Health Benefits Of Consuming Probiotics

 

Probiotic is a term coined to describe microorganisms such as bacterias and yeast present throughout the human body, mainly in the digestive system. These friendly bacterias form an integral part of the human immune system since up to 70% of immune system cells thrive in the gut. Moreover, since it is no secret that whatever we consume directly impacts our overall health, the interest in methods to improve gut health is at an all-time high.  

What Is The Source Of Probiotics?

Many gut bacterias are established in the human body at birth, thriving through the breast milk we receive in the initial years and evolving over years as we grow. The levels and quality of probiotics in the body are influenced by many external factors such as lifestyle, eating habits, diet, age, gender, environment, etc.

Therefore, though probiotics are already present in a human’s digestive system, it is still recommended to integrate probiotic-rich foods into the diet to maintain a proper level of these good bacterias.  

Several foods, including a hefty portion of fermented foods, such as yogurt, soft cheese, kimchi, kefir, cereal, etc., naturally contain a healthy quantity of probiotics. However, anyone unsure of receiving their set dose of probiotics through food can always reach out to the number of probiotic supplements available in the market, safe for most people.

There are quite a few strains of probiotic bacteria, with the prime ones being Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium groups. Many people often confuse probiotics and prebiotics, and though both are related to gut health are not the same. Prebiotics are the nutrients in the food, a type of fiber that the human body cannot digest. Still, they are imperative as they boost and stimulate the growth of probiotics in the gut, meaning they act as food for the probiotics to thrive on.   

What Are The Health Benefits Of Probiotics?

From increasing the ability of the body to digest and absorb nutrients from the food we consume to helping with food disorders and skin allergies, there are a plethora of health benefits associated with probiotics; let us have a look. 

Reduces Gas And Bloating 

Gas production is one of the most common and natural spinoffs of digestion of the food we consume. The gas produced is oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and even methane at times. A good level of friendly bacterias in the stomach helps break down the food and reduces the gas production by swallowing up most of it during the process itself. 

However, intestinal gas and bloating are something most people suffer from daily. One of the main reasons behind the issue is the number of harmful bacterias in the gut causing the food to ferment poorly. Therefore, while good bacterias help reduce gas and flatulence, harmful bacterias increase this risk. Consequently, it is efficient to consume a healthy dose of probiotics in the diet to outnumber the harmful bacterias and avoid gas and bloating. 

Protection Against Colds And Flu And Quick Recovery

Probiotics used alongside micronutrients such as vitamin E, selenium, iron, etc., are great at boosting the production of antibodies besides other infection-fighting compounds in the body to fight the existing ailment. 

A clinical trial suggested a better recovery rate for those patients suffering from cold and flu, who also consumed a probiotic supplement alongside the multivitamins and minerals during the treatment, reducing the average recovery time by two days. The reason for this improved illness fighting response is most likely due to the ability of the probiotics to improve the activity of T-lymphocytes (cells regulating immune response).

What’s more, probiotics also help prevent the chances of falling ill apart from helping recover faster if you’ve caught one. Another study proves the same, suggesting that people who took the blend of vitamins, minerals, and probiotics for at least three months during the winters had a lower cold frequency during the entire season with reduced severity. 

Heal Digestive Disorder

Since the main aim of probiotics is to balance the intestinal flora, also called the gut microbiome, the effectiveness of probiotics to treat and prevent digestive disorders must come as no surprise. They not only fight digestive issues, including indigestion, bloating, etc., but prevent them from developing in the first place. 

Since the entire gastrointestinal tract (GI) has microflora, any imbalance in the good and bad bacterias can easily cause several digestive disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, etc. Therefore, by restoring the perfect levels of good bacterias and eliminating the bad ones, probiotics improve the functioning of the GI tract, helping treat various digestive disorders ranging from IBS to Ulcerative colitis, diarrhea, and more. Not just this, they also prevent GI infection by not letting pathogenic bacterias stick to your gut lining and reducing their capacity to establish or spread enough to cause infections.

Protection Against Antibiotic Resistance

Overprescribing and overuse of antibiotics by humans to treat the simplest of health issues like a mild cold have resulted in the bacterias adapting to the drugs to no longer inhibit or eliminate them. It has created resistance in humans against antibiotics, becoming a significant threat to the generations to come. Unlike antibiotics, probiotics do not kill the good bacterias in the gut during fighting viruses but promote the healthy bacterias to kill the bad ones, reinforcing the immune system. 

What’s more, even in cases where antibiotics are a must for the treatment, a probiotic supplement will increase the antibiotic’s efficiency and prevent the body from growing resistant to it. 

Improve Skin Health 

Many people are unaware of how probiotics can help treat several skin issues like acne, eczema, psoriasis and prevent infant eczema and atopic dermatitis. 

Probiotics can reduce inflammation and fight yeasts and bacterias that cause skin infections, with a particular probiotic strain, Lactobacillus casei being the most effective in the condition. Lactobacilli also boosts the skin’s barrier, improves skin inflammation, and provides a preventive and therapeutic strategy for chronic and allergic inflammatory diseases. 

Reduced Risk Of Chronic Diseases 

Given the efficient role probiotics and prebiotics play in anti-inflammatory response and immune system modulation, they are extensively used to treat and prevent many chronic diseases. Out of all the strains, Bifidobacterium longum and various other lactic-acid-producing probiotics like those in yogurt are among the best to treat inflammation. What’s more, several studies suggest that probiotics might even help boost immune health apart from reducing inflammation in HIV-positive individuals. 

Reduce Stress And Improve Overall Mental Health 

Although it may be hard to believe that poor gut bacterias can be a contributing factor for many behavioral problems and mental disorders, it is, in fact, true. Several studies directly connect the gut microbiota to the central nervous system, including the brain. It links the cognitive and emotional centers of your brain to peripheral intestinal functions. 

Since gastrointestinal irritation sends signals to the central nervous system influencing mood, any digestive discomfort from poor digestion to imbalanced gut bacterias can easily result in poor mental health. 

Moreover, as mentioned above, probiotics also help relieve GI tract inflammation and, therefore, can efficiently improve overall mental health while alleviating symptoms of stress, anxiety, and any other mental distress.  

Boost The Immune System 

The healthy bacterias in your guts directly link with your body’s overall immunity to fight and prevent ailments, backed by the fact that 70% of your immune system cells reside in the lymphatic tissue of your gut. They are beneficial to the extent of replacing many vaccines, especially those for children that come with the risk of causing behavioral disorders in them. Probiotics provide the body with the ability to fight diseases without covering any risk. 

What’s more, since probiotics also help absorb nutrients from food, improving the efficiency of the medicines simultaneously, there is only a slight possibility in the arena it won’t be effective. 

Conclusion

While there are many benefits of probiotics already known to humans, several studies underway are still to bring out revelations of different types of probiotics and their precise effects on the human body. The seeming potential of probiotics makes one thing certain that it will be both exciting and revolutionary to note how well into future probiotics develop to bring out better cures for numerous diseases.