Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Probiotics What Is It Used For

How Much Is Needed

What is a Probiotic? How do Probiotics Work? … Well it Depends…

The amount needed for health effects varies widely, depending on the species and strain of probiotic and the desired health benefit. Different probiotics are effective at different levels some products are effective at a level of 50 million live cells per day and others at over one trillion. Yogurt commonly contains between 100 million and 10 billion live probiotics per serving. Follow manufacturers recommendations for the levels needed from specific products. Because probiotics do not permanently stay in the intestinal tract, daily consumption of probiotics is generally recommended.

What Are The Side Effects And Risks Of Probiotics

Supplements play an important role when the diet is not adequate to supply our needs. In the case of probiotics, one’s diet is the ideal source for probiotics. These are live bacteria and need to be carefully monitored, stored, and combined for the health benefits that one would be taking them for. At this time, probiotic supplements are not monitored in the U.S. the way that food or medication is. They fall under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 . This requires that the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer be responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement or ingredient is safe before it is marketed. The only time that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may get involved is if action is needed to be taken against a manufacturer after the supplement is marketed and then found to be unsafe. This means that as much as we may know about probiotics, we can’t be certain of the safety or content of the supplements available to us.

What Are Microbes And Their Role In Our Health

Microbes are tiny organisms — so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle — that are so powerful that an imbalance in the body is related to numerous diseases. These microorganisms can be found in almost every part of the human body, living on the skin, in the nose, and in the gut. There are trillions of these microorganisms in our bodies. They outnumber human cells by 10 to one, but due to their small size, they only make up 1%-3% of a body’s total mass.

The National Institute of Health is sponsoring the Human Microbiome Project , which is developing research resources to enable the study of the microbial communities that live in and on our bodies and the roles they play in human health and disease. The NIH has funded many more medical studies using HMP data and techniques, including the role of the gut microbiome in Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and esophageal cancer skin microbiome in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and immunodeficiency urogenital microbiome in reproductive and sexual history and circumcision and a number of childhood disorders, including pediatric abdominal pain, intestinal inflammation, and necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe condition in premature infants in which the intestine tissue dies due to lack of oxygen.

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What Are Probiotic Foods

Foods and drinks that naturally contain probiotics or live cultures are those that have been fermented. Foods that are fermented go through the process called lacto-fermentation in which the natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch creating lactic acid. This process was originally used for food preservation as it stops the food from spoiling, and creates beneficial bacteria, B-vitamins, and enzymes. Foods or drinks that contain these beneficial live cultures are:

  • Kombucha
  • Sourdough
  • Some cheeses

Although fermented probiotic foods or probiotic drinks make a great addition to any diet, it is hard to know what exact probiotic strains are in these natural foods. If you are looking to support a certain symptoms or health condition with probiotics, then it is best to choose a strain researched for the condition you are looking to support. Read more about this here: Fermented Foods vs. Probiotics

Dont know where to start with fermented foods? Read our Top 5 Fermented Foods

Is It Okay To Take A Probiotic Every Day

Number One Advanced Probiotic

Since probiotics are typically sold as supplements and not drugs, the FDA does not have to regulate the health claims. However, research shows that daily use of probiotics is safe.

While there are usually not many side effects associated with using a probiotic, people may feel occasional bloating/gas or differences in bowel movements when they first start taking a probiotic, Del Borrello says. It usually goes away with time.

It is also important to get the correct dosage of probiotics for full effectiveness. Probiotic dosages are given in colony-forming units or CFUs. Children are recommended to take 5-10 billion CFUs a day and adults are recommended to take 10-20 billion CFUs per day.

When starting probiotics, it is possible that you will develop loose stool for the first few days. Because probiotics are live bacteria, it is important to check the sell by date on the supplement.

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Health Benefits Of Probiotics: Evidence For Specific Effects

This section focuses on clinically relevant endpoints from human studies that are associated with probiotic use. Evidence must be viewed as being applicable to the specific probiotics and doses tested not all strains of probiotics will be functional for all the endpoints listed. Table summarises the range of benefits that have been tested in randomised controlled trials for some probiotics. As with all intervention substances, including drugs, supplements and foods, there are null trials in probiotics. Null trials provide important lessons to better understand the limitations of certain probiotic interventions and indications. However, it is important to consider these results in the context of the totality of evidence.

Benefit
NNT = 42 for hospitalised children or adults Goldenberg et al.
  • NNT, number needed to treat

Many researchers have considered the totality of evidence for probiotics on a given endpoint by conducting a systematic review that includes studies on different strains. However, not all probiotic strains can be expected to be equally effective clinically. To the extent that common mechanisms among different strains drive the observed clinical benefits, it is scientifically sound to consider evidence on similar but not identical interventions , as is often done for drugs as can be seen in this meta-analysis of all antibiotics for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations .

