Are we really what we eat?
We've heard so much about the "health benefits" of "good bacteria" in our digestive systems. Not have we of its benefits to reduce the risk of ulcerative colitis, irritable bowels, respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, and other GI issues, but probiotics are also being used for overall health and wellness. In addition, probiotics are being seen as an alternative to antibiotics, which is gaining obsoleteness as the number of drug-resistant strains of common diseases are being discovered and decreases beneficial human flora. The use of probiotics is rapidly rising as the number of clinical trials is increasing more than two-fold as well.But how much is enough? What exactly is a probiotic—the difference between E. coli and L. acidophilus? Which one works or does not work? The problem with marketing is that they can slap on a label that says, "contains live cultures" and not contain anything beneficial at all. In addition, foods don't typically contain sufficient amounts of probiotics, either. There are countless questions to ask.
Just yesterday, my Human Science 001 class had the privilege of inviting Dr. Dan Merenstein, the Director of Research Family Medicine and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Georgetown University, as a guest lecturer. In a full disclosure, he listed his whole prebiotic-related repertoire: funded by Dannon, Lifeway, Nestle, and Cargill; scientific expert about marketing claims about yogurt for General Mills and Nestle. Quite an impressive one, if you ask me.
Because we are studying the digestive system, his expertise on the GI system to tell us about his evidence-based findings and general data regarding the use and guidelines of probiotics. The following information is based off of his lecture, which was basically a condensed version of his project, Interactive Tutorial on Primary Issues.
some key definitions
possible uses / prevention
(for which are published targets for benefits by probiotics)
Note: Different probiotics work for different symptoms.
how probiotics work
The functions of the human microbiota include maintaining immunity, optimal digestion and metabolism, intestinal wall strength, while discouraging pathogen growth.
How so? Some say probiotics help produce antimicrobial organic acids by fermenting the sugars in our food, increase immune response to pathogens or vaccinations, decrease inflammatory response, help the early immune system to develop well-balanced (less risk of allergy), maintain the function of the mucous lining of your gut, and makes it less sticky for pathogens. And it makes perfect sense to me. When when you have a happy, thriving colony living in your gut that you can live peacefully with, just like any other civilization, they are sustained by the nutrients you eat and the space you provide. They aren't going to let another colony suddenly invade and colonize their turf and steal their food. Nuh-uh. Not without a fight.
classification
Different strains of a certain species have different effects, just like how one strain of a virus can be drug-resistant by a genetic variation from one that isn't. Also, not all probiotics are bacteria. They also also be yeasts (i.e. Saccharomyces boulardii) or other microbes.
| Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG) |
| genus: Lactobacillus |
| species: rhamnosus |
| strain: GG |
The ones that naturally live in our gut are Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium longum, B. breve, and B. infantis.
sources
It's quite easy to get lost when searching for a probiotic supplement because of the sheer number of brands. Because there is a huge variability of the quality, efficacy, ingredients, purported benefits, lifespan, and doses among these different brands, page 13 of Probiotics for GI Health in 2012: Issues and Updates is a quick reference guide actually intended for clinicians.
Probiotic supplements quantify the number of microorganisms by colony forming units (CFU), or basically viable cells. There is no standard dosage, but rather clinicians and manufacturers make recommendations based on studies. However, if you walk into a pharmacy, you will find that most capsules contain about 10 billion (10 x 109) cells. An example: in the case of Culturelle®, the manufacturer recommends 2 capsules/day for digestive troubles and 1/day for GI health and immune function. The most common studied strains are Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, for which obtaining a licensed right to is quite difficult, apparently.
why we need probiotics
Within the past 50 years, the world saw a dramatic decrease, if not eradication, of diseases such as Hepatitis A, Tuberculosis, Mumps, and Measles due to vaccination and sanitation. However, within these same years, we've see an increase of a similar magnitude of diseases like Crohn's disease, Asthma, Type 1 Diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis.A possible reason is delineated by the Hygiene Hypothesis: because we're too clean with all the chemicals and antibiotics, etc. nowadays, our bodies can't fend critters off as well anymore. A concrete example is demonstrated by the development of intestinal microbiota. Breast-fed infants with vaginal births fare significantly better than their bottle-fed, C-sectioned counterparts in terms of illnesses, allergies, and gastroenteritis. It makes sense because the moment infants are born, they are barraged with microorganisms as breasts and vaginas are far from sterile. However, a recent study shows that these negative effects can be mitigated by probiotic supplementation.
source: Interactive CME
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