Natural or Supplements — What’s your best pick to get probiotics?
Bacteria have a reputation for causing disease, so the idea of tossing down a few billion a day for your health might seem — literally and figuratively — hard to swallow. But scientific evidences suggest that you can treat and even prevent some illnesses with foods and supplements containing certain kinds of live bacteria. You constantly have both good and bad bacteria in your body. When you get an infection, there’s more bad bacteria, knocking your system out of balance. Good bacteria helps eliminate extra bad bacteria, returning the balance. Probiotic-supplements are a way to add good bacteria to your body.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for you, especially your digestive system. They are intended to have health benefits when consumed or applied to the body. Some bacteria help digest food, destroy disease-causing cells, or produce vitamins. Many of the microorganisms in probiotic products are the same as or similar to microorganisms that naturally live in our bodies. They can be found in yogurt and other fermented foods, dietary supplements, and beauty products.
What types of bacteria are in probiotics?
Probiotics may contain a variety of microorganisms. The most common are bacteria that belong to groups called Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Other bacteria may also be used as probiotics, and so may yeasts such as Saccharomyces boulardii.
Different types of probiotics may have different effects. For example, if a specific kind of Lactobacillus helps prevent an illness, that doesn’t necessarily mean that another kind of Lactobacillus or any of the Bifidobacterium probiotics would do the same thing.
How do probiotics work?
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. Certain types of good bacteria can also:
- Help your body digest food.
- Keep bad bacteria from getting out of control and making you sick.
- Create vitamins.
- 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.
Where Do You Find Probiotics?
Fermented or cultured dairy products are a major source of probiotics. Other sources of probiotics include-
- soy beverages
- buttermilk
- fermented milk
- Probiotic cereal
- sour cream
- infant formula
- fermented dishes like idli & dosa
- yogurt
- home-made pickle (in less oil)
The bacteria either occur naturally in these foods or have been added during preparation. Probiotics are also available as dietary supplements in capsule, tablet or powder-form.
Benefits of taking probiotics:
Different strains of the bacteria have different effects. For example, one strain may fight against cavity-causing organisms in our mouths and don’t need to survive a trip through our guts.
Potential benefits of probiotics have been seen in the treatment or prevention of-
- diarrhea
- irritable bowel syndrome
- ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
- vaginal infections
- urinary tract infections
- recurrence of bladder cancer
- infection of the digestive tract
- eczema in children.
If you are interested in adding probiotics to your diet, it’s worth a conversation with your healthcare provider. Many providers may suggest giving them a try to see if they help with your general health. One easy way to start can be by simply introducing probiotic-rich foods into your diet, like yogurt. Before you start any supplements, you must know that it must be avoided if your immune system is severely compromised & make sure you talk to your healthcare provider regarding the same.
