Bacteria for Breakfast

About the Book

Inside our digestive tracts, trillions of bacteria have taken up residence. These bacteria need us and we need them to survive. It's a symbiotic relationship we have with these parasites. Although we don't often think about it, the bacteria that live within us help digest our foods, protect us from disease, and improve immune functions. Without bacteria, we would not survive very long.

Unfortunately, many of us suffer from illnesses related to an imbalance of these gastrointestinal bacteria- illnesses caused by too many aggressive bacteria and too few defensive, "healthy" ones. Allergies, eczema,vaginal and urinary tract infections, diarrhea, and inflammatory bowel disease are just a handful of the medical conditions now known to arise when unhealthy bacteria ovegrow and outnumber the healthy ones in our gastrointestinal tracts. Fortunately, probiotics provide us with an easy way to put things back into balance again.

A probiotic is any product that contains enough live microorganisms to bring about beneficial health effects. Essentially, probiotics are healthy bacteria- healthy bacteria that are easily ingested and help to restore the balance inside our digestive system.

In this book, we will find out just why we need these bacteria and explore which probiotics, according to current scientific and medical research, are most effective for treating a variety of health concerns.

About the Author

Dr. Karpa's interests are varied. Some days she can be found behind the counter of a small town pharmacy in central Pennsylvania working as a pharmacist. Other days you will find her teaching in the lecture halls of Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine where she is an assistant professor with the department of pharmacology. Most days, Dr. Karpa will be found working at home, as she writes medical literature and consults for a variety of organizations. But the role of which she is most proud, however, is the one she fills every day: nuturing and rearing her two children with her husband. It was while wearing her "mommy hat" that she stumbled across probiotics. The experience and knowledge Dr. Karpa gained when her oldest child was seriously ill with a life-threatening gastrointestinal infection laid the foundation for this book.