Facts about Probiotics

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Probiotics is the term used to describe dietary factors which promote the growth of so-called 'friendly bacteria' in the human gut. These friendly bacteria exist mainly in the intestines and are vital to health and well being. Among the most important and well known 'friendlies' are lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidus.

A healthy intestinal tract should contain at least 85 percent of these 'friendly bacteria' to prevent over-colonisation of disease-causing micro-organisms like salmonella and E.coli. A number of well-known fermented foods contain friendly bacteria. These include yoghurt, fermented cheese, miso, tempeh and sauerkraut (fermented cabbage).

These foods have a long history of important nutritional and therapeutic benefits with most cultures around the world using some form of these foods to maintain good health. The growing weight of scientific evidence also demonstrates that fermented foods play a significant and positive role in human health.

Friendly gut bacteria play a major role in our health as they are intimately involved with our body's nutritional status through improving digestion and absorption of foods. They are also involved in vitamin production, and the stimulation of immune system function.

Probiotics are extremely beneficial for treating digestive problems, intestinal stomach bugs and urinary tract infections. Probiotics prevent the overgrowth of yeast and fungus making them useful in the treatment of candida and other fungal conditions (ie, tinea). Lactobacillus is used to assist with protein digestion; it is helpful for treating lactose-intolerant people and enhances the absorption of other nutrients.

Probiotic supplementation is particularly important for the prevention and treatment of antibiotic-induced conditions (candida, urinary tract infections, and diarrhoea). Antibiotics destroy friendly gut bacteria along with the harmful bacteria. Thus, taking probiotics after antibiotic therapy will restore gut flora to a healthy balance.

By promoting proper digestion of foods, friendly bacteria also aid in preventing food allergies. If digestion is poor, the activity of intestinal bacteria on undigested food may lead to excessive production of the chemical histamine, which triggers allergic symptoms.

Lactobacillus bifidus aids in the synthesis of B vitamins by creating healthy gut flora, helping to establish a healthy environment for the manufacture of the B complex vitamins and vitamin K (needed for blood clotting).

Recent research has revealed that probiotics are responsible for maintaining a crucial balance between the systemic immune system and mucosal immune system (which is our body's first line of defence against disease and illness). Provided the friendly intestinal bacteria are thriving, infectious bacteria have a hard time getting established and launching an attack on the body

Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, an ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. They are sometimes recommended by doctors, and, more frequently, by nutritionists, after a course of antibiotics, or as part of the treatment for gut related candidiasis.

Claims are made that probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases. In these cases, the bacteria that work well with our bodies may decrease in number, an event which allows harmful competitors to thrive, to the detriment of our health.

Potential benefits include:
        - Managing Lactose Intolerance
        - Prevention of Colon Cancer
        - Cholesterol Lowering
        - Lowering Blood Pressure
        - Improving Immune Function and Preventing Infections
        - Helicobacter pylori (infactions which cause Peptic Ulcers)
        - Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
        - Reducing Inflammation
        - Improving Mineral Absorption
        - Prevents Harmful Bacterial Growth Under Stress
        - Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Colitis

Maintenance of a healthy gut flora is, however, dependent on many factors, especially the quality of food intake. Including a significant proportion of prebiotic foods in the diet has been demonstrated to support a healthy gut flora and may be another means of achieving the desirable health benefits promised by probiotics.

As probiotics are mainly active in the small intestine and prebiotics are only effective in the large intestine, the combination of the two may give a synergistic effect.

Some fermented products containing similar lactic acid bacteria include:
        - Pickled vegetables
        - Fermented bean paste such as tempeh, miso and doenjang
        - Kefir
        - Kimchi
        - Kombucha
        - Pao cai
        - Sauerkraut
        - Soy sauce
        - Tempeh
        - Zha cai

Some recent research has also shown that Probiotics may help people lose weight. The research that adds to emerging evidence that part of the obesity problem might be an imbalance of bacteria in the gut.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers who gave a probiotic supplement to weight loss surgery patients to treat a potential complication of surgery - an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) - stumbled on some unexpected results: the patients lost significantly more weight.

"We know that the type of bacteria that we have in our intestine does determine how many calories you actually take in. So you could easily imagine that if you changed the composition of that bacteria, you'll change how many calories you absorb," says lead author Dr. John Morton, an associate professor and director of bariatric surgery at Stanford University.

That suggests that the type of bacteria in an individual's gut helps to determine how many calories that person absorbs. Research is ongoing.