Yes Tonie - I attribute a large part of my getting better to taking care of my internal digestive organs. For whatever reasons, I felt that my illness was rooted there. By taking acidopholus supplements, along with a variety of yogurts and kefir products to get a larger variety of beneficial bacteria I think I was able to get better faster.
Here's an excerpt from today's Mercola ad/email about their product (which I haven't ordered, but I like the explanation)
www.mercola.com/probiotics (click link to read the whole thing, see pictures, etc.)
" . . . Probiotics are health-enhancing bacteria that replenish the microflora in your intestinal track, helping your body to digest and absorb food, as well as fight off many different illnesses and disease.
While it's received little recognition by Western medical professionals, the health benefits of probiotics have been known for at least 100 years. Studies have shown that probiotics are effective for the control of:
Inflammatory bowel disease
Vaginal yeast infections
Food and skin allergies in children
Premature labor in pregnant women
Recurrent ear and bladder infections
Chronic diarrhea ... and more! . . .
. . . -- some scientists estimate from 6 to 60 trillion actual bacteria may exist in your gut -- that's 3 to 4 pounds of bacteria -- with more than 400 different kinds of bacteria living in your gastro-intestinal tract.
In light of this fact, it's certainly not a stretch to attribute an abundance of bad bacteria in your gut to the reason why you may be feeling ill. Some experts even believe this may be one of the main physical reasons why people come down with many chronic illnesses in the first place!
Now consider one more staggering fact: the typical American consumes as many 175 pounds of sugar per year! When you make poor food choices that include sugars, grains, artificial sweeteners and other chemical toxins, you feed the "bad" bacteria, which are more likely to cause disease, rather than promoting the "good" bacteria that help protect you from disease. . .
. . . Here is just a partial list of symptoms that can often result from an imbalance of bacteria in the intestinal tract:
Gas, Bloating and Indigestion
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Diarrhea and/or Constipation
Skin problems such as Acne, Eczema & Psoriasis
Bad Breath and Body Odor
Delayed development in children
Candida Yeast Infections
High Cholesterol Levels
Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia
Frequent Colds and Flu . . .
. . . Here's a classic "catch-22:"
Your doctor prescribes an antibiotic for you to take when you are sick, when your immune system is weakened. However, the antibiotics you get from your pharmacy are, for the most part, mycotoxins that have been shown to be immunosuppressants that will further weaken your immune system by destroying the friendly bacteria guarding your intestines!
In fact, every time you swallow antibiotics, you kill large numbers of beneficial bacteria in your intestine, upsetting the delicate balance in your intestinal tract. And these friendly bacteria can be quickly replaced by hostile bacteria, including Candida yeast, a powerful member of the fungi family, and bad anaerobic bacteria.
As your intestinal bacteria die, yeasts can thrive and even use their tendrils to literally poke holes through the lining of your intestinal wall, resulting in a syndrome called leaky gut. And yeasts are not the only possible cause of this syndrome. Some scientists have linked non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as naproxen and ibuprofen to the problem too.
More recently, scientists presented findings that linked antibiotics with allergies and asthma (2) Researchers concluded the changes to both the growth of bacteria and fungi within the GI tract from antibiotics disrupted the function of your regulatory T cells to lessen the immune system reaction to respiratory allergens.
So, it's important to remember that while your antibiotic may save you from one problem, it may cause a host of other problems. There is a common misconception that you should wait until you are finished with your antibiotic to start taking probiotics. Even though the antibiotic is killing the good bacteria, that's exactly when you need it the most!
You should also be aware that, even if you careful to avoid antibiotic prescriptions, you still might be taking them with every bite of beef (3) you eat. That's because more antibiotics per pound are used on livestock than in human medicine. Nearly every restaurant does uses factory farmed beef that are exposed to these antibiotics, so even if you avoid them at home, you will likely be exposed when you eat away from home.
By simply taking an occasional probiotic, not only will you decrease your risk of developing allergies and asthma, but also you will strengthen your immune system helping you to avoid a need for antibiotics in the first place! . . ."
(click above link to read the rest)
QH
(2) Antibiotics Linked to Asthma, Allergies
www.mercola.com/2004/jun/9/antibiotics_allergies_asthma.htm(3) The Six Dangers of Common Beef, and How to Avoid Them
www.mercola.com/2003/dec/20/beef_dangers.htm