Many of you who keep up with Vaidya Mishra’s blog and newsletter know that we have written and discussed the importance of the friendly bacteria several times in the past.
These friendly bacteria are present in the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth on down to the anus, and are the foundation of our overall health and health of the
immune system.
The word probiotic comes from “pro” meaning “for” for “in favor of”; “biotics” means “life”. Thus these friendly bacteria or probiotics which inhabit our gut can help us live a long healthy life, providing we learn how to keep them intact. Antibiotics on the other hand mean “anti” or “against” “biotic” or “life”, thus “killing life.” Natasha Trenev in her book, “Probiotics: Nature’s Internal Healers” has stated: “Probiotics will be to medicine in the twenty-first century as antibiotics and microbiology were in the twentieth” and I couldn’t agree with her more.
I see the evidence of this every day in my practice. Most of the new patients coming in are depleted in this friendly bacteria. As we teach them how to regrow their probiotics using prebiotics and probiotics, we see them slowly coming back to life – from maladies such as irritiable bowel syndrome, to auto-immune diseases and inflammatory bowel disesase (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s Disease), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, autism, food allergies and delayed growth, and on and on…
Every breath we take, infection is going in, and these beneficial bacteria are the first line of defense protecting us against these dangerous invaders. As long as the friendly bacteria are intact, they can protect us from cold and flu viruses, strep, h. pylori in the stomach (which cause stomach ulcers), dysbiosis in the gut (overgrowth of candida albicans yeast and other dangerous bacteria and viruses, as well as fungus and parasites), and prevent both vaginal and urinary tract infections.
However, today we are going to primarily discuss their role in weight loss. When we eat food, it has to travel through this long “channel” as the ancient doctors called it. Along the way the food breaks down into smaller and smaller particles so it can pass from this “channel” and absorb into our cells. Once absorbed, the cells will make energy and numerous other compounds out of this digested and
absorbed material.
Digestion begins in the mouth, where the sight and smell of food causes your salivary glands to begin producing digestive enzymes. This enzyme-filled saliva then starts the chemical breakdown of food into simple basic nutrients your body can use.
Once food goes through the esophagus (which takes around 10 seconds), it passes into the stomach. Glands in the stomach wall release digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid then continues on to first the small intestine and then the large intestine.
You might be surprised to learn that most of the work of the digestive tract does not take place in the stomach, but in the small intestine. Millions of tiny hairlike filaments called villi line the intestinal walls. Amino acids and simple sugars pass through the walls of the villi and into the capillaries, finally entering the bloodstream. At the upper end of the small intestine, a C-shaped section called the duodenum receives digestive juices directly from the pancreas, liver and gall bladder. The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes and the hormones insulin and glucagon which regulate carbohydrate metabolism. The liver makes a thick greenish fluid called bile, which aids in the digestion of fats. Bile is stored in the gall bladder until needed.
Once the important work by the pancreas and liver is complete, the partially digested food passes from the duodenum to the other two sections of the small intestine. The middle section is called the jejunum and the final section is called the ileum. These areas of the small intestine also produce digestive juices.
The friendly bacteria that reside in the small intestine are called lactobacillus acidophilus while bifidobacteria reside in the large intestine. Lactobacillus bulgaricus is a traveling transient bacteria that aids the other two as it passes through your body. These are the 3 friendly bacteria that help take the food which you just ate and break it down into its basic components – amino acids and simple sugars – the molecules which are small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream for transport where they are needed. The average adult absorbs about 10 quarts of processed food and liquids every day.
However, when the friendly bacteria are depleted (through antibiotic use, birth control pills, immunizations, steroids, acid pH, stress, a diet consisting of onions and garlic or if taking garlic capsules), then there is 30% less absorption of nutrients.
As I stated before, almost every new patient I see has depletion of the friendly bacteria and when we re-colonize the gut, they feel their appetite goes way down as their absorption of all the nutrients becomes much improved.
In addition, once the friendly bacteria is depleted, the patient will get an immediate overgrowth of candida albicans yeast – this is an organism that lives in harmony with us ordinarily. The friendly bacteria keeps this yeast in check, and won’t allow it to overgrow.
But once the friendly bacteria die off, this yeast becomes opportunistic and starts to grow unimpeded, and fills up in the gut, eventually migrates out of the gut and can become a systemic yeast infection, paving the way for chronic inflammation, chronic fatigue and auto-immune and other diseases.
The other important thing to note is that this yeast needs sugar to survive. Many of the new patients coming in crave sugar. Once we re-grow their friendly bacteria, it takes about two months for their yeast to totally die off, then we see their sugar craving go down dramatically. Not only that, we see their waistlines go down as well.
This is because the yeast was blowing up their gut, much the same as yeast makes flour rise – these patients are amazed at how flat their bellies are once the yeast is gone.
So, re-colonizing the gut with this life-saving friendly bacteria should be part of any weight loss program. You will be amazed at how much easier it will be to lose the weight once your absorption of nutrients is increased, and once you rid your body of yeast overgrowth.
Keep this in mind, however: Early on in my practice, I looked at every company’s probiotic products under a very expensive microscope and much to my surprise saw that all the cultures were dead and inactive. This happens because the friendly bacteria are very delicate and can die off as they are being processed.
The only probiotic I found that was active was from a company called, “Natren”. This is the only probiotic I use in my practice. The cultures are 100% guaranteed.
They make one remedy for adults that contains all 3 of the friendly bacteria I listed in the article – acidophilus, bifidonate and bulgaricum. And they also make capsules separately at a lower dose – which we use for children. Vaidya Mishra makes a remedy called “Prebiotic Support Drops” which act like a fertilizer to help the probiotics grow, as well as another remedy called “Pro Apana Drops” which prepare the lining of the gut to accept the friendly bacteria – much like bringing in new topsoil into the garden.
Natren also make a wonderful yogurt starter which we carry in our office – with this culture you can make your own home-made yogurt, takra, buttermilk and lassi, as well as ghee made from yogurt and cultured coconut water (we teach all our patients how to make these various products at home).
Contact Vaidya Mishra or one of the SVA practitioners to show you how to correctly regrow your friendly bacteria, since it can be very confusing to a novice.
Here’s to your successful weight loss! And your good intestinal health!
Dr. Marianne Teitelbaum
Cinnaminson, New Jersey
856-786-3330
