When you get the flu or a cold, you know you’ve come into contact with a virus that’s settled into your body and set up house. But did you know your gut and the bacteria living there could prevent a virus from sticking around and causing you to get sick?

Your gut and the friendly bacteria stored there have a lot of impact on your overall health – from preventing viruses from entering your blood stream to also helping your digestive system. These friendly bacteria are called probiotics – and people often associate them with eating yogurt.

Probiotics are making a lot of news these days, and Brenda Watson is talking about them in her “Road to Perfect Health” discussions on public television. She discusses how probiotics attack viruses and other unhealthy invaders in the intestines and in the blood stream to help keep you healthy. But as people get older, their bodies don’t produce as many good bacteria – especially Bifidobacterium – potentially leading to the person getting sick or having more frequent digestive issues.

Yogurt doesn’t have enough probiotics to tackle the bad bacteria wanting to invade your body, which is why many people take probiotic supplements. The four things Watson recommends a person looks for in probiotic supplements are:

1. A high culture count, which is the total amount of active friendly cultures in one serving. Get at least 15 billion cultures in one serving.

2. Multiple strains, which refers to the different types of friendly bacteria. There are more than 1,000 strains identified, and it’s important for your supplement to contain strains that start with an L for Lactobacillus acidophilis or a B for Bifidobacterium.

3. Delayed release delivery so that the probiotic can reach your intestines without being broken down by the acid in your stomach.

4. Potency of the supplement by the expiration date. You want those bacteria working just as strong for you on the date the supplement expires as it did when you first bought the product.

Ultimate Flora brand from ReNew Life Formulas meets all these recommendations. Taking this probiotic supplement can help you improve your digestive system and upgrade your health. Visit www.renewlife.com for more information about how probiotics can help you balance out the good bacteria in your body so you can feel better.