Probiotics in the Wellness Department

As an associate in the Wellness Department at Healthy Living & Café, I’m often asked about probiotics- what they are, what they do, and more- so I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about probiotics and the role that they can play in a vibrant and healthy lifestyle.
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria often referred to as flora and the roles they play inside of us just can’t be over-stated: probiotics have been proven to aid many body systems from the immune system to the digestive system and even our circulatory system.  They have been shown to aid in the production of vitamins such as folate, K2, b12 and biotin and are also helpful for those with food allergies; as I just mentioned, they benefit the digestive system and seem to ease a lot of the stress that our bellies undertake on a daily basic, which can alleviate allergic symptoms.
 Probiotics Section
Our bodies naturally contain up to four pounds of bacteria, including both good and bad varieties.  These microorganisms are an innate part of us and are constantly competing with each other for space and resources in our bodies.  To help aid the beneficial bacteria, we can of course eat a healthy diet of fresh foods but we can also go a step further and take a high quality probiotic supplement daily!
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Probiotic supplements are created through many pathways of natural fermentation and essentially what they do is introduce beneficial flora into our bodies when we might otherwise not have an adequate amount.  Why could our bodies be lacking a stable internal flora system?  For the most part, dietary choices and medications like antibiotics, which both take a toll on our beneficial bacteria.
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The benefits carried by probiotics are vast, but how exactly do you know you’re getting a quality product that will actually work?  We at Healthy Living feel it is our duty to bring to you only the highest quality dietary supplements and we take the utmost care when deciding which probiotics to carry.  Some of the things we look for in the probiotics that we stock are labels confirming cultures are living or “active” and a delayed release or resistance to stomach acid.  Some of my personal recommendations are the Garden of Life probiotics as well as the Ultimate Flora probiotics.  These two companies have received immense positive feedback for their ethics and their quality of supplements.