PROBIOTICS VS. FIBER

THE WITCHERY OF THE MEDIA

Sometimes it seems that we go from one "magic" food to another. So much of what we consume in today's society is determined by the "in" food or item of the day. The really interesting thing about that is that the popularity of all these foods and/or items is created by the media.

Do you ever stop to think that in many ways we are robots, driven by the media? This is especially true for all drugs, both pharmaceutical and over the counter, as well as supplements.

And the pharmaceutical houses are such hypocrites . . . they complain to the FDA that supplements are not regulated and therefore recommendations for their use are not reliable, when actually a large percentage of them are manufactured by those same pharmaceutical houses!


Let the truth be known - the market for these "in" products of the day are created by clever ad agencies. I could list dozens of these relatively useless products that have come and gone over my lifetime. But today I want to talk about a current one, about which we are being very cleverly misinformed . . .

Probiotics

While healthy intestinal flora is important to our overall health, today it is being touted in the media as an almost magic ingredient. Let the truth be known: Unless you have taken a round of antibiotics, which kills off not only the bad "bugs" but also the good ones in your digestive track, YOU DO NOT NEED PROBIOTICS!

The yogurt makers say they are adding small amounts of probiotics to their product, and "guaranteeing" that it will increase your immune response, as well as correct just about every digestive condition there is, from indigestion to constipation. Here's the real truth. Any benefit one gets from ingesting yogurt with probiotics added would get the same benefit from plain healthy yogurt! And if you are eating the "fruit added" kinds you are probably eating high fructose corn syrup used in a jam-like product added to the yogurt. READ THE LABEL! And if the product is touted as low calorie, it is probably sweetened with a very unhealthy sugar substitute.

PLEASE HEAR ME - YOGURT WITH
PROBIOTICS IS NOT A HEALTH FOOD!

Does the food industry want you to think you
need to ingest probiotics? Of course!

They are not in business to help you be healthy,"
they are in business to make huge profits.

So what is the answer to a healthy intestinal flora, as well as all kinds of digestion problems? We simply need to eat a plain, old-fashioned high fiber diet, just as we did before processed, packaged foods arrived in our supermarkets. This means a diet consisting of lots of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes (beans and peas), lentils, nuts, seeds, etc.


There are different types of fiber. Oats for example contains a type of fiber that benefits the heart and circulatory system, while other types of fiber work to clean out the intestines and remove the sometimes toxic by-products of digestion as well as viruses, and other bacteria.


Probably the best and most noticeable benefit from eating a high fiber diet is it prevents constipation. What's not to like about that! But just as importantly, a high fiber diet keeps your gut healthy, and your immune system strong.

In the future I'll write more about the benefits of a high fiber diet. In the meantime, let's forget the marketing hype about probiotics. Just remember, yogurt with probiotics is not a health food!

I invite you to share your experiences with diet modification.

Please visit my primary website,
http://www.BettysHouseLifeAfterMS.com.