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Spring is a time of detoxing and inner cleansing. If you are considering a detox this spring, be sure to add probiotics (good bacteria) to your routine. There are three main steps to detoxing: 1) clean 2) capture 3) sweep. In step one, your body’s detoxing organs (for example, your skin, lymph, blood, liver and kidneys) work to clean out toxins hiding within your body. They send these toxins to your liver. In step two, the liver adds these toxins to bile and sends them into your intestines. Fibre in your intestines traps the toxins so you will not re-absorb them. Step three involves the colon. Sweeping or moving the toxin-filled fibre out of your body is very important. If left too long in your colon, the toxins can cause damage to the tissues. Cascara sagrada and magnesium hydroxide are two supplements commonly used to help sweep out waste from the colon. 

This sweeping is the step in which probiotics fit into cleansing. How? Certain species of beneficial bacteria help sweep out the colon and it can be used to promote colon health during a cleanse. However, your colon is not the only part of your intestines affected by a cleanse. The increased amount of toxins in your intestines during a cleanse can cause damage to your probiotic populations. Therefore, it may also be beneficial to replenish your probiotic populations after cleanse.

Replenish your probiotics

Rapidly replenishing the intestinal tract with probiotics after a cleanse can help ensure the intestines do not become a host to infections. Your intestines are like a parking lot. If there are spaces in your intestinal parking lot left empty after it experiences the high toxic load of a cleanse, bad microbes (for example, salmonella) take over. Make sure that these empty parking spaces, which are filled on a first-come first-served basis, are filled by probiotics not bad bacteria. Include a high-dosage probiotic  to your cleansing program to keep your intestines healthy and happy.

Health effects of probiotics

• Boost immunity
• Prevent diarrhea/constipation
• Improve vitamin synthesis (use by the body)
• Help with lactose digestion
• Prevent yeast infections and urinary tract infections
• Promote health of heart and bones

Making a good choice

When selecting the probiotic to add in your cleansing program, choose one that includes both lactobacilli and bifidobacteria species. These  probiotics live in your small and large intestine respectively. Using this type of probiotic product will help ensure that your entire intestinal tract is replenished, not just one part. Look for a product that contains a variety of probiotic species. Your intestinal tract contains over 40 different species of probiotics, so using a product with many species is beneficial because it mimics your natural, healthy probiotic environment. Select a probiotic product that contains prebiotics. Prebiotics encourage probiotics to grow and flourish in your intestines. Adding prebiotics to your probiotic supplement offers additional help because prebiotics promote the health of your existing probiotics populations.

Make bifidobacteria your friend

The health of your colon is important. The colon is not just a holding tank for waste; it is also the site of vitamin synthesis (usage by the body). Probiotics called bifidobacteria live in your colon and help synthesize B vitamins, which you need to feel energized. Bifidobacteria also help convert vitamin K in foods to vitamin K2, the form your bones need to stay strong and healthy, as well as play a role in boosting your immunity. Bifidobacteria help to detox, too! When your colon contains bifidobacteria, it has lower amounts of putrefactive substances (harmful toxins caused by “putrefying” or rotting food). This means that your colon tissue is less likely to be damaged. A product that contains Bifidobacteria longum, a particular strain of probiotics, has been shown in clinical trials to help increase fecal movement and improve the health of the colon. Not sure if you have a healthy colon? Frequently illness and diarrhea or constipation are signs that your colon is unhealthy. Cleaning up this spring? If you are detoxing or inner cleansing, add probiotics to your program. Then you can enjoy health from the inside out.

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