Show Notes: Bacteria Are Like Darth Vader

Posted On April 16, 2011

Remember when life was simple? Cholesterol was bad for you, fats were bad for you, bacteria were bad for you.

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Now we look at them like the modern day villains of the screen — bad, okay, but mainly just misunderstood. Darth Vader just wanted to be close to his son: awww.

With our diets, the simple world of bad foods has gone all “Darth Vader” on us. There is good cholesterol AND there’s bad cholesterol; there is good fat AND there is bad fat; finally, there is even good bacteria AND there is bad bacteria.

The good bacteria come from any fermented foods, and these have a ton of health properties in them. Your body is needs you to eat bacteria, or you will be more likely to get sick!! You just have to make sure it is the bacteria that comes from foods like yogurts, saurkraut, buttermilk, etc.

I’ll publish a separate list of those food sources, but first you need to know the basics about these bacteria:

What you need to know about probiotics: Probiotics are living microorganisms, i.e., “friendly” bacteria, usually lactic acid bacteria.

The benefits of probiotics are realized by this “friendly bacteria” shifting the pH of the intestine downward, which creates a less desirable environment for pathogenic (or bad) bacteria. The more “friendly bacteria” the more lactic, butyric and acetic acids are produced which increase the numbers of beneficial bacteria. People over the age of 60 have 1,000 times fewer good bacteria than younger adults.

The World Health Organization (among others) suggests that probiotics, when consumed on a daily basis may be beneficial in one or more ways:

Help strengthen the body’s natural defenses by providing regular probiotic bacteria for the intestinal tract.
Provide source of calcium to those individuals who are lactose intolerant and unable to consume most dairy foods.

Some of the benefits that have been shown by research so far:

Allergies: Probiotics in some people positively impact the mucosal barrier of the intestinal tract.
Cholesterol: Probiotics can raise the level of HDL — the good cholesterol.
Colon Cancer: Probiotics help maintain a healthy intestinal microflora and promote a healthy intestinal environment.
Constipation: Probiotics help shorten long intestinal tract transit time and can improve regularity.
Diarrhea: Probiotics maintain the level of “good bacteria,” which balance bacterial and virus infections that can cause diarrhea.
High Blood Pressure: While more research is needed to reach a consensus, several studies have suggested that fermented dairy products may have a positive effect on blood pressure.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Probiotics help restore the balance of bacteria and can eliminate the abdominal pain, gas or constipation.
Immunity: 70 percent of the body’s immune system is located in the digestive tract. The microflora acts as a physical barrier to help fight diseases. Probiotics as they regulate the balance of bacteria and increases the “good bacteria” reinforce this barrier.

But it is important to note that there are specific strains of good bacteria which offer targeted health benefits. For example, the probiotic strains B. infantis 35624 and B. animalis DN-173 010(Bifidus regularis) are designed to benefit GI symptoms. A complete list of strains and their health benefits follow this article.

All yogurt products do not contain live cultures or probiotics. Look for the “Live Active Culture” seal on the package which requires that the product contains at least 10⁸ viable lactic acid bacteria per gram for refrigerated products and 10⁷ for frozen. However, this seal does not differentiate probiotics from starter bacteria and should not be used to determine the content of probiotics.