Nothing makes me happier than seeing the scientific community finally start to confirm what I’ve been saying for years, that natural remedies like probiotics, fiber and Omega-3 oils provide some pretty amazing health benefits. Just thumb through the headlines and you’ll see what I mean—study after study talking about better digestion, a stronger immune system, heart health and more… it’s some pretty good stuff!

Sure, some of the information gets distorted, and a lot of companies developing products as a result of all that attention end up missing the mark entirely, but on the whole this mainstream recognition is a good thing. People are (finally) starting to pay attention to their digestive systems and are looking for natural alternatives, instead of conventional medications that often cause more side effects than the symptoms they treat.

As for probiotics, I’ve been telling folks for years that if you’re going to take just one natural supplement every day, it should be a probiotic. Establishing a healthy balance of good bacteria in your intestines (so that they greatly outnumber the bad bacteria) is absolutely crucial to your digestive health, which ultimately affects the health of your whole body. Why? Because more than 70 percent of your natural immune defenses are in your gut, folks!

Take for example a recent study that talks about how good bacteria living in the digestive tract work to “prime” the immune system, which means get it ready to fight off infections. But when you take antibiotics, this “priming” shuts down. Well, of course it does! I mean, sure antibiotics are good and sometimes we need them, but along with killing the bad bacteria we’re trying to get rid of, they also kill a lot of the good bacteria. Are you starting to see why probiotic supplements are so important?

I won’t get into the details, but basically mainstream medicine is trying to figure out just how probiotics communicate with our immune systems to improve digestion and overall health. The bottom line, though? It works. Probiotics interact with the immune system in a way that prepares the body for unwanted invaders, plain and simple, so isn’t it about time you started taking a daily dose of good bacteria? I think so!