When are probiotics useful? Category 7 strains vary greatly! Pharmacist reveals the truth about the effects and ingredients of probiotics
What are probiotics? What is the main effect on human health?
The healthy human intestine is an extremely complex bacterial symbiont, with more than 100 trillion bacterial cells, covering 1,000 strains of different species. Many people confuse “smooth defecation” and “promoting digestion”. In general, probiotics are mainly discussed for their functions of “reducing bad intestinal bacteria” and “regulating the intestines”. “Promoting digestion” refers to breaking down nutrients so that the body can absorb them. Suitable supplements are digestive enzymes, bromelain enzymes, papaya and kiwi enzymes to promote digestion. There is a difference between the two, and consumers are easily confused.
The human large intestine is 150-160 centimeters long. The bad bacteria in the intestines account for about 20% of the total bacteria, including “Staphylococcus aureus” that causes diarrhea, “Helicobacter pylori” that causes ulcers, and some that may cause gastrointestinal problems. Salmonella, the other 50-60% are neutral bacteria. Neutral bacteria are also called “opportunistic pathogens”. They usually do not affect the intestines. However, when the number of good and bad bacteria in the intestines changes, , the neutral bacteria will attach themselves to the party with a stronger numerical ratio.
Intestinal health affects 70% of our body’s immune system, and also affects our metabolism, which can lead to diabetes, fatty liver, and some heart health, etc.
Can probiotics be ingested through natural food? Do I also need to supplement probiotics?
If you want to get probiotics through food intake, you can add some foods rich in dietary fiber or fermented foods, which have a lot of probiotics and prebiotics, including sugar-free yogurt, cheese, natto, or kimchi. , but it should be noted that the high salt content of kimchi should be used in moderation for people with poor stomach function. Yogurt also recommends choosing sugar-free yogurt to avoid obesity problems before the probiotics are replenished.
Whether probiotics are ingested from natural foods or through health foods, the most important thing is that they need the help of “prebiotics” to survive for a longer period of time. Therefore, consuming some dietary fiber from fruits and vegetables can effectively assist the survival of probiotics. For example, brown rice, oats, yams, asparagus, almonds and walnuts, pumpkin seeds, wood ear mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, etc. are all natural ingredients rich in probiotics.
After probiotics multiply through dietary fiber, they will produce organic acids. Organic acids will prevent bad bacteria that like an alkaline environment from staying for long. They can also promote the normal metabolism of intestinal epithelial cells and help improve the body’s immunity to a certain extent.
Can probiotic deficiencies be judged by bowel movements? Does BMI affect intestinal motility?
First, you need to know why there are stinky farts. When the number of bad bacteria in the intestines increases, resulting in abnormal peristalsis and feces staying in the intestines for too long, too much water may be absorbed. Normal feces moisture content is within 70-80%, and more than 80% is called “diarrhea.” If it is less than 60%, the feces will become very hard. When feces stays in the intestines for too long, it will gradually decay and produce a large amount of toxins. These toxins will be absorbed by the intestinal mucosa and damage other body organs.
Another situation is “external oppression”. When there is too much visceral fat, it will directly compress intestinal peristalsis, causing outlet obstruction type constipation. In the long run, it may affect the immune system and cardiovascular health. Therefore, BMI Those who exceed the standard should reduce intestinal problems. Losing weight is a part of promoting intestinal peristalsis. In addition, it is also important to exercise more and consume enough dietary fiber and probiotics.
How to choose among the many probiotics? Pharmacist reveals “7 groups” of suitable strains
There are many types of probiotics, and scientists are constantly looking for effective strains from the intestinal tract to solve various diseases in the body. From the very beginning, AB bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bisakii, Longroot bacteria, and Rites bacteria are the main claims. Improve intestinal health and regulate intestinal diarrhea and constipation. Later, it developed into Lactobacillus paracasei LP, LGG Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and BB12 Bifidobacterium that regulate immunity. Some bacteria colonize the small intestine, while others can colonize the entire intestine.
