How Probiotics Changed My Life? | Probiotics Health Benefits
Probiotics are live microorganisms which beneficially affect the host animal by improving microbial balance. There is a microbial equilibrium in the human intestinal tract. Both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria contribute to the equilibrium. What probiotics do is increasing the beneficial microbial load. Lactobacillus acidophilus,L. casei,, Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Escherichia coli strain nissle, yeasts etc. are some of the microorganisms who are important as probiotics. Since probiotic activities are strain related, strain identification is recommended in order to establish their suitability and performance for industrial application. This is achieved by a combination of phenotypic tests followed by genetic identification using molecular techniques like DNA/DNA hybridization, 16SRNA sequencing, and so on. Probiotic microorganisms should acid tolerance, bile salt tolerance, adhere to mucosal and epithelial surface and should have antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria.
The main dairy-based probiotics containing food products are fermented milks, cheese, ice cream, buttermilk, milk powder, and yogurts. Nondairy food applications include soy based products, nutrition bars, cereals, and a variety of juices etc. Some of beneficial effects attributed to probiotics, including improvement of intestinal health, enhancement of the immune response, reduction of serum cholesterol, and cancer prevention.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is often caused by an intestinal infection. Diarrhea can throw the microbes in gut off balance. As long as diarrhea isn’t severe, it is usually enough to simply drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, and wait for the infection to run its course. However, in small children and older people the loss of fluid can quickly become so dangerous that special treatment is needed. Treatment and prevention of infectious diarrhea are probably the most widely accepted health benefits of probiotic microorganisms. They suppress the germs causing the diarrhea and help the body fight them.
Lactose intolerance
This is the inability to hydrolyze lactose into the glucose and galactose. Lactose intolerant individuals develop diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and flatulence after consumption of milk or milk products. The probiotic microorganisms produce beta- galactosidase or lactase intracellularly that may assist in the digestion of lactose and reduce lactose intolerance. Studies have shown that people with lactose intolerance tolerated the lactose in yogurt better than the same amount of lactose in milk. The assumption was that the presence of lactase producing bacteria in the yogurt, especially Lactobacillus acidophilus, contributed to the digestion and absorption of lactose. It was also found that the presence of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus alleviate lactose intolerance through their ability to produce lactase enzyme.
Allergy
Probiotics may provide safe alternative microbial stimulation needed for the developing immune system in infants. In the same time they improve mucosal barrier function, a property that is considered to contribute in moderating allergic response.
Preventing cancer
The exact mechanisms are under investigation on how probiotics help in cancer prevention, but studies have demonstrated that certain members of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. decrease the levels of carcinogenetic enzymes produced by colonic flora through normalization of intestinal permeability and micro flora balance as well as production of antimutagenic organic acids and enhancement of the host’s immune system.
Furthermore, evidence suggests that food products containing probiotic bacteria could possibly contribute to coronary heart disease prevention by reducing serum cholesterol levels as well as to blood pressure control.
Although the benefits of probiotics are identified, the development of probiotics for human consumption is still in research stage. Further research, in the form of controlled human studies, is needed to determine which probiotics and which dosages are associated with the greatest efficacy and for which patients, as well as to demonstrate their safety and limitations.
References
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2013/481651/
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01593800
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0088733/
https://bodyecology.com/articles/introduce_babies_probiotics.php
