Dietary fiber is a source of carbohydrate that has benefits for intestinal health. It plays a role in the prevention of disease in the intestine and even throughout the body, such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (10). Furthermore, when the bacteria in the gut ferment the fiber, metabolites are produced, which benefit the body. Short chain fatty acids are one major end product of this carbohydrate metabolism, which act to lower the colon’s pH, inhibiting pathogenic bacteria from growing. Some other metabolites include lactate, succinate and formate. Lactate is converted to butyrate by the bacteria in the gut, which induces mucin synthesis, which is a glycoprotein that maintains the gut epithelium integrity. Butyrate also acts to prevent bacterial transport across the epithelium and increases tight junction assembly (11). What this means, is that the fermentation of fiber allows these beneficial metabolites to be produced, causing a cascade of reactions that promote health and gut integrity. This shows the complex beneficial interaction between gut microbiota and fiber intake and its role in promoting health.
If you're like many other people (including myself till I started researching this), you might only have a vague idea about what a healthy gut is. You likely know there are bacteria in your gut, that antibiotics destroy those bacteria and that you need to eat yogurt to put those bacteria back. You likely don't know you need to eat special yogurt containing active live cultures to bring bacteria back in your
Our formula also contains prebiotics. These guys are what feed the good microbes and help them repopulate. So, while the probiotic is kicking the bad microbes’ butt, our prebiotics, which use a unique combination of Mannan-oligosaccharide (don’t even try to pronounce it) feed the good guys helping them do their job more efficiently.
More than a century ago the notion of microbiota working as a regulator for health and disease was already in use. They realized that consuming large amounts of fermented milk helped with their longevity. This began the foundation of probiotics. However, the oral probiotics that are used today are at a lower amount than what is contained in the colon. After cycling through the digestive system it is
Gut microbiome is one of the densest, most dynamic, and complex microorganism populations located in the body (Costa et al., 2012). Gut microbes act against transient pathogens, aid in digestion and absorption, stimulate the immune system, and support enteroctyes (Suchodoiski et al., 2012). Gut microbiome population differs between species, individuals, and organs (Fraga et al., 2011). It is noted that there are one billion microbes from one drop of cecal fluid, consisting of anaerobic microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and archae (Fraga et al., 2012). If these microbes are changed, this could result in gastrointestinal disease and even death. Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficle, Escherichia coli general and K-12, and Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex (SBEC) are common bacteria found in the microbiome of the hindgut. These strains are considered opportunistic bacteria, and if the immune system becomes compromised by changes to the hindgut microbiome, this will trigger proliferation of harmful and opportunistic bacteria that can cause numerous gastrointestinal
The use of the first form of microbe-based therapeutics, probiotics, is beneficial for preventing disease. These live microorganisms are known to strengthen the equilibrium of the gut flora by the development of healthy gut
The use of probiotics falls under the term “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), a term that encompasses a large number of different health care practices and products that are used with, or in place of, conventional medicine. CAM is the main focus of the National Center of Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a center within the National Institutes of Health, which is itself an agency of the U.S. Department of Health. [1] The NCCIH’s role is to define the usefulness and safety of CAM and the role it has on improving health and healthcare practices. [2] However, the NCCIH does not provide any regulation on the use of CAM practices or products.
Coffee silverskin has prebiotic effect due to the presence of nondigestible polysaccharides such as arabinogalactans and galactomannans. An in vitro study demonstrated that concentration of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, increased during hindgut fermentation because these microorganisms were capable to use coffee silverskin as a source of carbon and nitrogen. Mannooligosaccharides (MOS) can be obtained by thermal degradation of spent coffee grounds and increased Bifidobacterium and Eubacterium when subjects ingested 1 g∙day-1 of MOS for two weeks as well as improved frequency and days of defecation. Nodigestible polysaccharides promoted growth of Bifidobacterium by lowering pH via the production of short chain fatty acids, and low pH decreased
5). Probiotics are bacteria that are native to your digestive tract, which means, they are normally found in healthy small and large intestines and can influence the mucosal barrier (the inner lining of the digestive tract), which in turn can affect immune system functions (EczemaFree.org par. 2). Lack of a sufficient mucosal barrier allows food and environmental antigens to cross over into the blood stream, activating the immune system and leading to hyperactivity, which is the hallmark of eczema conditions (par. 2). This is an example of how usage of probiotics can improve conditions within the intestinal tract, and in turn reduce eczema symptoms. Unaltered probiotics such as Lactobacillus GG, with its anti-inflammatory powers, may help prevent the development of eczema and other allergic disorders (Sachs 230). The first clue that gut bacteria could play a role in risk for developing eczema came in the discovery that breastfed babies have a reduced incidence, prolonged onset and decreased severity to eczema
Asparagus is yet another prebiotic-rich food that supports the development of good gut bacteria and defends the body against the bad ones.. Plus, this vegetable rich is high in fiber that supports regularity and decreases bloating. Asparagus is an all-around great addition to your diet thanks to its chlorophyll content that boost immune
Scott, Lara. (2016) Probiotics and health: Does the evidence support the clinical effectiveness of probiotics in line with current naturopathic prescribing practices? Journal of the Australian Traditional-Medicine Society, Vol. 22, No. 3, 136-138. Retrieved from:
The first article that was examined was “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial: The Efficacy of Multispecies Probiotic Supplementation in Alleviating Symptoms of Irritable Bowl Syndome Associated with Constipation”. This article was written concerning a study that was done to examine the effectiveness of using probiotics to alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The main symptom that was being examined was constipation but bloating, abdominal pain, abdominal cramps, and flatulence were also looked at. Patients with IBS have been shown to have microbiota in their gastrointestinal tract that is much less stable than the microbiota in a healthy adult. This imbalance leads to problems in the digestive system including the symptoms that have been previously listed. Probiotics that are typically found in the digestive tract could be used to alleviate symptoms and restore balance. However, the correct probiotic must be chosen in order to be beneficial to the patient because probiotics are species and system specific.
Participants (n: 100-150) will be acquired for this experiment from various course sections as previously described. Participants will first be given a preliminary questionnaire in order to exclude those who did not meet the inclusion criteria. Participants will then be asked to sign a consent form, allowing the potentially use of any data obtained. All participants will then be randomly assigned into two groups in a single-blind fashion; the two groups are: control and experimental. The control group will be given a placebo probiotic supplement in pill form while the experimental group will be given the probiotic supplement in pill form. Participants will then be asked to ingest one pill/day for the following two-week period; they
Probiotics also referred as "good bacteria" are considered helpful in suppressing potentially detrimental bacteria and in strengthening the digestive tract.
Probiotics are ingestable microorganisms which gives the consumer a beneficial effect. First coined by the late eli Metchnikoff probiotics are described to be microorganisms which are ingested in small amount to increase the diversity of both flora and fauna inside the human body this reaction in turn affects the adaptation abilities for the human body to react to different surroundings, digest different things, or just improve the antibody or the mechanism that already exists in the human body.