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Acidophilus supplements can reintroduce beneficial bacteria into the system.
Acidophilus, used in milk in grocery stores and also sold in concentrated form as a health-food product, consists of billions of live, beneficial bacteria, taken to change the flora of the digestive system and help crowd out harmful organisms.
Lactobacillus acidophilus ( L. acidophilus ) is the most commonly used probiotic, or "friendly" bacteria. Such healthy bacteria inhabit the intestines and vagina and protect against the entrance and proliferation of "bad" organisms that can cause disease. This is accomplished through a variety of mechanisms.
Your digestive tract is host to about 400 different kinds of bacteria and yeasts. Among these, Lactobacillus acidophilus and other members of the Lactobacillus family are especially important to your health. Acidophilus is considered a "probiotic" bacteria because it helps to maintain intestinal health, and serves as a natural antibiotic against potentially harmful organisms. Taking acidophilus as a nutritional supplement will help maintain the normal balance of beneficial bacteria in the intestines and vagina.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus -
L. acidophilus
While Lactobacillus Acidophilus is probably the most well known of these, others you should know about include Bifidobacterium bifidum and B. longum. When the intestines are healthy, there are more friendly bacteria than nfriendly, or pathogenic ones; you might think of this arrangement as a kind of microbial ecology in which species have their allotted role and population density in the intestinal environment.
The primary dietary sources of L. acidophilus include milk enriched with acidophilus, yogurt containing live L. acidophilus cultures, miso, and tempeh.
Prebiotics are found in breast milk, onions, tomatoes, bananas, honey, barley, garlic and wheat.
We suggest you begin acidophilus at the start of any of the above problems, as well as when taking antibiotics. Continue taking it for one week after the problem or antibiotic is finished.
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