Probiotics For Life~ By Angela Elliott
The benefits of friendly bacteria first came to the attention of the general public in 1908, when Dr. Elie Metchnikoff, a Russian biologist, wrote The Prolongation of Life. Dr. Metchnikoff devoted the last ten years of his life to the study of consuming lactic acid-producing bacteria as a means of increasing life span. After much research, he was convinced that he had discovered why so many Bulgarians lived noticeably longer than other people. This phenomenon, he theorized, was due to their consumption of large quantities of cultured foods, especially yogurt, which he believed help maintain the "friendly" bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract.
Dr. Metchnikoff was among the first to recognize the relationship between disease and what he called the "poisons" produced in the bowel. He demonstrated how friendly, living bacteria normalize bowel habits and fight disease-carrying bacteria, thereby extending the normal life span. His book persuaded many that living longer is the happy result of an intestinal tract that maintains a healthy daily supply of the cultured bacteria found in yogurt. It was Dr. Metchnikoff who named the primary yogurt-culturing bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus, in honor of the yogurt-loving Bulgarians.
Our modern technology has given us many advances in science, but with that comes a price. We have declared war on all germs! We use chemicals to kill germs in the bathroom, germ killing sprays for the air, disposable wipes to clean kitchen counters and floors, antibacterial fruit and vegetable wash, antibacterial soap for dishes and hands, antibacterial gels, lotions and cleansers for our faces and bodies and finally the worst offender of all, antibiotic pills for the inside of our bodies! It's no wonder we have illnesses like constipation, candida, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Other advances in science include the art of pasteurization. Pasteurizing food is a popular practice here in the United States. Now all fresh juices are pasteurized. Juice that has been pasteurized no longer contains any of the beneficial nutrients - it's just sugar and water. Pasteurizing foods kills beneficial as well as harmful bacteria, and it also kills the life of our food, the enzymes! Even the cultured yogurt you buy at the store has been pasteurized after the culturing process, rendering it unusable by the body.
