Battling your ... inner-space invaders: FOS and probiotics to the rescue.

Anyone who has spent a buck or two in a video arcade understands the challenge of warding off enemies and protecting your defenses, whether the offending "bad guys" are cosmic creepy-crawlies, flying saucers, or googly-eyed ghosts. While the damage of such attacks onscreen is short-lived and even fun, the consequences of harmful bacteria overtaking your body's own defenses in real life can be serious -- and the resulting health problems last longer than a pocketful of quarters at the arcade.

YOUR BODY, YOUR WORLD

Your body is your mothership, or your world -- a self-contained biosystem that needs the right fuel (nutrients), training (physical activity), defenses (antioxidants and good bacteria) and all systems working within normal range--a balanced state of health, what is also called "homeostasis."

PLAYING BY THE RULES

To devise a strategy to protect your personal ecosystem, it's important to understand the rules of the game. Normally, a variety of beneficial bacteria in your intestines and urogenital tract protect you against harmful organisms, like yeast and viruses, that sneak in via the diet or other means. Here's how it works: friendly bacteria ward off "inner space invaders" by attaching to the gut and vaginal walls, and lowering the pH of this environment to levels where invading bacteria (disease-causing, "pathogenic" bacteria) can't live. But when the delicate balance of good bacteria is thrown out of whack by antibiotics, steroids, poor diet and stress, you're prone to enemy attack. Instead of merely losing a few points in a game, you might end up with diarrhea, a yeast infection, food poisoning or some other malady. Consuming live, beneficial bacteria (called probiotics) helps restore the balance of intestinal microflora, or good bacteria.

You're probably familiar with one of the most common strains of probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophitus. It is commonly added to dairy products (such as yogurt) and is available in supplement form. Its availability in the United States since the mid-1970s is due to a large body of research showing numerous health benefits and the fact that it combines well in foods. Other popular probiotic defenders that offer health benefits include Bifidus strains, L. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus; some supplements. combine various strains of these for optimal benefits. What are these benefits, you ask? Let's take a look.

ZAPPING CHOLESTEROL