At present, there are more than 315 scientific documents on probiotic research in the world, 190 of which are human clinical studies, which can be used to treat infectious diarrhea in some children, antibiotic-related diarrhea, allergy prevention and auxiliary treatment, and even atopic skin. play an improvement role.
1. Children with poor immune function/pregnant mothers who want to adjust their physique
It is recommended to take Lactobacillus paracasei LP, LGG Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Bifidobacterium BB12. Of course, you can also add additional immune-regulating complex ingredients such as glucan. Pregnant mothers can also consider supplementing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 in the later stages of pregnancy to enhance the health of their private tracts.
2. The elderly may be affected by viral infection
There are also strains developed for COVID-19, such as Lactobacillus plantarum CECT 7485. After entering the intestine, this bacterium will improve the intestinal barrier function and produce Acetate and Acetylcholine to balance the inflammatory response of the intestinal mucosa. Synthetic poly-p improves intestinal permeability, repairs intestinal mucosa, further stimulates immune cells to secrete IgM, reduces side effects caused by viral infection, and shortens the course of the disease.
3. People who eat out, have excessive waist circumference, and have three problems of high blood lipids
It is recommended to ingest some Lactobacillus plantarum with the number CECT 7528, which is used to reduce LDL and inhibit HMG-coA reductase at the same time. It can reduce blood cholesterol and adhere to the intestinal wall to maintain healthy digestive function.
4. Have had stomach disease, peptic ulcer, or Helicobacter pylori infection
After the treatment is completed, it will be recommended to supplement three types of complex bacteria, namely Lactobacillus BC198 or BC30 and LAB2PRO, together with fermented soybeans, egg yolk powder, and cabbage burdock extract, to help maintain the health of the gastric mucosa and avoid repeated intrusion by Helicobacter pylori.
5. Girls, mature women or office workers who often have problems with their private parts
If you drink little water, like to soak in hot springs, or have a weak immune system, it may be recommended to supplement Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 to help balance the flora in your private parts and maintain mucous membranes. This type of probiotics is usually combined with cranberries to form a compound form to maintain your health and prevent recurring infections.
6. Excessive pressure and trouble sleeping
You can consider supplementing with certified strains PS128+GABA, BIOJOVIAL ProGA28 patented good sleep bacteria, and Sensoril’s patented ashwagandha, which have been clinically proven to help relax your mood and adjust sleep quality. They have also been reported in recent international journals.
7. Poor eating habits, abnormal work and rest, and interference from antibiotics
It is recommended to choose probiotics that have a higher bacterial count, a slightly higher bacterial count, and incorporate dietary fiber or digestive enzymes.
In the latest 2016 journal, patients with poor kidneys are also recommended to supplement probiotics, but the strains of bacteria that improve the kidneys are different from those mentioned above, and specific strains are needed to achieve the effect.
In the system of the entero-renal axis, the health of the gastrointestinal tract is closely related to the kidneys. The gastrointestinal tract has a regulatory effect on kidney function. Patients with CKD and chronic kidney disease will experience disturbances in the intestinal microecological system during the progression of the disease, and the reduction of probiotics will Urine toxins continue to accumulate in the blood and cannot be removed in time, leading to further deterioration of the kidneys. Intestinal toxins can also activate the intestinal mucosa, induce systemic inflammatory reactions, and aggravate kidney damage.
Therefore, dialysis patients also have probiotics suitable for supplementation at the store. It is recommended to consult a professional pharmacist at the pharmacy.
The focus of choosing probiotics should be based on the individual needs of consumers. If you are targeting strains specifically designed to regulate allergies, you should focus on clinical trials of whether specific bacteria are allergic. If you need gastrointestinal health care, you can choose strains with patented encapsulation technology. , are less likely to be destroyed by gastric acid, and whether the strains have stability tests and whether there are “colonization ability” tests can be included in the key considerations of selection.
It is worth reminding that if you are a group of people who have had your spleen removed, or if you have irregular meals and low fiber intake, in addition to probiotics, it is recommended to add a digestive enzyme compound to promote digestion.
