Probiotics: Great for Digestion and Complexion

Many of you may not know what eczema is, but if you have ever had dried, splotchy scales of skin on your arms, face, head, feet – actually anywhere on your body – you know just what it is.

Eczema is a form of dermatitis that leaves its recipients itching and scratching all the live long day.  It has no known cure, but fortunately, some rid themselves of this scratchy syndrome if it’s diagnosed early in life.

That does little to soothe the symptoms of those who’ve had it for years, though.  For them, they carry around anti-itch drugs prescribed by their doctors or purchased over the counter.

But fear not, for a natural health remedy has come to the rescue: Probiotics!

Probiotics are microorganisms found primarily in dairy products and are extremely beneficial to the body’s digestive health.  As most of you know, though, I’m not crazy about dairy (with the exception of some organic yogurts), so supplementing with probiotics in pill form is a great way to get a good dose of probiotics every day.

And the supplement form of probiotics is the form in which the study I’m about to tell you about was tested.

The study itself was a little different from traditional studies, in that the people who were being tested weren’t even born yet – at least initially.  Because eczema often presents itself early on in a person’s life, the study involved approximately 160 pregnant women taking either a placebo or a probiotic supplement for two weeks prior to giving birth.  The supplementing then shifted to the baby, where the baby took the placebo or probiotic potion (the supplement was in liquid form) for one year.

By the end of the study, those babies (and moms) who took the probiotics were nearly 60 percent less likely to have issues with eczema.  That’s pretty amazing when you think about it, especially when you consider that as many as 20 percent of all infants develop eczema in the first few years of life.

Now, granted, these kids could still develop eczema, but after two years, they haven’t developed any signs (unlike those who supplemented with the placebo).

The study is published in the European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Here’s a classic case of why it pays to be ahead of the ballgame when it comes to health, even when it’s skin-deep. That’s what natural health is really all about:  taking the appropriate actions naturally now so that you don’t have to deal with the costs of prescription drug treatments later, which often create even bigger issues due to the multitude of side effects associated with prescription drugs.

So, whether it’s for digestion or complexion, supplementing with probiotics is just the thing for great health at any age!

Sources
nutraingredients.com