Overview
With all the antibacterial products now available on the market, it may come as a surprise that not all bacteria are bad for you. Your digestive tract contains a variety of "friendly bacteria" that help keep your gut healthy, prevent various diseases and boost your immune system. Now research is indicating these good bacteria may even be able to help you lose weight. Check with your doctor before taking any supplements or beginning an alternative diet.
Identification
Although scientists have debated how to specifically define the friendly bacteria, known as probiotics, most tend to follow the guidelines of the World Health Organization that probiotics are live microorganism benefiting the host in adequate amounts, according to the National Institutes of Health. That's estimated at 100 trillion microorganisms in a normal, healthy bowel, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The bacteria are divided into two main groups, Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium, and further subdivided into different species such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidus, the National Institutes of Health says. As supplements, they're available in foods like yogurt, and also in capsules, tablets and powders.
Significance
The intestinal mixture and levels of probiotics varies among individuals, but the interactions between your body and the microorganisms can be crucial to your health and well-being. Bacterial balances can be disturbed by a poor diet; the use of antibiotics that kill friendly bacteria in your gut along with disease-causing bacteria; and also by an overgrowth of other bacteria, yeasts, fungi and parasites. In addition to being a vital part of your immune system, probiotics may play a role in fighting diabetes by helping regulate how your body uses insulin and also in preventing obesity by controlling inflammation, a factor tied to obesity, according to the National Institutes of Health's National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Expert Insight
Dr. John DiBaise of the Mayo Clinic and colleagues found that morbidly obese patients who had gastric-bypass surgery ended up with a mixture of intestinal microbes similar to healthy normal-weight people following the surgery. Following the study, published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" in 2009, DiBaise said each person's ability to extract energy and store fat from food varies depending on the types and numbers of bugs living in the gut, with the morbidly obese harboring bugs that promote the fat-storage process.
Professor Jeremy Nicholson and a team at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, studied levels of different digestive byproducts in mice that had received two kinds of probiotics, according to an article published in "The Daily Telegraph" in January 2008. Researchers found the probiotics had an effect on how the mice processed bile acids in the liver to dissolve fats in the upper gut, meaning it changed how much fat the
body was able to absorb.
body was able to absorb.
Considerations
The Harvard Women's Health Watch recommends that if you choose to supplement with probiotics, take between 1 billion to 10 billion colony-forming units, or CFU, which is the amount contained in a capsule or two, several days per week. The microorganisms in supplements need to be alive when you take them or when they're freeze-dried for capsules. To ensure yogurt products have the amounts of microorganisms advertised and that they are live, look for the Live & Active Cultures seal from the National Yogurt Association. With supplements, make sure they have an enteric coating to protect the cultures while they pass through your digestive tract so they'll still be alive when they reach your intestines.
Warning
Probiotic supplements are generally safe, although side effects can include gas or bloating. Not enough studies have been made to determine safe amounts for young children, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems, according to the National Institutes of Health. According to an article in the London "Daily Mail" in January 2008, 24 of 296 patients involved in a study at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht, Holland to determine whether friendly probiotics affected inflammation of the pancreas, a sign that if you have a serious disease, died.
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