Contents
The human body contains just over 200 types of a wide variety of cells. At the same time, their total number is about 7-7. 5 trillion. But there are about 10,000 different types of bacteria in our body, and their number is measured in tens of trillions. That is, there are many times more bacterial cells in our body than, in fact, the cells of the body itself. But that’s not even the most interesting part. Our body contains about 1,200 different types of viruses, and the number of virus bodies exceeds a quadrillion! And of course, since all this collection of microorganisms (which in the medical world is called the microbiota) lives in us, it means that we need it for some reason.
And why?
The functions of this microbiota, which co-exists with us in symbiosis, are extremely diverse:
- participation in all major types of metabolism;
- participation in water-salt exchange;
- production of a number of vitamins and other substances we need from the incoming food;
- effect on intestinal peristalsis;
- participation in the production of energy for the work of our cells and tissues;
- protection of our cells from mutations, and therefore a certain antitumor effect;
- participation in the formation of the immune response;
- protecting our cells from oxidative stress;
- detoxification-binding, absorption and neutralization of various toxic substances;
- participation in the restoration of tissues after inflammation and damage;
- protection against certain infectious diseases;
- and even influence on the higher nervous activity and behavioral reactions of a person.
And what can disrupt the well-being of our internal microflora?
Unfortunately, there are many such factors:
- age-related changes that occur mainly after 60-75 years;
- long-term courses of antibiotics, as well as taking hormonal drugs, antihistamines and antidepressants;
- acute and chronic pathologies of the digestive system;
- lack of coarse plant fibers in food;
- unbalanced diet and / or fasting;
- various chronic and acute psychoemotional stresses;
- non-compliance with the diet or a sharp change in the diet;
- immune system disorders;
- treatment of oncopathologies with the use of cytostatic drugs and radiation therapy;
- intoxication with heavy metal salts or, for example, chronic alcohol use;
- some industrial environmental pollutants;
- violations of the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, etc.
And then what will happen?
Obviously, since most of the bacteria and viruses live in our intestines,then they will have the most noticeable effect on our digestion. Therefore, violations of the composition of the microbiota lead to the development of pathologies such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and other chronic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. In more serious cases, this can be a risk factor for a number of other diseases:
- atherosclerosis;
- type II diabetes mellitus;
- obesity;
- gout;
- systemic lupus erythematosus;
- infectious lesions;
- allergic reactions, such as atopic dermatitis and neurodermatitis;
- pathologies of the articular-ligamentous, muscular and bone systems (fibromyalgia, atrophy of skeletal muscles);
- disorders of mental well-being in the form of chronic fatigue syndrome;
- premature skin aging, hair loss and other cosmetic disorders.
Okay, but how do you save your microflora?
Drugs designed to regulate and replenish the microbiota have long been part of the daily practice of clinicians. And each of us has probably heard the terms “probiotics”, “prebiotics”and ” metabiotics”. But what are these tools? What are their differences, how do they work, and which one is better to choose?
1. Prebiotics
Let’s start with the simplest option. Prebiotics are those substances that promote the growth and reproduction of microflora in our intestines. Is this a working tool? In principle, yes, but it has two very large and obvious drawbacks:
- First, in order for prebiotics to work properly, the body must already have the necessary bacteria. After all, if they are absent, then there will be nothing to stimulate.
- And secondly, the metabolism of” useful “and” dangerous ” microorganisms for our body is very similar. This means that prebiotic substances that promote their reproduction will successfully help both of them.
Whether the “useful” microflora can suppress the development of pathogenic bacteria in conditions of a mass influx of nutrients is a question. And therefore, it is difficult to say whether there will be any benefit from active intake of prebiotics in each individual case.
2. Probiotics
This class of drugs is directly necessary for our intestines (and some other organs) microorganisms. Most often, they are in a dried state, and when they get into a favorable environment with a suitable temperature and humidity, they quickly return to life.
It would seem that what else is needed? I ate a pill – I got a dose of the “right” microbiota. But in recent years, many researchers have pointed out a number of disadvantages that probiotics have:
- it is impossible to estimate the optimal number of bacterial bodies that a particular person needs;
- bacteria that normally live in the intestines die by passing through the acidic environment of the stomach;
- taking probiotics can not be combined with taking antibiotics – they quickly destroy this microflora;
- the safety of probiotics that contain bacteria of the genus Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia, Bacillus, Bacteroides, etc. is in doubt.
Given these shortcomings, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) back in 2012, it recommended not to place information about any of their positive medical effects on the labels of products with probiotics. And in 2014, the same decision was made by the US Food and Drug Administration( FDA), which is considered one of the most stringent regulators in the world.
3. Metabiotics
The idea of using metabiotics is that the interaction between our body and the microflora occurs with the help of a number of compounds that these bacteria produce. And, therefore, these compounds can be filtered out and taken in their pure form, knowing exactly what biological effects they will have. These drugs, which are based on isolated fractions of the products of microbiota metabolism, are called metabiotics.
This approach has several advantages at once:
- metabiotic drugs have a much longer shelf life and shelf life;
- we know the chemical structure of specific molecules, which means we can predict exactly how they will interact with our body;
- metabiotics are much easier to dose;
- they are much better absorbed and evenly distributed throughout the tissues;
- metabiotics can be taken simultaneously with antibiotics;
- the acidic environment of the stomach does not destroy such drugs – 95-97% of metabiotics enter the large intestine unchanged;
- people usually tolerate the use of metabiotics equally well regardless of age and health status;
- no contraindications for use in infants, as well as in pregnant and lactating women;
- very rapid onset of action, since the drug consists of substances that are already ready to enter into metabolic reactions.
In modern medicine, metabiotics are already actively used to treat pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and biliary tract diseases, allergic skin diseases, etc. In addition, metabiotics also work as a highly effective preventive agent to improve digestion and protect against various diseases. For this purpose, it is recommended to take it in the form of healthy food products. One of these products is a concentrate produced by VILAVI INT LTD called “T8 MOVIO Metabiotic”. The composition of this product includes:
- Bifidobacterium adolescentis metafiltrate;
- Lactobacillus acidophilus metafiltrate;
- Lactobacillus salivarius metafiltrate;
- metafiltrate of Lactobacillus helveticus;
- Propionibacterium freudenreichii metafiltrate.
In 2020, T8 MOVIO received a declaration of compliance with the requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union.
So, if you want to improve your health and protect yourself and your family from a variety of different disorders associated with poor functioning of the intestinal microflora, then a reasonable choice is to preventative intake of products containing metabiotics. They have increased effectiveness compared to less modern pre-and probiotics, and also have virtually no contraindications and side effects.