What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live, beneficial bacteria. Everyone has good bacteria living in their body. The idea behind consuming probiotics as part of your diet (or giving to your pet) is based on the theory of competitive exclusion. This theory is that there are not enough resources for both the good and bad bacteria to thrive in your body. So, if you replenish the good bacteria, they will flourish and will out-compete and eventually displace or kill off the bad bacteria.
What is the difference between PRObiotics and PREbiotics?
Probiotics are live organisms. Prebiotics are nutrient fibers that probiotics live on. So, when you take probiotics, you are ingesting live organisms. When you take prebiotics, you are taking nutrients to feed and help the probiotics already in your body to thrive.
What ailments are probiotics supposed to help?
You will most often see probiotics used to optimize digestive health. They are often recommended for chronic diarrhea. There are also products that help with wounds as many infections are caused by an over-abundance of bad bacteria.
Cain & Able offers a probiotic dental product. Plaque is the bad/non-beneficial bacteria that builds up in the mouth from foods consumed. Cain & Able's Probiotic Oral Hygiene Spray replenishes the good bacteria in the pet's mouth, reducing plaque and preventing tartar build-up. Tartar is composed of dead, calcified bacteria. Reducing plaque and preventing tarter in dogs, helps in the prevention of bad breath, gum disease, and heart disease, and neutralizes foul odors.
Something to consider:
If you decide that probiotics are going to be a part of your or your pet's diet, make sure to find probiotics that are produced through a natural fermentation process that utilizes organic and natural ingredients. Look for "Non-GMO", meaning that the product does not contain any genetically modified organisms.
This article has been excerpted from a 3/8/2010 Cain & Able blog by Candace.
