Today, many of us experience gut-wrenching woes.  Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), bloating, irregularity and food allergies are some of the most common disruptive digestive discomforts we experience on a daily basis. But now, we are being bombarded by a new type of pathogen, the superbugs that are resistant to most antibiotics.   Their toxins can spread far beyond the digestive tract, and in some cases, turn deadly.  Even the produce aisle, where fruits and veggies had always been a safe haven for health-conscious and calorie-concerned consumers, is getting scary because of headlines like these:: Bagged Spinach Tainted by E. Coli…Contaminated Beef Recalled in 22 States….and   Salmonella Contaminates Peanut Butter in 26 States.

The New Germ Warfare
Frequently, the source of contamination is common foods, poor food handling, and every-day habits that attract bad bugs.   As a nutritionist, I’m not just worried by the disturbing trends in food safety; I’m downright alarmed.  It’s time we learn to outsmart the hidden invaders and superbugs that are spreading into the community and threatening our health.  There are many helpful things you can do to dodge the new dangers on your dinner table which is the focus of my latest book The Gut Flush Plan.

The Perfect Probiotic
An important component of any program that fortifies the digestive system includes the regular use of probiotics, those “friendly bacteria” that live in your small and large intestines.  These bacteria are enormously healing to the body with benefits ranging from the control of irritable bowel syndrome, relief from bloating, aid in the treatment of allergies, migraines, arthritis, skin conditions, and vaginal infections. Science has also substantiated the role of probiotics in shoring up the immune system because nearly 75% of the immune receptor sites are located in the GI tract. Since probiotics can be unilaterally undermined by antibiotics (both first-hand and second-hand in meat and dairy) as well as chlorine, sugar, stress, radiation and “even” natural antiseptics like oil of oregano and colloidal silver, it is vital to keep your internal population thriving with a  daily dose of of colony forming units 

Traditional probiotic foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, although very beneficial only contain millions of the colony forming units—not enough to ward off the nasty superbugs in our midst. So, while there are many probiotic supplements and even foods on the market that can heal garden-variety gut maladies, there is only one probiotic I know of, Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics 12 PLUS that can neutralize the superbugs that are now mutating into a fast growing epidemic.

Japanese Technology
Over 20 years ago, Dr. Iichiroh Ohhira, an award-winning microbiologist from Japan, formulated his revolutionary product, which fortifies the GI tract against pathogenic invaders and superbugs.  Scientific studies establish that Enterococcus faecalis  TH 10 strain of lactic acid bacteria discovered by Dr. Ohhira neutralizes the mutated variations of staph that create MRSA, H. Pylori that create ulcers and migraines, Salmonella and E. Coli that produce food borne illness, and antibiotic-induced diarrhea from C. Difficile, now considered to be the most prevalent superbug in America today.

Growing Your Own Garden
While Dr. Ohhira’s product is unique in many ways, the most praise worthy feature of the product may be its ability to aid the body’s production of its own unique strains of probiotics.  Each person’s microflora is composed of hundred and even thousands of different strains of lactic acid bacteria (aka, probiotics).  In fact, we each possess more bacteria in our microflora garden than we do cells in our body.  Just think about that for a moment!  Also, each person’s strains of bacteria are unique compared to another’s.  For example, we all have Lactobacillus Acidophilus strains of bacteria; however, the DNA of each person’s strain is a bit different, scientists say, than is the DNA of another person’s strains of L. acidophilus.
  
A Complete Food
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic product is produced using a three-year fermentation process that blends various kinds of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and herbs.  The entire fermented medium is then encapsulated.  The medium contains all the valuable nutritional by-products required to help rebuild the microflora in the GI tract.    And best of all it includes four organic acids that are utilized by the bacteria to keep the colon’s pH acidic level high enough to further promote the growth of good bacteria and keep the bad guys out.

Truly, Dr. Ohhira’s product might be best described as a highly specialized whole food product offering a broad spectrum of probiotic-enriched nutrients in a concentrated fermented food medium.  What more could you expect from a probiotic product?   

Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S. is the author of over 30 books on health and healing. An award-winning NY Times author and columnist for First For Women magazine, Gittleman has over 5 million books in print and has used Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics 12 PLUS for almost ten years.