Friendly bacteria – is that possible?
Since ancient times, food has been used both for the treatment of various diseases and for their prevention. It played a significant role in traditional medicine.
Proper nutrition is crucial not only for preventing infectious diseases but also for combatting so-called "civilizational diseases" such as obesity, hypertension, and others. In children, a proper diet is also one of the conditions for correct physical and mental development.
Food for Health
Foods with health-promoting effects, called “functional foods,” are those that, besides nutritional value, have a beneficial impact on health and are used both to prevent and treat illnesses. These include products containing specific nutrients such as probiotics, dietary fiber and other prebiotics, antioxidants (vitamins C and E, glutathione), long-chain and polyunsaturated fatty acids, minerals, and others, such as:
- Allicin — found in garlic and onion; has antibacterial properties, boosts immunity, reduces cholesterol levels, and prevents blood platelet aggregation;
- Red wine, melons, fish oil (cod liver oil) — also inhibit platelet aggregation, thus preventing clot formation;
- Pectins — found in citrus fruits and apples; have anticancer effects;
- Catechin — found in tea; also reduces the risk of cancer development;
- Chlorophyll — found in green leafy vegetables; stimulates red blood cell production, improves protein utilization, supports circulatory system and thyroid gland function;
- Indoles, dithiols — present in vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garden cress, kale, radish, turnip, mustard, kohlrabi, and horseradish — block carcinogenic agents.
Products classified as functional foods also include dairy beverages (e.g., yogurt) containing so-called "good" bacteria, called probiotics.
Microbial balance
Human gastrointestinal tract is not sterile. The distal part of the large intestine contains about one trillion various bacteria.
Approximately 400-500 species of intestinal bacteria have been identified, and they play a very important biological role. Some of these bacteria undoubtedly improve our health, while others can be harmful in excessive numbers. "Good" intestinal bacteria fulfill many beneficial functions, such as participating in digestion, inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and supporting immune mechanisms. Fortunately, they predominate over harmful bacteria. However, this balance can be disturbed—for example, by improper diet, stress, or prolonged antibiotic therapy. In such cases, it can be restored by using probiotics.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live bacteria that, when added to food, have a beneficial effect on human health by improving the microbiological balance of the gastrointestinal tract.
The word “probiotic” comes from Greek (pro bios), meaning “for life.” Until recently, these bacteria did not attract much scientific interest, but in recent years, research on their mechanisms of action and potential uses has rapidly developed.
How do probiotics work?
It has been proven that they positively influence many processes occurring within our bodies:
- Primarily, residing in the gastrointestinal tract, they stimulate anti-infective immunity. This organ contains the largest lymphatic tissue cluster responsible for our immunity.
- The beneficial effect of probiotics results from inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
- Their strong antibacterial activity is also associated with the production of specific substances, mainly lactic acid.
- Besides supporting immunity, they accelerate milk protein digestion, facilitate the absorption of microelements like calcium, iron, and phosphorus, and thus have highly beneficial effects on our body.
- Studies confirm that probiotics shorten the course of infectious diarrhea, prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea, diarrhea caused by radiotherapy, and “traveler’s diarrhea.”
- These "good" bacteria regulate intestinal peristalsis and facilitate the breakdown of lactose, helping to prevent constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, and colic in infants.
- They also aid in eliminating the dangerous bacteria H. pylori, responsible for ulcer disease, and support the treatment of nonspecific intestinal inflammations.
- They reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, thus participating in the prevention of atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension.
- The use of probiotics in pregnant women reduces the risk of later food allergies and atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis in children.
- In allergy sufferers, they decrease the permeability of the intestinal mucosa to allergens, thus reducing the occurrence of disease symptoms.
- They prevent dental caries.
- When residing in the female vagina, probiotic bacteria play a significant role in maintaining its acidic environment, thus preventing inflammation and candidiasis.
Probiotics are as diverse as people
Probiotic bacteria constitute a large family with varied properties. Therefore, a certain group (strain) has specific actions and is used for the prevention or treatment of particular conditions, without affecting others.
Apart from the type of probiotic bacteria, the dose administered is also very important. Improper use will not produce the expected therapeutic effect.
Prebiotics for supporting probiotic growth
Prebiotics are substances that are indigestible within the gastrointestinal tract and selectively stimulate the growth and activity of specific probiotic bacterial strains. Recent research has shown that non-digestible oligosaccharides and dietary fiber play a particularly important role in nutrition. Natural sources of prebiotics include wheat bran, artichokes, chicory, onion, garlic, leeks, asparagus, and bananas. Similarly, maternal dietary oligosaccharides serve this function.
Where to find probiotics?
Lactic acid bacteria—also called friendly bacteria—have served humans since time immemorial, primarily utilized for producing fermented food products. Today, they are found in fermented foods such as kefirs, yogurts, and acidophilus milk.
To easily distinguish traditional beverages from those enriched with probiotics, the latter often carry the prefix “bio,” e.g., bio-yogurt, bio-kefir, etc. These beverages should be a regular part of the daily diet for the entire family.
Suitable pharmaceutical products and various dietary supplements are also excellent sources of probiotics. Due to the quantity of bacteria they contain and the diversity of strains, such products have medicinal significance.
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