Bacteria That Fight Colon Cancer

We usually think of bacteria as a bad thing. Bacteria cause infections, for example. Many food borne illnesses are the result of bacteria—e coli, salmonella, botulism.

But not all bacteria are nasty little bugs out to make you sick. Some bacteria are actually vital to your health. These probiotic bacteria, as they are called, help you to digest your food. The most common food source of probiotic bacteria is yogurt that contains active cultures. You can also take a supplement containing probiotics.

Now, you might be wondering why you would actually want to eat bacteria.

The list of benefits delivered by probiotics is long and it's getting longer.
• Probiotics help you digest your food, as I already mentioned.
• They help fight bad bacteria in your gut, which can help to relieve gas, bloating, and intestinal cramping.
• Probiotics help you get more of the nutrients from your food—this gives you an energy boost and enhances your
immune system.

That isn't all, though. New research suggests that probiotics may also help protect against colon cancer, the second deadliest cancer after lung cancer. Irish researchers, in a small controlled study, gave probiotics to patients who had either cancerous tumors or benign polyps removed from their colon recently.

After 12 weeks, those receiving probiotics had more healthy bacteria, less of the cancer-causing bacteria clostridium, less DNA damage in their colon cells, and less uncontrolled growth in their colon lining. Now, that's good news all the way around.


To your good health,
Meghan Krohn