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Focus
on Healthy Eating
Add
Probiotics to Your Diet and Boost or Improve Your Immune System
In the old days,
you took medicine when you got sick and hoped it would make you
well. Now scientific studies are showing that we can actually boost
our immune system to help fight off infections and disease before
we ever get sick! While the age-old wisdom of getting enough sleep,
minimizing stress, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly
still holds true, there's exciting new evidence that eating certain
foods - including cultured dairy products - can boost the immune
system and provide other amazing health benefits as well.
Probiotics
- the friendly bacteria
 Foods
that contain probiotics - live cultures of various strains of beneficial
bacteria- are showing great promise in a variety of clinical and
laboratory studies for their ability to boost the immune system,
ease gastrointestinal problems, protect against different types
of cancer and battle other ills to help us achieve optimal health.
Like a developing news story the facts are still coming in, and
the news is mostly good about these friendly, health-enhancing bacterial
cultures added to certain foods. A variety of probiotics are also
sold in capsule or powdered form as supplements.
While researchers
are not yet at a point of recommending precise amounts or types
of probiotic-containing foods to achieve specific health benefits,
they are convinced that some is good and more is probably even better!
Probiotic
foods
The most common
probiotic foods in the United States are cultured, or fermented,
dairy products. Various strains of probiotic bacteria are added
to yogurt and kefir, a cultured milk product that is extremely popular
in Europe and quickly gaining attention in the United States. Acidophilus
milk also contains probiotics. You can find these products in supermarkets
and health and natural food stores.
What
probiotics can do
These remarkable
microorganisms appear to be just the ticket for people with:
- Digestive
disorders
- Lactose intolerance
- Recurrent
intestinal or vaginal infections
- Diarrhea
brought on from illness/viruses, taking antibiotics or traveling
- Compromised
immune system
Research is
in full swing to identify the health benefits of various strains
of probiotics. The future appears bright for these tiny, powerful
microorganisms and it is consumers who stand to benefit. While the
verdict isn't in yet, studies have shown that probiotics may, among
other things:
- Minimize
symptoms of food allergies and intolerances
- Improve bowel
regularity
- Improve absorption
of nutrients and micronutrients - particularly good news for the
elderly who are often at risk for nutrient deficiencies
Putting
probiotics to work for you
- For general
good health, simply include some probiotic foods in your daily
diet. Yogurt comes in many flavors and options of fat content.
Acidophilus milk tastes just like regular milk and it's available
in both 1 and 2 percent fat. Kefir comes in a variety of tempting
flavors.
- Keep in mind
that you need to get enough of a particular strain or combination
of strains to reap the health benefits. For example, if you have
diarrhea or a yeast infection, you could try eating yogurt once
a day to see if it helps. If you don't get the results you're
looking for, you could eat more yogurt or add acidophilus milk
or kefir to your diet. Foods containing probiotics are generally
rich in other nutrients as well so adding them can't hurt and
may do you a world of good.
- Not all probiotics
will work for all conditions for all people in the same amounts.
Contact manufacturers to find out if their products contain strains
that offer the health benefits you are looking for and how much
is recommended. Until more specifics are known, perhaps the best
advice is to experiment.
- While some
products may list the probiotic strains they contain, there are
no laws requiring that labels identify specific strains or amounts
of probiotics in a product. If the label doesn't answer your specific
health questions or concerns, contact the manufacturer for:
- Complete
information, including the specific strain(s) of probiotics
contained in the product
- The amount
of active bacteria expected at the beginning and end
of shelf-life
- Documentation
of claimed health effects for the specific strains used in
the product
- The advantage
of food sources of probiotics is that they supply a combination
of other nutrients besides probiotics and they help ensure the
survival of the probiotics in your intestinal tract. On first
glance, supplements appear to provide higher levels of probiotics,
but given their long shelf-life it is unclear how many are actually
still viable (live and active) at the time of consumption.
Not
all probiotics are the same
Different strains
of probiotics might be compared to different breeds of dogs. Just
as dogs all belong to the same "family" or species, different breeds
of dogs have different personality traits and physical characteristics.
Some are lap dogs, some are hunting dogs, some need plenty of room
to run, others are content with a walk. Likewise, different strains
of probiotics, even within the same species, can have very different
characteristics and health benefits. That's why - if you're looking
for a specific health benefit - it's important to know what strain
or strains of probiotics are contained in the product you're buying.
The following table lists specific health effects linked to specific
probiotics:
| Health
Benefit |
Species/Strain
|
What
it can do for you |
| Healthy
gut |
lactobacilli
and bifidobacteria |
Healthy
gut lactobacilli and bifidobacteria compete against disease-causing
bacteria for nutrients and living space inside the intestine.
They produce organic acids that help the body fight disease,
and even produce natural antibiotics that help discourage the
growth of harmful bacteria and other disease-causing substances.
|
| Reducing
antibiotic-related infections and diarrhea |
L.
acidophilus, B longum and S. boulardil |
Antibiotics
destroy not only the bacteria causing the infection but also
good bacteria inside the body, which can result in diarrhea
and yeast infections. Consuming probiotic-fortified foods can
help restore the healthy balance of bacteria in the gut and
reduce or prevent certain forms of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. |
| Reducing
severity of infections |
L.
rhamnosus GG |
Studies
have shown that probiotics can reduce both the number and severity
of primary infections. A double-blind, randomized trial with
children in day care showed kids who drank milk fermented with
LGG daily had missed significantly
fewer days due to illness and had fewer respiratory infections
with complications. |
| Boosting
the immune system |
L.
acidophilus LC1, L. casei and B. bifidum |
Probiotics
stimulate the production of immune cells. Probiotic bacteria
also suppress inflammatory response and help to control intestinal
inflammatory diseases. |
| Helping
minimize problems with lactose intolerance |
L.
acidophilus, B. bifidus, B. longum and S. thermophilus |
For people
who have trouble digesting lactose, fermented milk products
such as yogurt are often well tolerated. Fermented foods that
contain probiotic bacteria tend to be more effective in easing
problems associated with lactose intolerance than probiotic
supplements alone. |
*
Note: L. = Lactobacillus; B. = Bifidobacterium; S. = Streptococcus
Current
and future probiotic products
Various companies
have developed, or are in the process of developing, patented "designer"
strains of bacteria to add to their products for specific health
benefits. We will undoubtedly start seeing products on the supermarket
shelves that are specially formulated to alleviate certain health
conditions. These products will offer consumers an alternative to
more invasive, medical means of treating health problems, and provide
a dietary means of optimizing health and well-being. Ask your health
care provider or a dietitian if they could recommend a particular
probiotic, or combination of probiotics, that may assist with your
health concerns and feel free to experiment with different probiotic-containing
products to see what works for your individual needs and tastes.
There's bound to be a probiotic for everyone!
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