Probiotics - An Effective Way to Maintain Intestinal Health

Probiotics are live organisms like bacteria and yeast, which, when induced in the body in appropriate quantities can result in huge health benefits. The intestinal tract in the human body naturally contains around 300 to 500 live organisms that help in maintaining the intestinal health and a healthy digestive system. However, if the right balance of healthy bacteria in the intestine gets disturbed, it can lead to a number of digestive disorders. Intestinal problems can also occur in case the intestinal lining is injured. Taking probiotic supplements can be immensely helpful in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal lining and a healthy digestive system.

Probiotic supplements are believed to be extremely beneficial in the treatment of various health conditions. Different probiotic strains are used for the treatment of different health issues. Let us discuss in brief how these supplements can help:

• Probiotics help in strengthening the immune system. It has been found that communities that maintain an overly hygienic lifestyle are highly prone to develop various autoimmune and allergic diseases. This is because their immune system is not made to face adequate challenges from pathogenic organisms. Probiotics help in enhancing the strength of the immune system by introducing healthy bacteria in the body to challenge the immune system in a positive manner.


• Despite the lack of adequate medical evidences, it is claimed that probiotics can be highly beneficial in treating various yeast infections like oral thrush, urinary tract infection and vaginitis. It is one of the most effective and helpful supplements that can be taken along with antibiotics. Moreover, probiotics also help in preventing the body from growing resistance to antibiotics.


• Probiotics help immensely in treating chronic constipation that can lead to the accumulation of harmful toxins in the body, consequently resulting in a number of health conditions like bloating, nausea, abdominal cramps, headache, fatigue, bad breath, mood swings and many more. Probiotic supplements help in maintaining healthy and regular bowel movement.


• In some recent medical studies, it has been found that there are some particular probiotic strains that can help in the prevention of pre-term births and also the various kinds of health complications occurring in babies due to being born pre-mature.

The innumerable positive health effects of probiotic supplements cannot be generalized owing to the fact that different strains are used for the treatment of different health issues. However, some of the significant health benefits of probiotics include:

• Prevention of diarrhea that is induced by retavirus infection or the use of antibiotics.
• Treatment of various gastrointestinal problems.
• Treatment of allergic reactions in infants.
• Prevention of excessive formation of unhealthy bacteria in the intestine.
• Relieving the health problems caused by lactose intolerance.
• Prevention of various respiratory tract diseases like cold, influenza and other infections.
• Treating Chron's disease.

If you want to take these supplements for the treatment of some particular health condition, you must consult a health care practitioner to know the kind of probiotic strain you should use. It is also advisable to know all the pros and cons of these supplements along with their potential health effects before you start using them.

Nutrition4health is a reputed brand manufacturing probiotic supplement, containing probiotic lactobacillus, acidophilus and billions of live cultures. These supplements are claimed to be the best flora probiotics in the market.

This article is by Donald Finch and can be read here:-  http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Finch

Elimination Diets: The Gold Standard for Food Sensitivities?

Have you ever gone through the rigor of an elimination diet to see if there are foods in your diet that are causing unpleasant symptoms? Many of us have, or at the very least thought about it. The classic Elimination Diet is still the gold standard for uncovering food sensitivities. It was originally invented and popularized by Dr. Albert Rowe in his book Elimination Diets and Patient's Allergies, written in 1941. We are still using his concept to this day. Many healthcare practitioners, even medical doctors, recommend these diets on a routine basis.

So what does an Elimination Diet entail exactly? As aptly named, this type of diet seeks to eliminate many of the known common allergens (or as they should be more appropriately called, sensitivities) from the diet for a set period of time, usually 3 or 4 weeks. This gives the immune system enough time to calm down, so to speak, and ample time to see a reduction in symptoms. When foods are reintroduced, the symptoms they provoke are typically obvious and more severe than previously experienced. This makes it much easier to pinpoint the culprit foods.

Here are the foods typically eliminated on a basic elimination diet:

Wheat

Gluten

Corn

Soy

Dairy

Nightshades

Eggs

Peanuts

Alcohol

Caffeine

Cane Sugar

Artificial Sweeteners

Other foods eliminated on stricter plans:

Beans, peas, lentils

All seeds and nuts

ALL sugar (including maple syrup, honey, etc)

Beef

Chicken

Pork

Shellfish

Certain chemicals (tyramine, phenylethylamine, nitrates, MSG, etc)

As you can imagine, these diets are clearly no walk in the park. They are typically only suggested for patients that are willing and able to follow the protocol with the strong suggestion that the diet be guided by a trained practitioner. The rigor of the diet can be a hurdle for some, but this can be overcome with proper education, advice, and support. Most of us Dietitians have had training and practice during our schooling and are well qualified to walk patients through the process.

While you know now that elimination diets have been around for some time, you may have noticed they have started to become re-popularized lately, almost faddish in nature. Nowadays there seems to be countless books hitting the shelves talking about anti-inflammatory diet plans and specialized eating plans that claim they will help you shed weight, increase your energy, and even make you look years younger. What do all these diets have in common? They are based on the classic elimination diet!

