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As an Osteopath DO(MP) I get a lot of questions from my clients about probiotics. Additionally, I listen to many stories regarding anxiety, digestion issues and immune system issues that I can offer advice on. So, in my very first ever blog post, I find myself going straight to a discussion on probiotics. The information that is out there now, on the gut and gut health is relatively new! Never before have we known so much about our guts, how to keep them healthy. And why we NEED to keep them flourishing. I thought for a long time that I only had to take probiotics two or three times a week. I thought "I have a good diet, I drink smoothies. I'm feeding my gut flora everyday. And probiotics are expensive!" I was wrong (not about the expensive part, they are pricey, but worth the money). You gut is a very fragile ecosystem. A lot of things out there damage it and kill your flora. Toxins we breath in, coffee, alcohol, fried foods. The list goes on and on. So, we need quality probiotics every single day to replace to what we have lost throughout the day. That's tip #1 on probiotics - EVERY SINGLE DAY. The does not include yogurt. That would be the lowest form of probiotics...if you get any at all. Its just marketing BS. Spend the money, get yourself a quality probiotics. Probiotics tip #2 - maintaining and healing are two different things. If you've had a great diet for a week or two or even a month (no coffee, no alcohol, no fried foods etc) then you'd just need to be taking your probiotics once a day. That is maintaining your great gut flora. But healing is something a bit different. When you come home from holiday, or perhaps right after Christmas, those times when you ate stuff you don't normally eat. You drank more then you normally do. Those times you thought the bloat and heartburn were worth it. Yes, we've all had those times. Double up on the probiotics, you need to HEAL. You've killed more flora during this time then you normally do. You can no longer simply maintain, you need to build it back up. Otherwise, you are simply maintaining a low level of flora, rather then creating and building up more flora. Makes sense right!? If your low, then your usual level maintains the low, keeps you from going lower. To build and heal, take your probiotics first thing in the AM on an empty tummy and again right before you go to bed at night. There is my very first ever blog rant! I've linked an excellent article below here on how your brain chemicals are the same as your gut chemicals. So, reduce anxiety, be in a better mood. Reduce mood swings, get sick less often. Its all in the belly :-) http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-health-benefits.html Feel free to reply, ask questions or let me know what you'd like to hear about next! -Dana Smith DO(MP) 519 496 1008