One In Natren’s Three

Megadophilus® is step one in Natren’s three-step custom probiotic system. This Lactobacillus acidophilus probiotic product provides support to the small intestine.Lactobacillus acidophilus prefer to reside along the walls of the small intestine, where most of the digestive process takes place. Acidophilus is also a resident beneficial bacteria in the oral cavity, vaginal tract, and part of the urinary system. Available in dairy, or vegetarian/vegan appropriate dairy free probiotic formulas, each serving of Megadophilus® provides a minimum of 2 billion colony forming units of:

  • Lactobacillus acidophilus, DDS-1 super strain in the dairy cultures OR
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus, NAS super strain in the dairy free vegetarian/vegan cultures.

Natren’s Megadophilus® was the first genuine probiotic, ushering in the entire category of dietary probiotic supplements and introducing the term “probiotic” to North America. Natren was the first company to introduce a single strain concentrated Lactobacillus acidophilus powder requiring continuous refrigeration.

Prior to the introduction of Megadophilus®in 1983, Lactobacillus was a catch all phrase for low potency, questionable and often outright inferior products including yogurt tablets, sweet acidophilus milk, and liquid acidophilus.

  • Digestion of dairy products by assisting with lactose metabolism*
  • Small intestine health*

100% potency guaranteed through the printed expiration date when stored under the conditions stated on the label.

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How Do Food Allergies Affect Digestion

Fermented dairy products are high in probiotics, but also one of the major food allergens, meaning some of the very foods that may help prevent this food allergy are off limits for those who already have the condition. The good news is if you have a food allergy, you can choose probiotic sources that are dairy-free or even nondairy fermented foods. Examples of nondairy probiotics include kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, kefir , and tempeh.

What Are Probiotics Used For

The Benefits of Probiotics

Many people use probiotics to prevent diarrhea, gas, and cramping caused by antibiotics. Antibiotics kill “good” bacteria along with the bacteria that cause illness. A decrease in beneficial bacteria may lead to digestive problems. Taking probiotics may help replace the lost beneficial bacteria. This can help prevent diarrhea.

A decrease in beneficial bacteria may also lead to other infections, such as vaginal yeast and urinary tract infections, and symptoms such as diarrhea from intestinal illnesses.

Probiotics may also be used to:

  • Help with other causes of diarrhea.
  • Help prevent infections in the digestive tract.
  • Help control immune response , as in inflammatory bowel disease .

Probiotics are being studied for benefits in colon cancer, skin infections, and irritable bowel syndrome .

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Probiotics Prebiotics And Synbiotics: Theres A Difference

As mentioned, probiotics are supplements or foods containing live microorganisms in significant enough numbers to produce health benefits to the host beyond basic nutrition.

On the other hand, a prebiotic is a nondigestible food ingredient that promotes the growth or activity of bacteria in the colon. In other words, a prebiotic promotes the growth of a probiotic. Its easier to remember the difference when you think of the word prebiotic having the prefix pre, which means before. Dietary fibers are a prebiotic. Examples of prebiotics are inulin and fructooligosaccharides.

Synbiotics are simply products that contain both prebiotics and probiotics. The prefix syn is from the word synergy because the prebiotic works in a favorable way to produce the probiotic. One example would be Lactobacilli strains promoting the production of Bifidobacteria in the gut, which both have immune system benefits.

Azo Complete Feminine Balance

AZOs probiotic is another probiotic designed specially for womens health. From stress to periods, hygiene, and sex, there are all kinds of things that throw off the vaginas pH level. This probiotic contains a group of 4 bacteria chosen for their ability to improve vaginal health.

There are some concerns over the small number of probiotic strains and the low overall amount of bacteria in the formulation . However, this probiotic is well-liked and has generally good reviews.

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Probiotics And Gut Health

The best case for probiotic therapy has been in the treatment of diarrhea. Controlled trials have shown that Lactobacillus GG can shorten the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children . Although studies are limited and data are inconsistent, two large reviews, taken together, suggest that probiotics reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea by 60%, when compared with a placebo.

More common than diarrhea is the opposite problem constipation. In a search for studies on the benefits of probiotics in treating constipation, researchers found that probiotics slowed “gut transit time” by 12.4 hours, increases the number of weekly bowel movements by 1.3, and helped to soften stools, making them easier to pass. But the jury is still out on specific recommendations when it comes to the benefits of

Probiotic therapy may also help people with Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. Clinical trial results are mixed, but several small studies suggest that certain probiotics may help maintain remission of ulcerative colitis and prevent relapse of Crohn’s disease and the recurrence of pouchitis . Because these disorders are so frustrating to treat, many people are giving probiotics a try before all the evidence is in for the particular strains they’re using. More research is needed to find out which strains work best for what conditions.

