Bacteria, both good and bad, live and thrive in your digestive tract and affect illnesses like ulcerative colitis. Probiotics are microorganisms referred to as "good" bacteria because they benefit the digestive system. There is no cure for the painful symptoms of ulcerative colitis but good bacteria may help relieve some of the problems associated with the illness.
Significance
The Mayo Clinic defines ulcerative colitis as an inflammation of the large intestine and rectum with symptoms that include abdominal pain and diarrhea. Bacteria live in your digestive tract, including the large intestine and rectum, and impact illnesses such as ulcerative colitis.
Some people take supplements or eat food containing probiotics to promote healthy digestion and immunity. The good bacteria are usually from two groups of probiotics--Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium.
Restore and Replenish
Diet and other factors affect the balance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive tract and illnesses like ulcerative colitis. For example, taking antibiotics for an infection will also kill off the good bacteria in the digestive system. Probiotics help restore your body's balance of good bacteria and replace lost good bacteria.
Remove
One of the roles of the good bacteria in your digestive system is to keep the amount of bad bacteria in check. Increasing probiotics is thought to help reduce the bad bacteria in the gut and decrease the potential for inflammation, pain and diarrhea associated with ulcerative colitis.
Considerations
Probiotics are available in supplements as well from food sources. The University of Maryland notes that dairy products, including yogurt, can aggravate ulcerative colitis. Good bacteria can be found in other food sources such as soy, miso, tempeh, kim chi and fermented foods. Check with your doctor before taking probiotics or any kind of supplements for ulcerative colitis.
