Is your medicine cabinet chock full of creams and lotions that claim to defy aging? Do you wish you could turn back the clock to when you had fewer wrinkles, your hair was shinier and your nails healthier?

Most people would be happy to pass for five (or ten!) years younger than the age on their driver's license. The cosmetics and personal care products industries know this and are full of products promising to be the fountain of youth in a cream or concealer.

But did you know that your body already holds the key to youthful energy and appearance? It's your inner ecosystem, teaming with healthy microflora (good bacteria and yeast, also known as probiotics) that reside in your intestines, keeping you healthy, strong...and yes, youthful.

Unfortunately, most people today have damaged inner ecosystems from environmental toxins, processed foods, drugs and a stressful lifestyle. We don't notice this as much when we're younger because we tend to bounce back faster. However, as we age, we start to notice issues in our health, skin, weight or muscle tone that make us wish we could turn back the clock.

At Body Ecology, we know it's not about the number of years you've spent on Earth that determines your age, it's about maintaining energy and youthful vitality for many decades. And you can go a long way to building youthful vitality inside AND out when you re-establish a thriving inner ecosystem.

Adding healthy bacteria, or probiotics, into your diet is key. Probiotic literally means "for life," and probiotics like lactobacillus, plantarum and bifidis help immune cells fight disease, prevent diarrhea and constipation, protect the mucous lining of the intestine, assist digestion and provide nutrients for building blood. They also manufacture B vitamins and vitamin K right down inside your intestines where they are immediately absorbed. They are the most efficient way to obtain vitamin B-12.

Probiotics also help you fight the signs of aging. Here's how:

• Probiotics can keep you slim. Microflora reduce cravings for carbohydrates, sugar and alcohol. And new research has found that obese people have different bacteria in their intestines than people of normal weight. Scientists think that good bacteria can keep you from gaining pounds. Read How the Bacteria in Your Gut Affect Your Body Weight.
• Probiotics clean your liver. Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches that the liver affects your skin and eyes. With a clean liver, you may notice younger looking skin with less liver spots, moles and skin tags, and bright, shiny eyes. Read more about cleansing your body in this week's newsletter article: Why Your Body Needs to Cleanse.
• Probiotics treat acne. One study found that teenagers ingesting probiotics saw improvement in their blemishes after only 2 weeks.
• Probiotics can prevent wrinkles. Good bacteria in your gut can help you eliminate the toxins and free radicals that can damage skin and cause early signs of aging.
• Probiotics give you a glowing complexion. Probiotics help you digest and better assimilate the nutrients from your food. That means your skin receives more of the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals it needs to be healthy.
• Probiotics help your hair grow long and lustrous. Hair may be dead, but each hair follicle is surrounded by nourishing blood vessels. Beneficial microflora help keep your intestines clean and healthy, they attack pathogens to keep your blood clean and healthy. Healthy blood nourishes hair, skin and nails.
• Probiotics make your fingernails stronger. Nails are made of proteins, and probiotics break down the proteins you eat into the amino acids that build healthy, flexible nails.
• Probiotics give you energy. It's much harder to look and feel good when you're tired, but consuming probiotics boosts your immunity and makes digestion easier, giving you more energy to look your best!

If you are serious about looking and feeling your best, then it is time to add beneficial probiotics to your diet. Fermented foods and beverages are the perfect way to obtain the probiotics your body needs.

(We recommend foods and beverages as probiotic sources because they are more potent than supplements, which lose potency after time on the shelf. Once inside your body, probiotic supplements don't always survive the acidic environment of your stomach unless they are taken along with fermented foods and liquids.)

Consider adding these fermented foods and beverages to a diet of nutritious, whole foods. You'll be looking (and feeling) better in no time.

• Young Coconut Kefir is a delicious, bubbly drink that is deal for anyone who wants to stay slim or improve their skin. Learn how to make it at home with our instructions.
• Raw, cultured vegetables can provide you with probiotics at every meal. These vegetables not only taste great but help you digest your other food, making valuable nutrients for your skin, hair and nails. Try our delicious recipes!
• Vitality SuperGreen, our own wholefood green drink, contains fermented greens, algae and potent probiotics.
• Dong Quai is one of our most convenient and economical fermented drink that supports overall body balancing and restoration for men and women.
• As you incorporate fermented foods and drinks into your diet, keep in mind that probiotics are not the only piece of the beauty puzzle. Be sure to drink plenty of water, eat whole foods, sleep well, and exercise daily.

• Instead of putting creams and lotions on your face, it's so much more effective to eat a delicious menu plan that includes high-quality proteins, vitamins, minerals, virgin, organic oils and fats along with those wonderful probiotic foods. You'll save money and have a whole team of healthy microflora at work to keep you healthy and young!

  If you thought that Body Ecology was only about your inner ecosystem, you now know that the same principles that keep you healthy inside also help you look younger on the outside.

   

  Source:

  Siver, R. (1964). "Lactobacillus for the control of acne." The Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey, 58 (2): 52-53. http://www.natren.com/pages/skincare.html

• For more articles like this or to find out more about probiotics visit http://www.bodyecology.com