What are probiotics?
The digestive tract maintains a balance between healthy and potentially harmful micro-organisms. Healthy micro-organisms, also called microflora or probiotics, are residents of the digestive tract that have a protective role in our bodies. When we grow older, use prescription drugs such as antibiotics and corticosteroids, eat meat, travel, and have digestive disorders, the proportion of healthy microflora in our bodies declines and is less able to protect us from disease. In addition to its protective role, microflora helps to synthesize important vitamins, nutrients and enzymes, such as the lactase needed to digest lactose in milk and dairy products. It also allows for the removal of heavy metals and other harmful ingested substances in our food, such as from the metal lining of drink boxes and canned foods.
The term probiotic means “for life” as opposed to the term antibiotic. A commonly used definition of a probiotic is a live microbial food supplement that beneficially affects the host (person or animal) by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics are beneficial bacterial cultures, such as Bifidobacterium, that can help boost the levels of naturally occurring beneficial bacteria in the gut, support good digestive health, and in healthful quantities can provide a barrier effect against inherent and invading species of harmful bacteria.
Probioticsalso known as live and active culturesoccur naturally in the digestive tract, but need regular replenishing. Live and active cultures are a source of probiotics and help promote healthy digestion and overall intestinal vitality. Rachel’s yogurt contains five distinct probiotic strains: L. Bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, L. acidophilus, Bifidobacerium lactis and L. casei.
Probiotics are beneficial intestinal bacteria, also known as friendly flora. There are at least 400 kinds of microorganisms (bacteria) found in the normal digestive tract. This amounts to about three pounds of bacteria in a healthy human intestine. Since the development of refrigeration, the United States is one of the few countries where cultured food is not eaten on a regular basis. As a result, it has been shown that the average American has only about one-third the amount of probiotics necessary in the intestines.
“Probiotics” refers to a group of microorganisms that colonize the GI tract, where they live in symbiosis with their host. Within that symbiotic relationship, they provide several benefits to the host, including the synthesis of several important molecules and nutrients as well as the control of potentially pathogenic organisms. The human gastrointestinal tract hosts over 400 species of mircroorganisms. Some of these are friendly to the human host as mentioned above, whereas others are potentially harmful, should they be allowed to grow uncontrollably. The organisms most frequently observed (according to Mitsuoka) include Enterococci, Lactobacilli, Clostridia, and Staphylococci.
