Will Eating Probiotics Lower Cholesterol?
You may have heard about probiotics and the benefits of live cultures of bacteria. A probiotic is an organism which contributes to the health and balance of the intestinal tract. It is also referred to as a “beneficial”, or “good” bacteria which when ingested acts to maintain a healthy intestinal tract and help fight illness and disease.
There are many yogurts that have live cultures of beneficial bacteria that may be classified as probiotics. Research has suggested that these yogurts may prevent the reabsorption of cholesterol in the intestines back into the blood stream.
Having a healthy balance of probiotic bacteria in the intestine will definitely boost up the immune system. But the jury is still out on whether probiotics will lower blood cholesterol directly. It seems that a more indirect route to lowering cholesterol might be closer to the truth.
The healthful benefits of eating yogurt have been touted for many years. It might have all started when food scientists studied the Masai tribe in Africa. These people eat large quantities of red meat and were observed to have low cholesterol. When researchers studied their diets they found that the tribe also ate large quantities (3 or more liters) of fermented milk (yogurt) each day. The scientists suggested that it must be the yogurt that prevented high cholesterol.
For lunch every day I eat a good two cups of probiotic yogurt. I do believe it does me good. I make a concoction of yogurt, walnuts, chunks of pineapple, and powdered whey. It fills me up and it makes me feel great until supper.