Probiotics Health Article

Benefits

Probiotic foods and dietary supplements have been recommended as treatments for a variety of diseases and disorders, ranging from problems confined to the digestive tract to general health issues.

Intestinal complaints

To summarize, probiotic organisms, in particular the LGG strain, have been shown to be helpful in managing the following intestinal disorders:

• Pseudomembranous colitis, a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the colon caused by an overgrowth of the bacterium Clostridium difficile as a result of the patient's having taken antibiotics that causes profuse watery diarrhea, cramps, and low-grade fever.
• so-called "traveler's diarrhea"
• acute nonbacterial diarrhea
• rotaviral diarrhea
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• bacterial overgrowth in the small bowel by organisms such as Helicobacter pylori, implicated in gastric ulcers (studies have demonstrated benefit but not cure)

Lifestyle-related disorders

Some supporters of probiotics go beyond applications limited to treatment of intestinal disorders. In keeping with the theory of autointoxication, they maintain that probiotics are effective in treating a wide range of chronic and acute illnesses thought to result from a condition called intestinal dysbiosis, or poor intestinal health quality due to toxic buildup, putrefaction, and leaky gut syndrome. Intestinal dysbiosis is defined as an imbalance among the various microorganisms in the digestive tract. This imbalance is attributed to a combination of Western high-protein diets, stress, environmental pollution, and allopathic medications. Putrefaction is believed to result from a low fiber diet, chronic constipation or sluggish colon, and poor food combining leading to increased gut fermentation. Leaky gut syndrome is the term used to suggest that the effect of these toxins on the intestinal cell walls is damaging to intestinal integrity, and as a result, large molecules of relatively undigested food and toxins cross the intestinal membrane into the blood stream.

Some alternative practitioners maintain that the following diseases and disorders are directly related to intestinal dysbiosis or may also be beneficially treated with probiotics:

• mental health problems
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• muscular soreness and stiffness
• autoimmune disorders, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, enteric arthritis, and Reiter's syndrome (by immune stimulation and repair of the leaking gut)
• lactose intolerance (by increasing the presence of lactase)
• infectious diseases
• high blood pressure (research has demonstrated a systolic blood pressure decrease of 10–20 mm Hg with the use of a fermented milk product
• high cholesterol, (clinical studies have not been conclusive; as one source said, "Evidence is not over-whelming")
• cancer (by decreasing exposure from gene-altering substances)
• menopausal problems in women (by improving the liver's ability to detoxify and eliminate hormonal metabolites)
• vaginosis (once thought to be relatively benign, now implicated in easier transmission of sexual diseases, pelvic inflammatory disease, and pregnancy-related complications, improved by reducing vaginal pH which inhibits growth of unfavorable bacteria)
• allergies and asthma (a double-blind placebo-controlled study demonstrated a 50% drop in children followed up to two years of age)
• kidney stones, by inhibiting the absorption of oxalate from the intestines

More specifically, probiotic foods and dietary supplements are claimed to counteract intestinal dysbiosis in the following ways:

• production of vitamins. Friendly bacteria are said to manufacture vitamin B₃, vitamin B₆, and folic acid.
• anti-tumor and anti-cancer activity
• suppression of pathogenic microorganisms in favor of the non-pathogenic
• relief of anxiety symptoms through indirect detoxification
• protection against radiation and other environmental toxins
• support of the immune system, by reducing immune load
• recirculation of female hormones in the bloodstream by a cleaner liver and cleaner blood, thus maintaining higher levels of estrogen in menopausal women
• maintenance of smooth bowel functioning

Products

Probiotics is a nutrition-based therapy and relies primarily on the addition of foods or supplements containing friendly bacteria to the diet. Some recommended foods are ordinary grocery store items that involve fermentation in their production; these include miso, pickles, sauerkraut and fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir. As mentioned, other food or food products called prebiotics, such as Jerusalem artichokes and FOS, are thought to support the growth of the beneficial bacteria in the intestines. Most users and recommenders of probiotics, however, encourage the use of loose powdered, refrigerated dietary supplements of friendly bacteria or LGG capsules. Some of these products are milk-based, while others are milk-free. Probiotic dietary supplements are over-the-counter (OTC) preparations that can be easily purchased at grocery or health food stores, or from European manufacturers over the Internet. The types of bacteria most often recommended are Lacto-bacillus GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and, especially for children Bifidobacterium bifidum. Breast milk is reported to contain nutrients that support bifidobacterium growth.