The human body is made up of approximately 10 trillion cells. The amount of bacteria in our intestine exceeds this number 10 times. They create their own environment that is very sensitive to any changes. Different environment, diet, stress, stimulants or medications taken have a great influence on the type, quantity and functions of our microbiota. We don’t associate bacteria and fungi with anything pleasant. And we should appreciate them more because they fulfill many useful functions:
- improve the functioning of the intestines;
- improve the absorption of nutrients;
- are involved in the production of vitamins B and K;
- seal the intestines, protect their epithelium against irritating factors;
- contribute to the formation of short-chain fatty acids through fermentation and decomposition of food residues;
- stimulate the immune system.
This is only a small part of their contribution to the body. Each of them could be described separately and in great detail.
However, it must be remembered that most of the credit is only due to good bacteria. Under the influence of an inappropriate lifestyle, we contribute to the formation of pathogenic microflora – bacteria that are pests or are too lazy to help protect our health. It turns out that we can build them from an early age.
Childbirth matters
How we are born probably has the greatest influence on the type of microflora in our gut. There is evidence that the microflora that developed during the neonatal period lived in the intestines all life.
A newborn is probably born with a sterile digestive tract. When you are born naturally, the first bacteria you come into contact with are those of your mother. During the first 3 hours of life, they colonize in the intestines. When a caesarean section is performed, the baby has limited contact with the mother’s skin. Initially, it is usually exposed to those microbes found on staff gloves, hospital equipment and hospital air. These are largely pathogenic bacteria.
What are the risks of a cesarean section? Research says that babies born through caesarean section are more likely to develop overweight, type I diabetes, and problems with defecation. They also have a greater predisposition to develop allergic diseases and celiac disease.
Dear future moms! Therefore, you should choose an appeal to your caesarean section only when you have medical indications for it.
Immunity comes from the belly
Hands up, anyone who can honestly say that taking an antibiotic is taking the probiotic as recommended. According to the recommendations, this means that in addition to the period of illness, the probiotic took a minimum of a week after the end of the treatment. I think a small handful of such people will gather here. Why is it so important?
Antibiotics are very powerful substances that are supposed to sweep away all unwanted microbes from us. Unfortunately, it usually happens that they don’t look at which bacteria on the way, they just sweep them out at once. Effect? Diarrhea, problems with bowel movements, abdominal pain, weakness. And the never-ending fight against disease.
It takes time to rebuild this microflora. In theory, it should be two weeks, in practice – half a year or more. It is therefore worth supporting the reconstruction with natural products containing live bacterial cultures (kefir, silage) or with prebiotics – products containing a nutrient medium for bacteria, e.g. inulin, linseed, garlic, fish oil (as a source of omega-3 acids). It is worth taking care of it now, when the worst weather is yet to come. After all, we want to survive the winter unscathed, right?
Probiotic is unequal to probiotic
Once we make the decision about probiotic therapy, another problem arises – which probiotic to choose? Single-strain or multi-strain? More expensive, cheaper? There are three standards that will allow us to independently determine whether a given probiotic is effective:
1. The number of colony-forming bacteria – this is the minimum number of bacteria that should be included in the probiotic so that the preparation has a health-promoting effect. The established minimum is 10 ^ 9 cfu / gram of the preparation. This information can be read on the packaging;
2. Three-membered name of the strain – not every species of the genus Lactobacillus shows a pro-health effect. Pharmaceutical companies often take advantage of consumers’ ignorance and all they need to do is write the Latin name on the packaging, and we already think that it is definitely a good probiotic.
So what should the appropriate record look like? It should specify the genus, species and numerical and numerical designation.
Example of an appropriately labeled strain: Lactobacillus (genus) Rhamnosus (species) R0011;
3. Type of bacteria – not every bacteria is necessary for us. We reach for (or at least we should) reach for a probiotic for a specific purpose. Some have chronic diarrhea, then ulcerative colitis, and still others struggle with excess kilograms. How do we know which strain will help us best? Dr inż. Anna Malinowska – assistant professor at the Institute of Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, head of the Microflora-Diet-Metabolism research project says: Choosing the right probiotic for a given ailment or disease can be quite a challenge for the average consumer.
He also adds that: This is largely due to the fact that still none of the health claims (Claims suggesting that there is a link between the consumption of a given food or one of its ingredients and health) for probiotics it has not been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This means that the packages of probiotics do not contain information about the purpose for which a given probiotic can be used. This does not mean, however, that there are no premises for the use of specific strains of probiotic bacteria. However, this choice must be dictated by the results of scientific research, because not every probiotic can be used for every disease or ailment. These types of recommendations can be found in the article on recommendations for the use of probiotics published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. There are recommendations for people with necrotic enteritis, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies and liver diseases. So far, there are no recommendations regarding probiotic supplementation in the case of obesity or overweight, although studies indicate that this type of supplementation may have a positive effect on weight loss.
There are three best-studied and best-documented strains to date:
- Lactobacillus helveticus R0052,
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 (LGG),
- Saccharomyces boulardii – a strain of probiotic yeast
A good pharmacist will certainly help us choose the right probiotic for the ailments.
Many people do not realize how important bacteria are in our gut. This is a big mistake. By neglecting them, we harm ourselves. And it is enough to include natural ingredients, fermented milk products, and sauerkraut in the diet. A well-groomed intestine is a happy intestine. Let us take care of them, then they will take care of our health and well-being.
1. Floch MH1, Walker WA i in., Recommendations for Probiotic Use—2015 Update: Proceedings and Consensus Opinion. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2015; Suppl 1:S69-73
2. Enders G., Internal history. The intestines, the most fascinating organ in our body.
3. Jach Monika et al., Probiotics – functional and technological aspects, post. microbiol., 2013, 52, 2, 161–170.
4. Mojka Katarzyna, Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics – characteristics and functions, Probl. Hig. Epidemiol. 2014, 95 (3): 541-549.
5. Jańczewska I., Domżalska-Popadiuk I., The importance of bacterial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract of full-term infants born by caesarean section, Ann. Acad. Med. Gedan. 2014, 44, 99-104.
Source for the photo: https://pixabay.com/pl/kom%C3%B3rki-ludzi-medycznych-biologia-1872666/