By Annie Graves from Remedies For Life Magazine, January 2007
In most situations, 100 million bacteria would be considered population overload, but when it comes to your colon, this number of bacteria barely gets a nod. Housing up to 100 billion bacteria, the colon, or large intestine, thrives on a hefty quantity of probiotics, the tiny intestinal flora that contribute to overall good health and digestion.
Friendly Bacteria
Contrary to popular perception, many types of bacteria are extremely good for us. That’s fortunate, because on any given day we generally have more than three pounds of bacteria inside our bodies. Of the 500 or so species of microbes that can populate the intestinal tract, at least 400 strains are considered friendly and may at this very moment be setting up residence with you as their primary address.
This is no community of freeloaders, however. A healthy, balanced population of probiotics in your digestive tract keeps harmful microorganisms under control, helps fight infection, protects against some cancers, aids digestion by breaking down foods, supplies B vitamins, discourages yeast overgrowth, strengthens your immune system, prevents diarrhea, treats inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and helps prevent food allergies. That’s a lot of power packed into a little microbe.
Although probiotics were studied almost a century ago by Russian microbiologist Elie Metchnikoff, their therapeutic effects were only recognized by the scientific community in the 1950s, when they were rapidly overshadowed by the more dramatic performance of antibiotics. Today, with antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the rise, probiotics are coming into their own as a tool to help counterbalance the effects of bad bacteria, repopulate your system with good bacteria, and restore gastrointestinal health.
Probiotics versus Antibiotics
With antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the rise, many doctors are cutting back on these drugs. Antibiotics kill off both good and bad bacteria, leaving patients who’ve taken them for a period of time more vulnerable to attack by any strains of resistant bacteria that may remain in their bodies.
Probiotics can reduce our reliance on antibiotics—in fact, the World Health Organization has recommended their use when antibiotics fail. Probiotics are proactive when it comes to producing substances that keep harmful bacteria under control throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract—acidophilin is a natural antibiotic that eliminates E.coli and streptococcus, while lactic acid helps create an environment that is hostile to bad bacteria.
With healthy levels of good bacteria circulating, immunity levels in the intestines get a needed boost. Our greatest concentration of immune cells is located here, where they actively help screen out every single potential pathogen that enters our body.
The Right Balance
In our modern world it’s a challenge to maintain a healthy quantity of good bacteria in the colon, which is why supplementation is so important. Fermented foods including yogurt, miso, tempeh, and sauerkraut can supply some healthy bacteria, but other factors in your life may be actively depleting your probiotic population. These factors can include
1. A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates and low in probiotic-containing foods. Sugar encourages the growth of yeast and bad bacteria, enemies of probiotics, while vegetables and fruits contain “prebiotics,” the building blocks of probiotics. (And most Americans don’t eat enough of these plant foods.)
2. Overexposure to antibiotics. Antibiotics don’t discriminate when it comes to bacteria, so they wipe out the good along with the bad. An extended period of antibiotic use can devastate your intestinal flora.
3. Chlorinated water. The effects can be harmful to the probiotic population.
4. Overuse of antacids. These drugs make the GI tract less acidic and, therefore, less friendly for good bacteria.
5. Stress. By affecting our hormone levels, stress lowers probiotic levels.
When some or all of these factors
combine, imbalances in bacteria levels can occur. Where do you think you’re going to notice this imbalance first? Chances are, you’ll have a gut feeling.
Hard to Swallow
A healthy GI tract is a beautiful thing. This system, where we process food and eliminate waste, starts with our mouth and includes the esophagus, stomach, liver, and intestines. We are what we eat, and if we can’t digest our food effectively, that’s going to affect every cell in our body. Probiotics play a major role in maintaining GI health. Our intestinal flora produce crucial enzymes that break down food and capture vital nutrients, while helping to get rid of substances that might be toxic or indigestible.
The best-known and most widely recognized use of probiotics is in the treatment of diarrhea (a common side effect of antibiotics). But there are numerous other benefits to having healthy, happy microflora. Probiotics help protect the small intestine from “leaky gut syndrome,” a condition in which the intestinal lining opens and particles of food escape into the bloodstream, setting off the immune system and resulting in a state of constant inflammation that can manifest as food allergies. Meanwhile, within the large intestine, or colon, probiotics are the final word in digestion—any undigested molecules that have made it through the GI tract thus far are broken down here.
Good bacteria also help your body deal with a multitude of symptoms that fall into the sprawling category known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). As many as 20 percent of all American adults may suffer some form of this disease, which severely compromises quality of life and includes such symptoms as bloating, constipation, chronic diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from IBS, and in the U.S. alone this syndrome accounts for two million prescriptions a year.
Several studies indicate that lower levels of the good bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria occur in those experiencing IBS, and supplementation with probiotics provides relief in as little as two weeks. When treating IBS, there is also evidence supporting the combination of different lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, rather than relying upon a single strain.
Often when levels of good bacteria fall, yeast overpopulation is not far behind. Candida albicans, or candida, is an ever-present inhabitant of the intestinal, urinary, and vaginal tracts, but, in the absence of healthy levels of probiotics, can give rise to a yeast invasion that drains the immune system, heightens allergies, and may lead to a variety of symptoms including depression and chronic heartburn (see “Candida Under Control”). Probiotics may even be useful in treating Crohn’s disease and colon cancer, although more studies are needed to support these findings.
The Basics of Probiotics
The only useful probiotic is a live one. In order to receive the full benefits from good bacteria, make sure you’re taking a probiotic supplement that contains a high percentage of the billion or so bacteria that you need, and look for healthy quantities of lactobacilli (such as L. acidophilus) and bifidobacteria fortified with prebiotics. A number of additional strains of bacteria may also be present in your supplement.
Probiotic activity is described in colony-forming units (CFUs); average daily supplementation can be 2 to 5 billion CFUs. You’ll find probiotic supplements in capsule, tablet, liquid, and powder forms. Keep your bacteria refrigerated and away from heat, light, oxygen, and moisture. Additionally, make sure there’s an expiration date stamped on the package. Choose acid-resistant probiotics that make it through the GI tract to your colon, and ask for hearty microflora that have been shown to colonize the gastrointestinal tract.
Good bacteria support good nutrition, and it’s one time when you’ll feel the positive effects of healthy overpopulation.
References:
“Health benefits of taking probiotics,” Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, www.health.harvard.edu
“Probiotics show promise in treating gastrointestinal diseases,” www.medicalnewstoday.com, 5/8/06
"User’s Guide to Probiotics" by Earl Mindell, RPh, PhD ($5.95, Basic Health, 2004)
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