Probiotics

Probiotics

Probiotics are the friendly bacteria in your intestines that increase your defenses against disease. Overuse of antibiotics and poor nutritional intake can create an overgrowth in your bowel of unhealthy bacteria while also killing the healthy probiotics. This can cause problems ranging from the development of food allergies to a decline of your immune system. Probiotic supplementation after antibiotic treatment is complete helps limit the negative effects of antibiotics by decreasing the unhealthy bacteria and encouraging the repopulation of healthy bacteria. However, if you are taking an antibiotic, wait three hours before taking probiotics. Functions of Probiotics

• Help manufacture biotin, folic acid, and niacin
• Increase your immune system (increase white blood cells, phagocytosis, and gama-interferon)
• Make lactase, an enzyme needed to help the digestion of milk products
• Play a major role in digestion

Probiotic Health

The health of your probiotics is crucial to your overall well-being. Unfortunately, many of us do not take particularly good care of them. For example, many people today regularly overuse antibiotics. Antiobiotics kill probiotics while they wipe out the harmful bacteria.

Your diet is also important. Probiotics are healthier when your diet consists of complex carbohydrates such as legumes, vegetables, and whole grains. A diet that mainly consists of dairy products, fats, and sugars, on the other hand, provides the probiotics with a very unhealthy living environment.

Pycnogenol

Pycnogenol is the trademarked name for a mixture of forty different antioxidants from the bark of the maritime pine tree (Pinus maritime). This supplement provides a variety of health benefits. It also may improve the effectiveness of Adderall in treating attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Functions of Pycnogenol

• Elevates your body’s production of glutathione and vitamin E
• Helps regulate nitric oxide production
• Improves endurance
• Improves the circulation in your capillaries
• Increases the lifespan of vitamin C in your body
• Is an antioxidant
• Protects against platelet stickiness
• Relieves inflammation
• Stimulates natural killer cells that help your body fight off cancer

Diseases/disorders that can be treated or prevented with Pycnogenol

• Attention-deficit disorder (ADD) when used in conjunction with Adderall
• Heart disease
• Rotator cuff tendonitis
• Varicose veins

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a polyphenol – a plant substance that can fight certain diseases. As explained below, it may help you avoid a large variety of serious illnesses. In the past, it was even theorized that this substance was the answer behind the “French paradox” – the contradiction between the low occurrence of cardiovascular disease in the French people and their relatively high-fat diets. However, most people now generally agree that there is not enough resveratrol in wine to account for this difference. Some people claim that procyanidins, another group f polyphenols, are responsible, while other people believe that the French Paradox is actually a myth born out of incorrect statistics.

Functions of Resveratrol

• Decreases platelet stickiness
• Helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease
• Helps prevent cancer
• Induces phase II detoxification enzymes (which convert toxic substances into less toxic ones that the body can then excrete)
• Inhibits COX-2 enzyme induction (which can relieve inflammation)
• Inhibits oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Inhibits mitochondrial ROS (damaging molecules that can lead to disease) formation
• Is a phytoestrogen (a plant substance that can reduce the risk of some cancers)
• Is an anti-inflammatory
• Is an antioxidant
• Opens arteries by increasing nitric oxide, allowing blood to flow more easily
• Reduces risk of certain cardiovascular diseases
• Stops the proliferation of cells that narrow your arteries

Food Sources of Resveratrol

Grape skins, Mulberries, Peanuts, and Red wine