You know, at the Center I often recommend that our patients begin re-inoculating their gut with a high quality probiotic in order to improve their digestive function, immunity and overall Health and Wellness. But, just exactly how does this recommendation have the desired effect, and just exactly what are these “Probiotic Things” anyway?
 
Well first of all you need to recognize that “probiotics” are bacteria. Now I know what many of you are thinking right now: “Bacteria are bad”. Well I have news for you, not all bacteria are bad for you. In fact if you are Healthy, as I noted in my recent video you will carry 2 to 4 pounds of bacteria in your intestine. The bulk of these bacteria is found in the large bowel. You have at all times 100 billion bacteria on your skin, about 10 billion in your mouth, and you excrete about one quadrillion (I think at this writing that  number is still larger than our national debt) bacteria every day in your feces. Oh, and by the way in case you are thinking that your appendix, which you may or may not still have, is an unnecessary little piece of anatomy that was stuck in there for no apparent reason- I am here to tell you that  thought is completely wrong. Not only do you not have any anatomy which is not an integral and necessary part of this completely whole and properly functioning eco-system that we call our bodies, but in this case the appendix is supposed to be a storage unit for good probiotic bacteria which will be sent out into the intestine as needed. 
 
Probiotics, which literally means “favorable to life” are those bacteria which dwell primarily in our large bowel/intestines. We have some in the first portion of our intestines, the “small” intestines, but the vast majority of these guys live in the latter portion of our bowel (the large intestine). They serve many purposes including assisting in breaking down the foods that pass through our intestines after we eat. However, they serve a much larger purpose by keeping the more pathologic (disease causing) strains of bacteria which are also found in our bowel, in check. They also assist in producing vitamins B12, vitamin K, and biotin (another necessary B vitamin) for us. 
 
One of the ways that our “good guy” probiotic bacteria keep the “bad guy” pathologic/disease causing bacteria in check is by producing hydrogen peroxide, and “bacteriocins” (lethal substances to certain bacteria). These substances, along with the fact that the good probiotic bacteria will act like a “defensive lineman and literally block the attachment sites on the wall of the intestine so that the bad guys will not have a place to land, set up shop and grow. Furthermore these good guys will help support the health and growth of the intestinal lining, which is critical for proper Health and Wellness. One of the reasons that individuals end up with conditions like Crohn’s disease and colitis is because the intestinal lining, which by the way is only one cell layer thick, begins to break down in large part due to the fact that these individuals like most of you, have decimated your populations of good health producing probiotic bacteria. Much of this is due to the long term abuse of antibiotic (which literally means “against life”) therapy over the last 60 years. 

So, how do we correct for this “deficiency”? Remember as I have said to you time and time again over the last 4 years; there are only 2 things that will interfere with your overall Health and Wellness. One is a “Toxicity” of something, and the other is a “Deficiency” of something. In this instance relative to your overall “Immune System” function and “Probiotic Health” we are really dealing with both a “Deficiency” and a “Toxicity”. You can all assume, unless you have already been doing some long term work on reestablishing a good Healthy population of “Probiotic Bacteria” in your bowel, that you are definitely deficient. You can also assume that due to this “Deficiency” that you are also “Toxic” in “Unhealthy Pathologic” bacteria in your bowel. Some of the names of these “Bad Guys” may be familiar to some of you like “C diff” (Clostridium difficile), “H pylori” (Helicobacter pylori), Staph, and Strep (Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus strains). We have taken a condition of imbalance between the “Good Guys” and the “Bad Guys” and created “diseases” out of these “Imbalances”. 
 
Other conditions that have been linked to a “Deficiency” of Health Producing Probiotics” include: diarrhea, chronic liver disease, constipation, food allergies, colic in infants, lactose intolerance, cancer prevention, reductions in both cholesterol and triglycerides, acne and atopic dermatitis, and influencing hundreds if not thousands of genes and how they are either “Up-Regulated or Down-Regulated” link (link to the articles that I have written on this subject). 
 
The only way that that you will correct for this deficiency is to “Re-inoculate” your bowel with “Good, Health Producing Probiotic Bacteria”! I must emphasize that the quality of the supplement that you use is critical as I have noted before link (Link to an article that I have written previously on either “Quality of supplements or Probiotics”). You must use a supplement that will give you sufficient quantities of probiotic bacteria as well. Usually a good quality supplement will have a number of different Probiotic Bacteria strains, and the number of each in a single supplement dose will be in the “billions”. 
 
One of the things that I feel you must be aware of is that you also need to “Feed” these “Good Wholesome Probiotic Bacteria” in order to keep them Healthy and to maintain the population. This is a subject that I will cover in another article, but suffice it to say that you need to “Eat Right” in order to keep these “Good Guys” Healthy. That means lots and lots of vegetables and some fruit. 

As many of our Silver Inner Health Circle members know the incidence of food allergies is on the rise. Many children today are “allergic” to peanuts, dairy, and a variety of different fruits and vegetables. These foods should compose a large part of our “Eat Right”, but these children, and adults, have developed “antibodies” against these foods, treating them as if they were invading “bad guys” to our bodies, when in fact our bodies should be welcoming these nutrient-rich foods. There is obviously something wrong with this picture.
 
