Probiotics - why you need them

Probiotics
Having just recently put together a healthy gut menu for Activia to use in their 14 day challenge, it reminded me of how important probiotics are to us and has inspired me to make probiotics the focus of this blog post. Firstly, probiotic literally means “for life” and according to the World Health Organisation's official definition, probiotics are “living micro-organisms that, when ingested in sufficient quantities, exert beneficial effects on the host that go beyond the primary nutritional effect”. A note here that sufficient quantities, means several million bacteria at a time!
The definition contains two very important phrases – “live” and “beneficial to the host”. We are actually eating live bacteria when we consume probiotics. However, don’t be scared we already have about 400-500 different strains of health promoting bacteria in our colon already, they start to build up after we are born. The bacterial growth in our intestine is known as our “intestinal flora” and it’s make up is very individual and varies according to our age, what we eat and where we live. One of the first bacteria to colonise the intestine is Bifidobacterium bifidum, which flourishes in intestine of babies fed with breast milk and promotes the formation of a healthy intestinal lining.

Naming Bacteria
How do we name all these different types of bacteria? First we identify probiotic bacteria by "gender" and 2 genders of bacteria, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium form the majority of probiotics. The genders separate out into species and then strains.
A note here, usually the first part of the name is abbreviated, thus Lactobacillus lactis would become L. lactis as an example. Here Lactis is the species. If there is a number or numbers and letters after the species this is the strain.

Health Benefits
We know that certain species are responsible for specific health benefits affects and no one specie has been identified as a panacea for all ills. The health benefits are very varied and wide ranging. There is evidence that probiotics the can help with the following, I have included the species and, if available, the strain thought to be responsible for the beneficial effects: -
• Strengthen immunity by stimulating immune response - Lactobacillus rhamnosus and lactococcus lactis.
• Decrease lactose intolerance – all lactic acid bacteria (LAB)
• Prevent and treat diarrhea, particularly travellers diarrhea – Saccharomyces boulardii Prevent/reduce constipation – Activia patent strain – B.regularis* TM.
• Reduce inflammation in intestinal disorders – Bacillus coagulans.
• Possible role in reducing colon cancer risk – Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
• Reduces gas, bloating and relief from abdominal pain in IBS sufferers - Bifidobacterium infantis.

It is known that different strains confer different health benefits, so you have to select the specific probiotic to target your health problem or to the one that is thought to be the most helpful for your situation. Different foods and brands also have different strains. Here some specific products and brands with the species and health claims.

Brands and products

Let’s start with Activia, which contains Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173-010, known as B.regularis, which they have patented. This bacteria reportedly speeds up transit time, reduces constipation, helps with bloating, gas and increases regularity (this is all after 14 days of eating Activia and is dose related more yogurt = faster transit time).
DANONE’s Dan Active yogurt drink contains Lactobacillus casei which helps strengthen the body’s natural immune defences.
GanedenBC 30 contains B.Coagulans.
Florstor contains S.boulardi.
Jarro-Dophilus EPS contains 8 different strains including L.casei, L.rhamnosus
Align – contains B.infantis
Culturelle contains L.rhamnous and seems to lessen antibiotic related diarrhea, particularly in children.
Some products claim to help and protect the vaginal tract and help keep it acidic. Fem-Dophilus is one example and contains L.rhamnous and L. reuteri.

How much do we need to consume?

That is not actually known, as scientists have not established the exact numbers needed for each strain to perform it's beneficial function. Also live cultures diminish over time so it is always difficult to know exact numbers in the probitoic formular you are consuming.

Getting the most from your Probitoics

Probiotic bacteria, like all living things, need nourishment, and there nourishment comes inthe form of “prebiotics”.
Prebiotics are just different types of fiber which pass through the digestive tract to the colon undigested, where they provide nourishment for the bacteria.
Some examples of fiber which help stimulate the growth of probiotic bacteria – one type is found in oat bran, legumes and barley, another type pectin, is found in fruits, psyllium is commercially available in most fiber supplements. There are some fibers known as super prebiotic fibers - inulin is the one type and is found in chicory root, another is the class of sugars known as fructo-oligosaccharides and these are found in shallots, onions, leeks, bananas, garlic and, asparagus. So including more prebiotics in conjunction with probiotics will ensure you get maximal benefits from the probiotics.

Safety concerns
A word of warning - there are some studies which have concluded that adding probiotics to diets of individuals who are seriously ill or with compromised immune systems can be dangerous. It is recommended not to supplement with probiotics under these circumstances.
Otherwise, particularly after antibiotic use, which devastates and unbalances our intestinal flora, adding probiotics and prebiotics can help create or re establish a healthy intestinal flora and restore normality to the bowel. So make the most of these friendly bacteria as without them our colons would become overrun with not so helpful bacteria.

Happy Intestines here we come!