Probiotics and human health

The relationship between probiotics and human health has received special attention from scientists and health professionals. To this day, scientists have found the effects of probiotics on gut health, vaginal health and many other potential benefits.

Probiotics can be simply understood as live microorganisms that are beneficial to health when consumed or applied to the body. They can be found in yogurt, other fermented foods or supplements and beauty products.
Many views bacteria and other microorganisms as harmful "germs", yet many species are actually helpful. Some bacteria help digest food, destroy disease-causing cells, and produce vitamins. Many of the microorganisms in probiotic products are the same or similar to the microorganisms that live naturally in our bodies.
Probiotics can contain a variety of microorganisms. The most common are bacteria belonging to the groups Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Other bacteria can also be used as probiotics and yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii.
Different types of probiotics can have different effects. For example, if Lactobacillus helps prevent disease, it does not mean that another type of Lactobacillus or any probiotics Bifidobacterium will do the same.

The answer is no, prebiotics are not the same as Probiotics. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth or activity of desired microorganisms.

Probiotics can have many effects in the body, probiotics and work in different ways such as:
Helps the body maintain a healthy microbial community or helps the microbial community in the body return to a healthy condition after being disturbed. Produce substances with desired effects.

Strains from the bacteria Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are probiotics that often appear in products. Many experts in the field also suggest that the many well-studied Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species may have a "common" or "core" effect on gut physiology and health by creating an environment. more favorable in the gut, through a mechanism shared by most probiotics. Furthermore, dietary guidelines in Estonia, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain specifically recommend the addition of probiotics to the diet. However, the use of probiotics to describe products sold in the EU has been banned, because of the potential for health effects, and there are no specific claims authorized by the European Food Authority, the Federal Safety Authority. in relation to any Probiotics.
The results of scientific studies looking at the health effects of Probiotics periodically have made headlines, with suggested benefits including: reducing hay fever symptoms and preventing digestive upsets due to antibiotics. Much of the research on probiotics focuses on specific health conditions, especially those related to the gut, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis. However, new research shows that bioactivity reaches systems beyond the gut, such as regulating blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and even cognition. Many studies specifically look at the potential health effects in healthy people, including reducing the duration of colds and improving very mild symptoms (abdominal pain and bloating) in people diagnosed with no symptoms. have gastrointestinal disease.

Probiotics is a complex field and when looking at research results it is important to take into account several factors such as:
Probiotics include a wide range of bacterial strains. The description of the effects of probiotics in general can be misleading, as health effects may be specific to a single strain of bacteria. Therefore, aggregating study results using different strains (or combinations of different strains) may not be helpful in determining health. It is important to remember that every single strain must be tested for each health outcome before firm conclusions can be drawn. In addition, responses to probiotics may vary between individuals due to physiological differences, such as the basic composition of the gut microbiota. Therefore, the number of study subjects needs to be large enough to explain this. Probiotics must be taken regularly and survive the gastrointestinal tract. To be effective and impact health, probiotics must be able to survive extreme conditions (especially stomach acid) while moving through the intestinal tract. Currently, many research results have shown that survival rates tend to vary between different strains. Probiotics manage to recover and grow in the gut, which can then affect the composition and functioning of the gut microbiota but integrate into the gut microbiome (albeit only temporarily). Probiotic strains need to be taken regularly, as they usually only last in the gut for a short time. The medium of delivery of Probiotics and the dose is also important, when it is important to examine whether probiotics can provide a health benefit in the medium in which they are delivered (e.g. capsules, dairy products). ) and the dose is sufficient to allow beneficial bacteria to have a beneficial effect on health. Regulators in Canada and Italy have suggested that it is necessary to ingest 109 colony-forming units of a particular strain per day.

Once we have a clear understanding of what probiotics are, we can see some of the potential benefits of probiotics that have been found in the treatment or prevention of:
Diarrhea Irritable bowel syndrome Ulcerative colitis colon Crohn's disease H. pylori (which causes ulcers) Vaginal infections Urinary tract infections Recurrence of bladder cancer Gastrointestinal infections caused by Clostridium difficile Pouchitis (a possible side effect of surgery) colectomy) Eczema in children.

The best-case scenario for probiotic therapy is in the treatment of diarrhea. Controlled trials have shown that Lactobacillus GG can shorten the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children (but not adults). Although studies are limited and data are inconsistent, two large reviews, taken together, found that probiotics reduced antibiotic-associated diarrhea by 60%, when compared with placebo. .
A more common problem than diarrhea is constipation. In a search of studies on the benefits of probiotics in treating constipation, researchers found that probiotics slowed the "intestinal transit time" by 12.4 hours, an increase of 1.3 times. outside every week and help soften stools, making them easier to pass. However, many studies still make specific recommendations when it comes to the benefits of probiotics for constipation.
Probiotic therapy may also help people with Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical trial results are mixed, but some small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission of ulcerative colitis and prevent Crohn's disease or recurrence of pouchitis (complication of surgery for ulcerative colitis). Because the disorder is so difficult to treat, many people are trying probiotics before having all the evidence about the specific strain they're taking. More research is needed to find out which strains work best for which conditions.

Probiotics can also be used in the maintenance of urogenital health. Like the intestinal tract, the vagina is a balanced ecosystem. Lactobacilli-dominant strains often make it too acidic for harmful microorganisms to survive. But this system can be unbalanced by a number of factors, including antibiotics, spermicides, and birth control pills. Treatment with probiotics that restore the balance of the microflora may be helpful for common female urogenital problems such as: yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and urinary tract infections.
Many women eat yogurt or insert it into the vagina to treat recurrent yeast infections, this is a "folk" cure with limited medical support. Oral and vaginal administration of Lactobacilli may help treat bacterial vaginosis, although there is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of Lactobacillus over conventional methods. (Vaginitis must be treated because of the risk of pregnancy-related complications and pelvic inflammatory disease.) The treatment of urinary tract infections with probiotics is also currently being studied.
When you have explained what probiotics are and what the role of probiotics is, you should consider before using if necessary, you can consult a specialist doctor to achieve high efficiency as well as not. cause unwanted reactions in the body.
If you need in-depth advice on health information, diseases in daily life, you can go to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and advice from doctors and nutritionists. .

Reference source: nutrition.org.uk