What are Probiotics?
“Organisms” or “Good Bacteria” Call it whatever you want . Probiotics are live microorganisms, bacteria and yeasts that results in health benefits especially for digestive system which interalia includes prevention or elimination of certain disease. In plain language you can call them friendly bacteria. The human body is full of bacteria, both good and bad. Probiotics are often called “good” or “helpful” bacteria because they helps keep your gut healthy.
Probiotics have anti-inflammatory properties, with the mechanism of anti-inflammatory action anything between different probiotics species and different species strains. Probiotics, or “good bacteria,” may lower levels of inflammation in the body, which could benefit patients who have inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis, according to a study probiotics may also help patients who need to take antibiotics for prolong an extended period.
Common types of probiotic bacteria?
These organisms are present in foods, commonly dairy fermented products such as yogurt, as well as in supplements such as probiotic drinks in lyophilized form. They’re also available in pill or powder form. Probiotics are exist naturally in yogurt, curd and buttermilk. They also found in food like “Kimchi”. Though there are many types of bacteria that can be considered probiotics, Bacteria that feature the most in fermented foods includes members of the Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus genera.. Probiotics are thought to improve digestive health, and they’re often used to treat diarrheal or bloating.
Function of Probiotics
The main job of probiotics, or good bacteria, is to maintain a healthy balance in your body. Think of it as keeping your body in neutral. When you are sick, bad bacteria enters your body and increases in number. This knocks your body out of balance. Good bacteria works to fight off the bad bacteria and restore the balance within your body, making you feel better. Good bacteria keeps you healthy by supporting your immune function and controlling inflammation. Now researchers are finding evidence that the effects of bacteria in the gastrointestinal system send signals to the central nervous system, linking the gut with the brain. This could account for some known connections between gastrointestinal illness and mental illness. For example, a higher-than-average number of people with irritable bowel syndrome also develop depression and anxiety. Could better gastrointestinal health via probiotics boost emotional health too? Is a question which need to be explore. Probiotics has many proven positive effects on the body, including :
- Help your body digest food.
- Keep bad bacteria from getting out of control and making you sick.
- Create vitamins and enchase vitamins absorption
- Help support the cells that line your gut to prevent bad bacteria that you may have consumed (through food or drinks) from entering your blood.
- Breakdown and absorb medications.
- Shaping the body’s immune system
- Producing antimicrobial substances
- Fermenting fiber in the diet to generate nutrients for the cells that line our intestines
Deficiency of probiotics in the body can cause problems like Amoebic Dysentery, Irritable bowel syndrome, High blood pressure, Diarrhea and other Gastrointestinal issues.
How to Take a Probiotic
Although it is not necessary to take probiotic supplements since a healthy and balanced diet can make your body produce good bacteria to fight off any type of gut related or digestion problems therefore it is recommend to take probiotic through natural food . However, it is difficult for some human bodies to assimilate certain forms of nutrients. In such cases, probiotic supplements or medically prescribed probiotics can be consumed in order to have a healthy bowel movement and disease free gut. In general it appears most probiotic strains are probably harmless but it is not a universal truth.
If you want to consuming probiotic start with natural food . Start with cup of curd or yogurt in the morning empty stomach before brushing your teeth. Do not add salt in curd or butter milk because the salt kills the good bacteria. To get remarkable results take as glass of Luke warm water after eating curd and do not eat anything until 45 minutes .
Chose Your Probiotics Carefully
Probiotics are considered food supplements, not drugs. Therefore, there is no such regulation over how they are made or whether they even contain what they say they contain,” But use caution. It is often seen that what’s on the label is not what’s in the bottle. By the time you buy a probiotic off the shelf, there’s no way to know if the bacteria in it are as active as they were as when the product was made. In addition, each person may have different types and numbers of bacteria in their gut. This means the probiotic that works for one person might not work for another. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the probiotic strains most commonly used in In the United States to treat Gastro Intestinal issues, but there are many probiotic products in the market. They contain different types of bacteria and in different amounts. The lack of regulation means that one batch might be different from another.
People really have to be careful. Do consult your doctor or dietitian before taking such supplements and observer how your body responds , if the probiotic you’ve tried doesn’t have any effect at all? “It probably isn’t the right one for you.
Dietitian Dr. Raman Dhami
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