Lactobacillus acidophilus is a lactic acid producing bacteria. Some scientifics think that acidophilus have beneficial effects on digestion and overall health. Acidophilus can be found in yogurt and other dairy products, which named acidophilus as probiotics.
Acidophilus aids digestive system, because different factors decrease the number of lactic acid producing bacteria that live and work in the gastrointestinal tract and protect us from harmful disease-causing bacteria. Among these factors, it is possible to find narcotics, alcohol, diet deficiencies, aging, antibiotics, drugs, medications, nicotine, and stressful living.
The digestion of food begins in the alimentary canal, mouth and stomach, and finally in the intestines, where millions of microorganisms, working simultaneously, metabolize the partially-digested food. Digestion can be impaired, short-changing us of the full nutritional value from foods, if there is too small a colony of L. acidophilus and other friendly bacteria, such as L. bulgaricus and L. bifidus. Also a fewer quantity of key vitamins will be synthesized and the immune system may be rendered less effective.
According to some health professionals, acidophilus aids the digestive process, helps correct constipation, diarrhea, mucous colitis and diverticulitis. It also reduces blood cholesterol, enhances the absorption of nutrients, sweetens bad breath, treats acne and other skin disorders, conquers harmful bacteria and certain viruses, helps alleviate candidiasis and other vaginal infections, and may even prevent cancer.
There is no solid scientific evidence for these claims according to some experts, but lactic acid-producing microorganisms, such as L. acidophilus, have been called a “second immune system”, because they put the brakes on growth of disease-causing bacteria, such as shigella-caused dysentery and salmonella and various types of diarrhea.
