While some people may be using probiotics as a precaution for possible health concerns, few others may be consuming it as a cure for an existing ailment. In either way, probiotics are known to aid good digestive health, reduce depression, promote heart health, give better looking skin, and strengthen immunity. The requirements of having to consume probiotics differs from person to person. There are already several bacteria that live inside our intestines and the urogenital tracts. These bacteria are considered to be good for our health as they produce lactic acid and maintain the required pH levels inside our body. However, if you are on a certain antibiotic medication, these antibiotics tend to kill all the bacteria inside our body including the good bacteria (probiotics) thereby bringing about possibilities of an imbalance in a normal environment.

Further, the necessity of taking probiotic supplements may vary in men and women. Although the same bacteria live in the guts of people of both genders, the anatomical structure of the females makes them more vulnerable to certain infections caused due to the imbalance in the count of the intestinal microbes. There is another set of flora living in the vagina which may additionally require a women to watch out for infections in the vagina as well. Therefore, selecting the right kind of probiotic for women is essential as they would be benefitted better. Care should also be taken to choose the right probiotic for women based on which part is infected. Some of these factors affecting female health are

• The proximity of the vagina to the anus makes it easier for the bad bacteria to enter to the urogenital tract from the gastro-intestinal tract thereby causing infection of the urogenital system like thrush, cystitis, and bacterial vaginosis.
• The various sex hormones present in a female body sometimes tends to cause a gastro-intestinal upset or bloating of the stomach during the menstrual cycle in some women.
• The most common types of bacteria found in the intestines and urogenital tracts belong to the Lactobacillus species that are producers of lactic acid. These enable in keeping the acidic environment of the female systems of the vagina, bladder, urinary tract, etc., thereby keeping a check on the growth of yeast and other bad bacteria.

It is, therefore, essential to choose the right probiotic for women to maintain good health of the body and lead a healthy life.