Plenty to praise about probiotics

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Updated: March 23, 2012 8:05AM

Q . I am pretty irregular — and it doesn’t feel good. Will eating yogurt help?

A. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to get your poop train running on time if you make friends with billions of gut-friendly bacteria that are packed into probiotics — the regularity regulators touted in yogurt ads.

The beneficial buggers in probiotics may ease gastrointestinal distress (lactose intolerance, constipation, ulcers, IBS), acidify your urine to help fight urinary tract infections, deter weight gain, boost immunity and slow development of some cancers.

But not all probiotics in food can swim through stomach acid to the intestines, where they need to take up residence. Yogurt’s added blessings aren’t all that hearty. So to make sure you get all the benefits, look for the spore form of the little critters. Opt for ones packaged in a hard shell that gives them the bulletproof vest they need to keep on truckin’.

But that doesn’t mean no-sugar-added, low-fat yogurt isn’t good for you. It can curb your risk of high blood pressure and boost memory. Amplify plain, low-fat yogurt with the powers of cocoa-based dark-chocolate bits and/or real fruit chunks.

Q. Lately my wife has been sleeping on the sofa to avoid my snoring. How can I stop my nighttime symphony?

A. Everybody snores now and then, even your wife, but there’s a difference between occasional snoring and being possessed by Paul Bunyan with a chainsaw.

Blocked upper airways cause snoring. The trick is to figure out what’s clogging your tubes. Could be from an allergy to dust mites, post-nasal drip, a cold, too big a waistline or slamming a couple of brewskies before bedtime.

Here’s how to bring some peace and quiet to your bedroom.

◆ If you are 40 or older, have a neck size over 17 inches, are overweight or don’t exercise much, get moving! Exercising and losing weight might be your quickest and most lasting fix for the snoring blues.

◆ Roll over. Sleeping on your back invites soft tissue at the back of your throat to relax and block air passages. Try sleeping on your side.

◆ Cut out alcohol, which can make tissue at the back of the throat sag .

◆ Get dust-mite-proof bedding.

If those steps don’t help, you might have sleep apnea — the stop-breathing-gasp-for-air-snort-and-snore racket that causes 75 percent of chronic snoring cases.

But sleep apnea isn’t just about sleep-disrupting sounds — it doubles your risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, stroke, daytime sleepiness and type 2 diabetes. A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine can help. It’s a pump, tubes and a mask that keep airways open when you sleep, so that you won’t stop breathing. And some folks find relief with a bite block that also keeps airways open.

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