The pros of probiotics: the good bacteria. (wellness).

Most people can accept that yogurt is good for you because it contains "living microorganisms" that aid in digestive health. We may be less comfortable, however, with the notion that the organisms in question are actually bacteria--those oh-so-sinister microscopic devourers.

But while the phrase "You really need to get some more bacteria in you" may be a little, well, hard to swallow, it's still true that the potential health benefits of certain kinds of bacteria--those known as probiotics--have been ignored for too long.

deeper understanding

"We've had a very simplistic, Dark Age view of bacteria," says Natasha Trenev, founder of Natren in Westlake Village, California, and author of two books about the benefits of probiotics.

"We've been slow to recognize just how complex and necessary their health interactions are," Trenev says. But while it may have lagged behind, the scientific establishment has begun to undertake serious research into the area of probiotics, with new findings about the role these organisms play in human health occurring fairly steadily.

"Probiotics"--from the Greek, meaning literally "for life"--is the term most often applied to a group of "friendly bacteria" or "microflora" that work to maintain a healthy intestinal tract and help fight illness and disease.

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