How Might Probiotics Work

Natural Remedies for H. pylori Infection â The Top Supplements

Probiotics may have a variety of effects in the body, and different probiotics may act in different ways.

Probiotics might:

  • Help your body maintain a healthy community of microorganisms or help your bodyâs community of microorganisms return to a healthy condition after being disturbed
  • Produce substances that have desirable effects
  • Influence your bodyâs immune response.

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Probiotics Are Good Bacteria

Your body is home to billions of organisms like bacteria, fungi and yeasts. Most of these organisms are harmless and many help your body work properly they form whats called the human microbiome.

Probiotics are some of the helpful good bacteria that make up your microbiome, explains Dr. Drass. They come in supplement form, but they also occur naturally in certain foods.

These fermented and aged foods are packed with probiotics:

Yogurt

Your kids likely get most of their probiotic intake from yogurt.

Scientific Guidelines For Testing

First, probiotics must be alive when administered. One of the concerns throughout the scientific literature resides in the viability and reproducibility on a large scale of observed results for specific studies, as well as the viability and stability during use and storage, and finally the ability to survive in stomach acids and then in the intestinal ecosystem.

Second, probiotics must have undergone controlled evaluation to document health benefits in the target host. Only products that contain live organisms shown in reproducible human studies to confer a health benefit may claim to be probiotic. The correct definition of health benefit, backed with solid scientific evidence, is a strong element for the proper identification and assessment of the effect of a probiotic. This aspect is a challenge for scientific and industrial investigations because several difficulties arise, such as variability in the site for probiotic use and mode of application.

Third, the probiotic candidate must be a taxonomically defined microbe or combination of microbes ” rel=”nofollow”> strain level). It is commonly admitted that most effects of probiotics are strain-specific and cannot be extended to other probiotics of the same genus or species. This calls for a precise identification of the strain, i.e. genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the tested microorganism.

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Doctors Recipes Womens Probiotics

A relative newcomer to the probiotic scene, Doctors Recipes has been producing probiotics since around 2020.

Their probiotic capsules have 50 billion cultures and 16 clinically proven strains. They can boost digestion and immunity, improve nutrient absorption, and support vaginal health.

Note that these come in delayed-release vegetable capsules, so they will be slightly better at delivering their bacteria to the gut than other probiotic capsules in this list. They are made in the USA and free from all common allergens.

The 411 On Probiotic Supplements And How To Choose A Quality Product

Prebiotics & probiotics

It can be overwhelming when seeing the slew of probiotic supplements that are out on the market. Some things to consider when choosing one that is right for you:

Be choosy. In particular, work with your healthcare team to identify and buy the probiotic that best address your health concern. For instance, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can help with diarrhea, while a combination of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus would be helpful for IBS.

Read the label. Make sure any probiotic you choose is free of any ingredients you do not want, such as food allergens. Your healthcare team can help you translate any terms you dont understand.

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Adding Probiotics To Your Diet

How do you decide whether to add probiotics to your diet? A first step is to talk with your doctor to make sure theyre right for you. Probiotics are generally considered safe to consume, unless you have a compromised immune system or youre seriously ill. Also, ask your doctor or pharmacist about dosage.

You may want to begin taking probiotics simply by adding some items with natural probiotics to your diet. You may want to keep a diary of what probiotics you introduce, and record over time whether you see any changes in your digestion or overall health. Some easily available food choices are:

  • yogurt
  • fermented vegetable products, such as:
  • miso
  • sauerkraut
  • pickles
  • If you want to take a probiotic dietary supplement, there are plenty of commercial products to choose from. Look for supplements that have:

    • Live cultures: Check the expiration date on the label. To be effective, the probiotic should be live when you take it.
    • Multiple bacteria strains: A combination of probiotics is usually more effective than a single one.
    • Large enough quantities of bacteria to form colonies: This is measured in colony-forming units called CFUs.

    Its important to remember that probiotics are considered to be dietary supplements, which are not regulated by the

    Probiotics And Mental Health

    The impact of probiotic consumption on mental health is one of the newer areas of probiotic research. Researchers believe that the link between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis, affects both physical and mental health. Probiotics are being studied for their ability to reduce anxiety, relieve stress and improve mental outlook.

    Researchers are just beginning to explore the effect of probiotics on many other aspects of human health. In the meantime, probiotic-rich foods can safely become part of a daily eating pattern, with the potential to have an impact beyond the nutrients provided.

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    What Are Probiotics And How Do They Work

    Probiotics are living organisms that are found naturally in foods such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso and kefir. They are known as good or friendly bacteria as they compete for space and food against harmful bacteria and prevent them from settling in the gut.

    Check out the top 10 probiotic foods to support your gut health.

    Health Solutions From Our Sponsors

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