Bacteria for Breakfast?

(NewsUSA) - For many Americans, it comes as a surprise that, along with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, incorporating certain kinds of good bacteria into the diet can help optimize the function of the immune system.

Because stress, lack of sleep and a hectic lifestyle can all challenge the body's defenses, good bacteria can be instrumental in helping strengthen the defenses. About 70 percent of the body's immune system resides in the digestive tract, which is where this healthy bacteria goes to work.

With about 400 different species of bacteria in the human gut, there are actually about 10 times more bacteria in the human gut than cells in the entire body.

Probiotics, or "friendly bacteria," are live cultures that, when consumed in sufficient quantities, give health benefits beyond basic nutrition, in part by improving the balance of the intestinal microflora.

"Recent research has uncovered a great deal about how the microbes naturally colonizing our bodies can keep us well and how we can bolster these effects by consuming health-promoting bacteria called probiotics. A key to how microbes can help keep us healthy is their influence on the immune system," said Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., executive director of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics.

For years, probiotics have been part of European and Asian diets. But in a recent survey, only 15 percent of adult American women said that they know what probiotics are.

Some companies are bringing probiotics to America, such as Dannon with DanActive, a probiotic dairy drink that is clinically proven to help strengthen the body's defenses when enjoyed daily.

DanActive, known as Actimel worldwide, is already sold across 35 countries. More than 6 million bottles are consumed daily around the world.

Each serving of DanActive contains 10 billion active cultures of Lactobacillus casei Immunitas. Different strains of probiotics provide different benefits, and L. casei Immunitas in DanActive is available only from Dannon and is proven to survive the harsh acids in the stomach and arrive in the intestine alive to help strengthen the defense system.

DanActive is available in convenient 3.3-ounce bottles in four flavors: strawberry, vanilla, blueberry and cranberry raspberry.

More information about the probiotic benefits of DanActive cultured dairy drink, and a list of retail locations that offer it, is available online at www.DanActive.com.

"Article By: NewsUSA"