First of all, many of you may not know much about probiotics. I understand this fully, as confusion still remains on the topic.

The term probiotics comes from the Greek word “for life.” (So now you probably understand what the word “antibiotics” really means.)

When ingested, these living microorganisms replenish the microflora in your intestinal tract.* This replenishment results in the promotion of a number of health-enhancing functions, including enhanced digestive support.*

One question I frequently get in my clinic involves how people solved their digestive issues in times long past. Did they simply live with their digestive challenges — or perhaps these types of issues did not even exist?

The answer probably involves a little of both. But history does show us how different cultures have best promoted their intestinal health over time.
Historically, people used fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut both as food preservatives to limit spoilage, and to support their intestinal and overall health.

As far back as Roman times, people consumed sauerkraut as a delicious food, and for health-related issues.

In ancient Indian society, it became commonplace (and still does) to consume a before-dinner yogurt drink called a lassi. At the end of the meal, the people of India consumed a small serving of curd.

These Indian traditions were based on the principle of using sour milk as a probiotic delivery system to your body.

The Bulgarians are noted both for their longevity and their high consumption of fermented milk and kefir. In Asian cultures, pickled fermentations of cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash, and carrots still exist today.

So it seems that many cultures used different techniques to support their intestinal health. Why can’t we simply practice these methods today?

As you may have noticed, many cultures are still trying to follow traditional dietary practices today. However, challenges arise from poor dietary habits and the environment.

The processed foods so inherent in most diets can upset the balance of bacteria needed for the support of your intestinal health. Plus, many food products get pasteurized or sterilized in the production process, destroying helpful bacteria you need for promoting your intestinal health.

One of the top issues I’ve been faced with in my clinic involves patients looking for better ways to support their overall digestion.

Taking a good probiotic and following sound dietary principles provide the best ways I’ve found to promote your digestive health.* That’s why I recommend Complete Probiotics to all my clinical patients.

Complete Probiotics helps you maintain the proper balance of bacteria in your gut in support of effective digestion.*

And guess what? It doesn’t just stop with your intestinal health promotion — it goes far beyond…

Good Intestinal Health Becomes Crucial in Promoting Your Overall Health*

Increased understanding of bacterial effects on the gastro-intestinal (GI) and immune systems has led to increased credibility in the use of probiotics over the past thirty years.

Today the science of probiotics has evolved into a rapidly growing field, generating a great deal of interest both from physicians and consumers.

I've heard it said that "death begins in the colon." On the contrary, I'd rather say "life is promoted and enhanced in the colon — if you know what you are doing."

Maintaining great intestinal health is akin to maintaining great overall health.*

And when you’re in good shape with your overall health, you’ll naturally feel better — and be able to do more of the pleasurable things in life.

Some of the statistics about your intestine read like a "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Did you know that?

• About 80% of your immune system resides in your gastrointestinal tract.
• 500 species of bacteria live inside you.
• About one hundred trillion bacteria live inside you — more than TEN TIMES the number of cells you have in your entire body.
• The weight of these bacteria constitutes about two to three pounds.
• Some of these bacteria are referred to as "good" and some as "bad". The ideal balance between them is 85% good and 15% bad.

This ratio between the "good" bacteria and the "bad" bacteria becomes one of the critical factors determining your optimal health.*

What sorts of things influence the ratio between good and bad bacteria? Diet, geographic location, age, stress, and health issues are some of the key factors.

When you take your best step forward in improving your intestinal health, your overall health improvement naturally follows.

For example, if you’ve been frustrated by occasional irregularity, taking probiotics could not only help your problem, but could lead you to feeling better while supporting your overall health as well. *

Your Immune System is Depending on You

Before your birth, your GI tract was sterile. The moment after your birth, colonization of bacteria began in your gut.

The first bacteria to settle in were the immune-building ones from breast milk, increasing your level of health and favoring your survival.

In a sense, we spend the rest of our lives "trashing" it with bad stuff – like poor dietary choices and other lifestyle choices that cause the wrong bacteria to flourish in your intestine.

Or sometimes our environment plays a major part as well.

Yet gut flora, the microorganisms living in your gut, continually and dynamically affect your immune system.

Helpful bacteria prevent the growth of undesirable ones by competing for both nutrition and attachment sites in the tissues of the colon.

Therefore, keeping the right balance of bacteria becomes critical in support of your immune system.* That’s where Complete Probiotics comes in… to support you in doing just that.*

Where Have All the Bacteria Gone?

It seems that in our collective zeal to rid ourselves of disease (and every trace of bacteria in our food supply and everywhere else), we may have outdone ourselves.

As a whole, we’re less exposed to bacteria now than in the past – both "bad" and "good" bacteria.

Foods presently labeled as ‘health-promoting’ contain good bacteria. Think cultured foods like yogurt, some cheeses, and sauerkraut.

But due to strict food safety regulations, less bacteria (bad or good) survive the manufacturing process.

At the end of the production process, many products get pasteurized or sterilized, destroying bacteria.

While this may be helpful in disease prevention, it also means we get less health-enhancing bacteria.

Since helpful bacteria are increasingly absent in our food, it becomes even more important to include supplementation with probiotics.

This gives your GI tract and entire immune system an extra "edge" – to maximize the benefits of a healthy diet.*

With all the multiple varieties of both good and bad bacteria, when it comes down to the top health-promoting bacteria...