We deep dive into this question with some well-researched answers
You’ve probably heard of ‘gut flora’ and ‘good bacteria’ right? Well in this article I am aiming to give an overview of just that and the benefits probiotics can give us. Overall, bacteria are viewed as bad, but some of it is good for you! In in your digestive system you have a wide variety of different bacteria which are beneficial for the body. These bacteria are part of the microbiome – which is a term that stands for all the types of microorganisms – tiny living creatures, which include bacteria. In fact, it is estimated that the ratio of human cells to bacteria is 1:1! So, it’s not surprising then that bacteria are an important component of being healthy. However, if there are changes to the normal bacteria in your gut you can get sick, for example: you get an infection causing food poisoning (yikes).
More and more studies are providing evidence of the importance of normally functioning gut bacteria to maintain health. Research has suggested that changes in gut bacteria is associated with infections, inflammatory bowel disease – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, diabetes and obesity. So how could you protect your gut bacteria and promote the good bacteria? Well this is where probiotics come into the picture. Probiotics are live bacteria that when consumed in adequate amounts can have health benefits. One such benefit is that healthy gut bacteria can aid drug treatments such as metformin which is used to treat type 2 diabetes. Probiotics can be consumed in different ways: in fermented foods or as supplements. Probiotics have been around for a while, a specific type called bifidobacteria was discovered by Henry Tissier in 1899. This probiotic is a type of bacteria that is found in the human gut, and it has positive effects on health: prevents infection of pathogenic – harmful bacteria, stimulates the immune system, protects against diarrhoea and can reduce the symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Lactobacillus acidophilus, a type of probiotic is thought to prevent antibiotic associated diarrhea and to prevent clostridium difficile infection which causes food poisoning. There is also evidence that it can decrease abdominal pain in adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Probiotics can be easily consumed through sauerkraut, kimchi, and drinks like kefir, which is great if you don’t like swallowing a pill.
There is promising research suggesting that specific probiotics may be useful for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, which is a debilitating autoimmune disease – a disease in which the immune system is affected. It causes stomach pain, changes to digestion, fatigue and other symptoms.
Future of probiotics:
There is exciting new research suggesting that new techniques could increase the accuracy of probiotics in treating food poisoning, ways to make specific probiotics that may be able to treat and prevent this!
A ‘gut feeling’:
You know when you just have a certain feeling about something, a gut feeling? Well research has shown that not only do you have the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), your digestive system has its own nervous system – the enteric nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) allows your brain to communicate with your body via the spinal cord and the brain receives information from the body via the spinal cord. Studies have shown that the gut nervous system is linked together with the CNS and gut bacteria are involved too, together these are called the gut brain axis (GBA). Research suggests the gut has a much larger influence onto the brain than previously thought. Irritable bowel syndrome is thought to be a disruption between the gut and the brain and a change in gut bacteria. The bacteria in your gut are suggested to be involved in influencing neural and hormonal systems that are involved with stress response, anxiety and memory function. Research highlighting the importance of gut bacteria has shown that the accumulation of normal gut bacteria is needed for development of both the gut nervous system and the central nervous system. An area of particular interest here, is that many of the effects on the brain from gut bacteria, appear to be specific types of bacteria – which suggests that probiotics could be a possible add-on treatment for neurological disorders.
Hopefully now you have a renewed appreciation for the importance of a healthy digestive system for your whole body and the potential positive benefits of probiotics!
Sarah Derbyshire
Bachelor of Science majoring in Neuroscience and currently a Master of Nursing Science student.
References:
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