WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?
According to WHO, Probiotics are live microorganisms that when administered in an adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.
Probiotics commonly are isolated from human and animal intestinal tracts.
Worldwide, a diverse array of probiotic products is on the market, such as yogurt – perhaps the most common probiotic-carrying food, cheese, fermented and unfermented milks, juices, smoothies, cereal, nutrition bars, and infant/toddler formula. In addition to being sold as foods, probiotics are sold as dietary supplements, medical foods, and drugs.
PROBIOTICS IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH
1. Maintain your health
Early research evaluating probiotics in humans focused on relieving intestinal distress, frequently with subjects suffering from an intestinal infection or antibiotic-associated complications. As this product concept developed further. Toward this end, these controlled human studies provide support that certain probiotic strains consumed as part of a daily diet will increase the number of illness-free days. For instant, infants were helped by Lactobacillus reuteri, which decreased crying time due to colic.
2. Support in case of lactose maldigestion
Lactose is a sugar found in milk, composed of a glucose molecule linked to a galactose molecule. Lactose can be split into glucose and galactose by lactase, an enzyme produced by infants, children, and some adults.
Most humans, however, quit producing this enzyme in childhood. If these people consume dairy products with lactose, they can develop gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal bloating, pain, flatulence, and diarrhea. This situation is found in 5 to 15% of adults in Northern European and American countries and in 50 to >90% of adults in African, Asian, and South American countries. These people tend to eliminate milk and dairy products from their diet, and consequently, their calcium intake may be compromised.
The bacteria used as starter cultures in yogurt (Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) also produce lactase, and when consumed with dairy products can improve lactose digestion and symptoms in these individuals.
3. Support digestive system
Daily consumption of one to three servings of fermented milk containing a probiotic strain, Bifdobacterium animalis DN-173 010, decreased the amount of time it took food to travel from the mouth to the anus for people who had longer-than-desired transit time. The effect was more pronounced in elderly subjects and in women.
4. Support in case of Irritate Bowel Syndrome
Symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, and flatulence commonly occur in patients with IBS. These symptoms may result in part from fermentations taking place in the colon that generate gas. Certain gut bacteria process leftover food that reaches the colon without producing gas. Other species even may consume gas, particularly hydrogen. But others produce gas, which is eliminated from the body through flatulence.
5. Gastrointestinal Infection
A number of clinical trials have tested the efficacy of probiotics in the prevention of acute diarrhea, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Both the short- and long-term use of antibiotics can produce diarrhea, particularly when multiple drugs are used. Probiotics given along with antibiotic therapy have been shown to decrease the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children and in adults.
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