Use Your Gut Instinct: Take Care of Your Digestion
by Dr Carlos  Health Expert

An incredible battle is taking place every day on the unseen, microscopic level, right in your own body; a process so important that just about every system of your body is dependent on the outcome. Battleground central: your digestive tract.

Your intestines are home to trillions of bacteria- tiny one-celled organisms whose proper balance can make or break your state of health. When too many of the bad guys rise up our immune system is set into action. "Good," you say? Not necessarily. An overactive immune system is just as bad as a weak one. Ever suffer from congestion, foggy headedness, eczema, bloating, acne, depression or attention deficit? Look more closely inside for the likely answer.

So important is this topic that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is current­ly conducting studies to see the role that probiotics (foods or supplements that support our daily immune function) play. Preliminary findings are encouraging, showing that probiotics may improve conditions commonly treated by medications. These include Crohn's disease, ear infections, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, eczema, and dermatitis.

Here are some gut balancing strategies you can consider:

Tip the balance.  Give the good soldiers an edge by not feeding the fire. Bad bug strains like Clostridia and Candida love to feed on low fiber, sugary carbohydrates like bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, and candies. Start by cutting these out and replacing them with whole grain breads, brown rice, quinoa, and fresh vegetables. Because of their high sugar content, go easy on fruits and juices for a while till you get the problem under control. In certain severe cases I have even limited patients to a diet of steamed vegetables and brown rice.

Next, detoxify.  In most cases a cleansing diet is all that's necessary, but tough times can sometimes mean tough measures. Numerous herbs have the ability to target bad bacteria (Golden Seal, Garlic, and Burdock), parasites (Black Walnut, Wormwood, and Black Pepper), and yeast (Oregano, Grapefruit Seed Extract, and Tea Tree Oil).

Finally, replenish.  Natural probiotic sources include live foods like kombucha, sauerkraut, kim chee, organic pickles, miso, live-cultured yogurt, and kefir. Nu­merous probiotic supplements (look, for ingredients such as Lactobacillus acido­philus, bifidus, and thermophilus, and Saccharomyces) are sold in health foods stores. You may have to try out a few different brands till you find the right one for you.

Even a single dose of antibiotics can cause long-term damage to your gut microflora. If you must take an antibiotic be sure to supplement with one or more probiotics. Unfortunately we may not always know we're exposed. Most hand soaps con­tain low levels of antibiotics, as do factory farmed animal products and even our municipal drinking water.

A controversial topic indeed, but as research continues to show, we are not separate from mother nature and we can all learn a few more lessons in how to live more naturally and healthfully.

Healthiest regards