unless you are certain that it comes from animals who organically raised.
2. Micro-organisms. Candida (yeast) is more rampant than most of us suspect. The rise of yeast infections also parallels the rise in the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are known to promote GI (gastro-intestinal) candida overgrowth, and even penetration of the GI mucosa. Even more frightening is the fact that studies have shown that 33% of the people have parasites that range from tiny to large worms in their intestinal systems!
3. Long term use of acid-suppressing medicines. Stomach acid is the first line of defense against unfriendly bacteria. Taking acid-suppressing medicines forces the stomach to over-work to produce the proper level of acid to digest foods. Each time you take, for example, Tums, you force the acid to neutralize and it goes lower than the body requires. This forces the body to create more acid, which you then suppress again with more Tums. This becomes a big revolving door and not only are you not digesting your food properly, but you can be setting yourself up for a possible ulcer as the body produces more and more acid.
4. Incomplete food digestion. As mentioned above, stomach acid is required to digest food properly. When food is inadequately digested and begins to travel through your intestines it will cause bloating and other conditions that harm our health.
5. Environmental Toxins. Air pollution (inside is often worse than outdoors), pesticides, dyes, heavy metals, etc. Brenda strongly suggested we use non-toxic cleaning products. This is especially important if you have children or elderly members of your family, or if anyone currently has a compromised health situation.
6. Aging of Bifido (good) bacteria. Even healthy bacteria declines with age and can become less effective at fighting bad bacteria. It is important to take high-quality probiotics to replace the aging bifido.
As you know, I have found so much evidence that Shaklee has the purest, natural, live, nutritional products, so I looked up on the site and found excellent probiotics. For years I’ve already been using Shaklee cleaning products because they don’t have toxins and all the allergens that are so common in other cleaning products. In fact, Shaklee has been producing organic cleaning products many years before it became popular (and profitable), because Dr. Shaklee was so determined to help people stay healthy.
I wish you could have seen the program, but maybe Brenda will be on your local PBS channel when they are doing their fund-raising event.
Wishing you well,
Julie