Are probiotics and symbiotics effective if taken together? Is it enough from food?
Ingesting good probiotics is to hope that when the probiotics enter the gastrointestinal tract, they can crowd out the living space of bad bacteria and allow the bad bacteria to leave the human body, thereby improving intestinal peristalsis, smoothing bowel movements and reducing toxins. Although high-dose probiotic supplementation can improve gastrointestinal health, probiotics are also easily disturbed by gastric acid and heat. Although thousands of people eat them, there may only be a few survivors in the end.
A study published in Genomic Medicine in 2016 analyzed the probiotics in feces and found that only a small part of the probiotics alone could survive from the stomach to the small intestine and large intestine, and the amount of bacteria was not enough to adjust the intestinal flora. Therefore, scientists have found that while supplementing probiotics, they must provide food to allow the probiotics to survive well, in order to prolong the survival time and the number of viable bacteria. This is called symbiotic, so it is common to add formula ingredients including fruit oligosaccharides. Sugar, xylo-oligosaccharide, inulin and other dietary fibers.
Food intake is the fastest and most direct. It is generally recommended that consumers consume probiotics and an appropriate amount of dietary fiber in three meals. But is this really enough? The simplest way to judge is to observe your defecation habits and feces status. If the feces contains a lot of water and the defecation is smooth and sufficient, it means that the intestinal function is healthy. If you can only go to the toilet once every three or five days and the appearance is black or dark green, It means you may have a bacterial infection or bile problem, or you may be taking antibiotics.
The more dangerous ones include gray-white or red stools. Unless you take dragon fruit or eat too many carrots, you should be aware of the crisis when you notice a change in the color of your stool. It is best to consult a specialist in an outpatient clinic before evaluating whether to take probiotics. Bacteria assisted adjustment.
When should you take probiotics and how much should you take? Who should not take probiotic supplements randomly?
When the early encapsulation technology was immature, because probiotics themselves were not resistant to gastric acid, many products recommended that consumers take them after meals because the pH value of fasting gastric acid is about 2-3. With the advancement of science and technology and breakthroughs in encapsulation technology, many products no longer recommend that they can only be eaten before or after meals, and even indicate that they can be eaten before or after meals. However, it should be noted that the ability of probiotics to withstand gastric acid after treatment does not mean that they can withstand “high temperatures”. Many elders like to eat probiotics with soup and coffee. This is a very wrong concept, and even new mothers spend a lot of money to buy them. There are milk powders with added probiotics, but if they are brewed at high temperatures, all the good bacteria in them may have been wiped out.
When replenishing probiotics, it is recommended to refer to the outer box of the product to check whether there is any special label. The amount will also have clear instructions on the appropriate amount for a day. It usually varies slightly depending on the symptoms and cannot be generalized. As for the supplementation time, it is recommended to continue for at least 2-3 months, allowing the strains to adapt to the intestinal environment and reproduce on their own, in order to achieve the required intestinal regulation effect. In addition, the more bacteria, the better. It is recommended that the number of probiotics should not exceed 30 billion a day. Too much is not good for the human body.
If you eat out today, take in too little fiber, or take antibiotics, which results in a decrease in good bacteria, it is not due to irregular bowel movements. In this case, pay special attention to the label. Some products that advertise probiotics may contain senna and aloe vera. Probiotics, magnesium oxide and other laxative ingredients are not recommended for those suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding or ulcers.
In addition, if the mucous membrane is damaged, probiotics may enter the body’s bloodstream through the wound, causing unnecessary complications or severe sepsis. For some patients whose immune function is too low or who are taking chemotherapy drugs, it is not recommended to supplement a large amount of probiotics.
Many consumers often want to buy medicinal probiotics in pharmacies, such as uterine bacteria for intestinal maintenance. However, this type of probiotics is more commonly used in diarrhea caused by Cephalosporin antibiotics and is not suitable for all groups. It is recommended to choose Before taking probiotics, consult your pharmacist to find out whether it is suitable for your current symptoms before supplementing.
Further reading:
