You know probiotics are essential to gut health, but did you know they DETOXIFY your system too?

Probiotics do a lot of good things for your body. Among other things, they help you shed weight and fat, boost your immune system, and improve your digestion. And now, according to an article on GreenMedInfo.com, it turns out that probiotic bacteria can also cleanse toxic chemicals from your body.

There are numerous toxins that resist our bodies’ best efforts to either break them down into harmless products or purge them from our systems. Fortunately, there are even more good bacteria that can do the job for us.

For starters, two of the most widely-used probiotic strains can deal with bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor found in common products like paper money and plastics. Animal studies showed that Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus casei more than doubles the rate at which the toxin is excreted. (Related: Researchers attempt to develop a probiotic-rich feta cheese.)

Lactobacillus strains can also lower the amounts of heavy metals that accumulate in our bodies. These bacteria are not only highly resistant to the metals, but they can also trap the substances within the surfaces of their cells.

This isn’t detoxification, which is the direct removal of harmful agents. Rather, it is the equally beneficial detoxification, the prevention of any damage done by those agents.

As if that wasn’t good enough, Lactobacillus strains can also reduce genetic damage dealt by heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCA) that are created when you cook meat at very high temperatures.

Beneficial bacteria in breast milk and kimchi protect us from toxins

Another Bifidobacterium strain, B. Bifidum, can break down perchlorate, another endocrine disruptor spread by jet fuel and fireworks. There’s so much perchlorate that it’s contaminated organic food and milk, and it causes hypothyroidism and nerve-related problems.

Luckily, B. Bifidum is present in breast milk, among other foods. Breast-fed babies are thus much better protected than infants who were fed milk formulas.

Kimchi, the iconic traditional Korean dish of fermented cabbage, is abundant in probiotics. Its bacteria can decompose various organophosphorous pesticides into carbon and phosphorus that they use as food. So by the time you down that deliciously spicy leaf, there’s much less pesticide in it than in “fresh” cabbage.

Furthermore, kimchi probiotics can rapidly break down sodium nitrate, a cancer-causing chemical that’s linked to many recurring degenerative diseases. The bacteria take as little as five days to deplete up to 90 percent of sodium nitrate that enters the body.

While sodium nitrate does break down into equally toxic N-nitrosodimethylamine, there are at least four Lactobacillus strains that can deal with that nasty by-product as well. Kimchi has got your gut, all right.

Finally, there are dozens of bacteria that can break down indigestible glutinous proteins from – of all foods – wheat. Otherwise, these undigested proteins would raise havoc in our bodies.

Get probiotics the old-fashioned organic way

Now that you’ve found out yet another benefit of probiotics, you must be hungering to get them in your gut. Well, there are several sources to bolster your local microbiota.

The market’s got a lot of probiotic supplements in convenient pill and liquid forms. Pick from either shelf-stable or refrigerated options. If they’ve been filtered or centrifugally-extracted, the starved bacteria might not survive the trip to your gut.

You should also try eating probiotic foods that have been fermented the traditional way. Kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt made from non-cow milk are tasty choices. You can also drink goat’s milk, which is hypoallergenic as well.

Last but not least, fresh, organically grown vegetables have some good bacteria, as well as enzymes. Clean soil is home to plenty of good bacteria that will eventually make their way onto organically grown fruits and vegetables. Fresh is best, after all.

Find out more about the ways you can naturally detoxify your body at Detox.news.

Sources include:

GreenMedInfo.com

PUBS.ACS.org