A study performed last year at Harvard Medical School linked these “food allergies”, which by the way are on the rise particularly among American children, with a concurrent rise in vitamin D deficiencies.
 
Now I want you all to stick with me on this one and listen for some of the similarities to the article I had written on “leaky gut”, and “probiotics” link. You see, what these researchers found was that the vitamin D deficiency caused changes in the development of the gastrointestinal system allowing for colonization of the G.I. tract with abnormal bacteria which allowed for subsequent infections. This in turn allows for increased permeability of the intestinal wall. Which in turn allows for normally encountered food stuffs to migrate through this normal barrier and the body in turn creating antibodies against these “normal foods”. This process then becomes  an undesirable and abnormal immune response to these commonly encountered foods.
 
The researchers go on to state that “…early correction of vitamin D deficiency might promote … allergen tolerance and thereby blunt the food allergy epidemic in children.” I would go one step further in keeping with my prior articles on “probiotics” and say that by supplementing these children with a high quality probiotic link the speed of recovery would be hastened.
 
Here are a few other studies which have found similar findings with associated issues. For example a 2007 study performed by researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital took note of the growing epidemiological evidence that associated a low vitamin D level to higher risk of asthma. These researchers went on to propose that a lack of sunlight may be a chief cause of both vitamin D deficiency and asthma. They noted that this lack of sun exposure leads to a vitamin D deficiency …”particularly in pregnant women, resulting in more asthma and allergy in their offspring.” They further state that the vitamin D deficiencies that they encountered were linked to the development of the fetuses’ immune systems and lungs.
 
One population study noted that higher vitamin D intake by pregnant mothers can reduce asthma risk by as much as 40 percent in children three to five years old. Another study supports these findings. This study is supported by the statement of the Boston researchers when they stated that: “Providing adequate vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy may lead to significant decreases in asthma incidence in young children.”
 
We here at the Center are working on negotiating with a lab to perform a “home test” for vitamin D, so that you will have a cost effective, reliable and accurate method to test your own vitamin D level. This will allow you to begin creating “sufficiency” in your vitamin D level, and be able to track your progress.

I just had my blood work done and I checked everything (vitamin D and Omega 3 levels as well as hormone levels, too). The only results that I have not received back yet are my Omega 3 levels, but I am happy to report that all of my blood work was, dare I say, “perfect!” Now I don’t say this to brag, but just to show that “I walk the talk,” and if I can do it so can you. In my opinion it really isn’t a big deal, all that you have to do is “Just Do It.” Our upcoming Fall Cleanse Event link  will get you started, and then you can continue to build on that strong foundation as others have before you link (To read testimonials from past Cleansers click here). 
 
Now, understand that these numbers can be “artificially altered” using drugs like the Statin drugs to lower your cholesterol blood levels. The thing that you MUST understand about this “artificial lowering” of your cholesterol reading is that you do not become healthier as a result of this type of “forced alteration" of your blood levels. Your blood work does look better, but you are definitely not healthier, or in fact lengthening your life as a result. By definition a drug is a substance that modifies or alters one of more of the body’s functions. Drugs are definitely not food and they are not nutrition, nor are all supplements food. Some are synthetically manufactured and intended to be used like a drug to cause a specific “alteration” in the body’s functions link.
 
Let’s define a few other terms so that you can understand what you need to begin doing. Those of you who have been Silver Inner Health Circle. members for a while now have heard me use the terms “food” and “product”. Now let me define them for you once more so that we are all on the same page. What do I mean when I say the word “Food?” Food is actually material that nourishes cells and tissues to build up and maintain physical well-being. What about a “Product?” This unfortunately is what most Americans consume, and unfortunately this form of non-food consumption is spreading to the rest of the developed and developing world. This material is “produced;” refining, over-processing, and altering food (usually grown through Industrial Agricultural production) to the point that it has little to no nutritional value. Not only do these products not provide necessary nutrients for our cells, tissues, and bodies, but these Products often deplete nutrients from our bodies. This is specifically why we use supplementation here at the Center in order to create “Sufficiency” in these “Deficient” and depleted bodies that we encounter in our patients. The term “supplement” means to add to, therefore any “Nutritional Supplement” should add to the diet. It is not intended to replace dietary food, but rather to add more food and more nutrition to your diet.
 
So, what do we utilize here at the Center and what is the “walk” that I talk about? O.K. here is my big secret, are you ready? I do my best to “Eat Right (E.R.), Think Right (T.R.), Move Right (M.R.), and Sleep Right (S.R.).” I take supplements, most of which are whole food (primarily organic) and designed and targeted for specific “Deficiencies,” and or “Toxicities.” I use food supplements like our Organic Greens First, which we will have on the website soon - but for now please call the office for more details; soon we will be able to offer our Standard Process whole food (organic) supplements to our patients/members on our web site.
 
In the mean time I want all of you to realize that the changes that I have made take time. The body will change for the better when you give it the E.R, T.R, M.R. and S.R. nutrients that it needs, but it will do it in its own time. You cannot rush it, you must give it the time that it needs to make the progressive positive changes that it needs to in its own time, and in its own way.
 
So now what you all need to do is begin “walking the talk.” Take “baby steps,” don’t overwhelm yourself. Make one change today. That could be as easy as drinking one more glass of water or one less soda a day.
 
You can do it! I have confidence in you!