Comments on: Can someone please explain anti and probiotics?

By: Linda Loren

Linda Loren — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:33:37 +0000

Oral probiotics can also play a role in maintaining good oral health by eliminating the harmful bacteria in the mouth responsible for poor tooth and gum health.

By: oldtimekid2

oldtimekid2 — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Okay, antibiotics are simply a low level poison… not enough to kill you, but enough to kill the microorganisms in your body. Unfortunately, there is good bacteria and bad bacteria living in your body at all times, so antibiotics kill all the bad stuff and the good stuff indiscriminately.

Most people don’t want the antibiotics in their meat because the general population is already so over-medicated that they don’t want to take something that they don’t need (like extra antibiotics when they aren’t sick). Too much of a low level poison could build up in your body and be more toxic over time… plus any antibiotics in meat could kill the good bacteria in your body.

As far as the probiotics, yes, Acidophilus is one of the more common strains. Probiotics in general are the good bacteria that live in your intestinal tract and help your body absorb the nutrition in your intestinal tract (which is why they help with digestion, specifically regularity). If you get too small of a number of probiotics in your intestines, you won’t absorb all the nutrition you need and you can get sick much easier.
Probiotics live in your system in a synergistic way… like worms living in the soil, if you’ll pardon the metaphor. They get food from us and they give us benefits in turn.

The main way I remember the names is by looking at the Latin roots in the names… pro-biotic and anti-biotic. "Biotic" is basically life-form. "Pro" is good or for (good for life), while "anti" is bad or against (against life).
I hope I helped!

By: Ambam

Ambam — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Antibiotics take away bad bacteria in your body. Probiotics put good bacteria (for digestion, etc.) into your body.

By: thepleasureismine

thepleasureismine — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Ambam’s answer is correct. Probiotics in moderation won’t harm you. But the time they come into their own is when you’re on a dose of antibiotics…because antibiotics can kill good & bad bacteria…so probiotics makes up for this by replacing the good bacteria. So that’s why probiotics are good for you, especially when you’re ill.

By: inverse_mushroom_cloud

inverse_mushroom_cloud — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in your body that are susceptible to that antibiotic. They are prescribed by a doctor, for the purpose of killing pathogens though (bacteria that cause sickness or death).

Probiotics are strains of bacteria that live in your digestive tract and help your body digest food. They are there from shortly after your birth up until your death. Without them, you cannot digest food. Sometimes, your body chemistry upsets the balance of good and bad bacteria in your body, and you feel sick for a few days. Also, antibiotics that are needed to kill bad bacteria end up killing good ones too. In both of these cases, taking probiotics helps replenish the good bacteria in your digestive system.