Probiotics - Taking Probiotic Supplements for Better Health
You don't necessarily need probiotics, foods or supplements that contain "good" bacteria, to be healthy. However, these microorganisms may help with digestion and offer protection from harmful bacteria, just as the existing "good" bacteria in your body already do.
At the start of the 20th century, probiotics were thought to beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance, thus inhibiting pathogens and toxin producing bacteria. Today, specific health effects are being investigated and documented including alleviation of chronic intestinal inflammatory diseases, prevention and treatment of pathogen-induced diarrhea, urogenital infections, and atopic diseases.
Probiotics are live microorganisms thought to be healthy for the host organism. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: "Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host". Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are the most common types of microbes used as probiotics; but certain yeasts and bacilli may also be helpful. Probiotics are commonly consumed as part of fermented foods with specially added active live cultures; such as in yogurt, soy yogurt, or as dietary supplements.
Experiments into the benefits of probiotic therapies suggest a range of potentially beneficial medicinal uses for probiotics. For many of the potential benefits, research is limited and only preliminary results are available. It should be noted that the effects described are not general effects of probiotics. Recent research on the molecular biology and genomics of Lactobacillus has focused on the interaction with the immune system, anti-cancer potential, and potential as a biotherapeutic agent in cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, travellers' diarrhoea, pediatric diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
Research is emerging on the potential health benefits of multiple probiotic strains as a health supplement as opposed to a single strain. The human gut is home to some 400-500 types of microbes. It is thought that this diverse environment may benefit from multiple probiotic strains; different strains populate different areas of the digestive tract, and studies are beginning to link different probiotic strains to specific health benefits.
Articles
| Pub. Date | Topic | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-12-23 | Designer Probiotics May Help Reduce Obesity | Society for General Microbiology |
| 2010-08-08 | Study Shows Bio-k+cl1285® Can Prevent Antibiotic-associated Diarrhea | Bio-K + International inc. |
| 2010-08-08 | Bio-K+ CL1285 Probiotic Fights Listeria Monocytogenes Bacteria | Bio-K + International inc. |
| 2010-07-20 | Mothers Probiotic Use Limits Eczema in their Babies | Norwegian University of Science and Technology |
| 2010-06-24 | Probiotics may Ward off Obesity in Pregnant Women | European Association for the Study of Obesity |
| 2010-06-17 | Probiotic Therapy Cuts Risk of VAP in Half | American Thoracic Society |
| 2010-05-24 | Probiotics for Healthy Digestion | Ellen Landauer |
| 2010-05-19 | Probiotic Drink DanActive Reduced Infections in Daycare Children | Georgetown University Medical Center |