As noted previously, these diets can be moderately restrictive or very restrictive based on what criteria you follow. That criteria is usually decided upon by you and your practitioner and what foods they seem to think are likely problematic in your particular case. While guided, informed and well-meaning, it's essentially a guessing game. Similarly when you follow the plan put out by some author who has never met you and certainly doesn't know your history or symptoms, it is an even greater guessing game.

And there you have the number one problem with our "gold standard." How in the world do we know what to eliminate and what to leave in? Why are we never recommending someone take out apples, for example, or quinoa, or other "healthy" foods that could be equally problematic. If you are one of the lucky few that reacts to only one or two of the common allergens, then this diet works great for you. Problem solved! I've met these people and the elimination diet has been a miracle. For others, however, it ends up being just another plan that didn't work. Clearly elimination diets can be helpful, but they just aren't the answer for everyone. I know this first hand because elimination diets never worked for me.

As I mentioned previously, there are several authors and experts that are now recommending different elimination diets as the miracle plan to cure your ailments and help you shed stubborn weight. Even Dr. Oz has an elimination diet plan! Knowing what you know now, you can immediately ascertain that this may hold true for a select few. For many, these diets won't address all of the problematic foods and you just spent money on yet another book or wasted weeks of hard work for little reward.

All that being said, I do think elimination diets have their place. I have had clients who were unable or unwilling to spend money on food sensitivity blood testing (the only one I recommend is Mediator Release Testing by Oxford Biomedical) and we successfully found an elimination diet plan that worked for them. This is the minority, however. We guessed and won. That doesn't always happen. Most clients who have already tried everything typically come to find out, through blood testing, that no one figured out they were reacting to random healthy foods (ie fruits, vegetables, gluten-free grains, etc) and therefore they fell through the cracks. There is where elimination diets show their limitations and knowing the right blood test to use is crucial.

The best use of an elimination diet is with a trained medical practitioner, particularly one that knows your entire health history and can help you devise the best diet plan. A book, a TV show, or an online guide is not the way to go. Sure, those avenues have obviously helped some, but a carefully tailored plan is the best option, especially for those with more severe and chronic conditions. Of course blood testing is even better and more targeted if you can find a practitioner, such as myself, offering Mediator Release Testing. Educate yourself on all the options before starting or otherwise all that hard work may be for naught.

Danielle VenHuizen, MS, RD, CLT is a Registered Dietitian who helps her clients achieve health and vitality through food, not pharmaceuticals. She specializes in working with food sensitivities, Diabetes, Cardiovascular health, Digestive Disorders, and healthy pregnancies. For more expert health advice visit her blog at http://www.FoodSense.net

This article is by Danielle VenHuizen and you can read it here:-

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_VenHuizen

Health Benefits of Coconut Oil - How does one lidl coconut do all that?

• Organic Food
  • Organic Beverages
    • Organic Coffee
    • Organic Tea
    • Organic Wine
  • Organic Animal Products
    • Organic Fish
    • Organic Honey
    • Organic Meat
    • Organic Milk
  • Organic Cultivation
    • Organic Fertilizers
    • Organic Gardening
    • Organic Farming
  • Organic Food
    • Organic Food Basics
  • Organic Oils
    • Organic Coconut Oil
    • Natural Essential Oils
  • Organic Stores
    • Organic Stores
  • Organic Vegetables
    • Organic Tomato
    • Organic Potato
  • Organic Clothing
    • Organic Cotton
  • Organic Cosmetics
• • d Nut
  • Oils
  • Other
  • Minerals
  • Home Remedies
  • Herbs and Spices
  • Fruit
  • Essential Oils
  • Beverage
  • Animal Product
  • Cereal
  • Vegetable
  • Vitamins Benefits of Coconut OilOrganic Coconut Oil

Breaking news!  I bought some KTC Pure Coconut Oil from the internet and it
cost me about £8 with postage but I have just come back from Tesco and in
the "World" section they have the exact same for £2.25!!! So if you want to
try coconut oil, it just got cheaper!

The Health Benefits of Coconut Oil 

Organic Coconut Oil 

The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief,
cholesterol level maintenance, weight loss, boosted immune system, proper
digestion and regulated metabolism. It also provides relief from kidney problems,
heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV, and cancer, while helping
to improve dental quality and bone strength. These benefits of oil can be
attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and
their respective properties, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-fungal,
antibacterial and soothing qualities.

Coconut oil is used extensively in tropical countries especially India, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and the Philippines etc., which have a good production of coconut
oil. At one time, the oil was also popular in western countries like the United
States and Canada, but there was a strong propaganda campaign in the 
1970s spread by the corn oil and soy oil industry against coconut oil. 

Coconut oil was considered harmful for the human body due to its high
saturated fat content until the last decade (2000s) when people began to
question the claims of the propaganda.  Next, let’s look into some more
 details of how coconut oil works in our body.