About 100 trillion microorganisms of 500 different species live in your intestines. Most of these microorganisms are helpful, while others are potentially harmful. The goal is to maintain a greater quantity of beneficial bacteria than the potentially harmful ones. Available from food, as well as supplements, probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that live in the body and protect it against harmful bacteria. You can replenish the probiotics in your body naturally by consuming fermented foods and cultured milk products.
Sources
All-natural probiotics exist in yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, fresh sauerkraut, miso, kimchi and tempeh. Eating foods like these is healthier than taking probiotic supplements, according to The Ohio State University. For one thing, you get the added benefit of other nutrients in the foods. By taking all-natural probiotics you also avoid the risks of consuming unregulated dietary supplements. Such supplements don't undergo a testing and approval process like drugs do.
Partners
To gain the benefits of probiotics, you need adequate amounts of prebiotics, or fermentable fiber, in your diet. Foods that contain prebiotics, such as artichokes, bananas, barley, berries, chard, dairy products, kale, leeks, legumes, onions, and whole grains, help create the proper environment in your gastrointestinal tract for probiotics to flourish. Aim for 3 to 8 g of prebiotics per day by incorporating foods with fermentable fiber into your meals and snacks.
Benefits
The potential benefits of probiotics, or good bacteria, include boosting your immune system, treating gastrointestinal problems, delaying children's allergy development, protecting against women's vaginal and urinary infections, assisting with digestion and food absorption, and coping with the side effects of antibiotics. The most effective use of probiotics has been in treating diarrhea, according to Harvard Medical School. Studies indicate that probiotics reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea by 60 percent and that the probiotic Lactobacillus GG shortens the course of infectious diarrhea in infants and children.
Considerations
Probiotics must be live at the time of consumption in order for them to be effective. The storage time, temperature and moisture content in a food may influence how many viable probiotics the food contains. You also need to know which probiotics will give you the desired effect, and which foods contain them. So do your homework before you go shopping.
References
- The Ohio State University: What are Probiotics and What Do They Do?; Cheryl Czapla; October 2010
- The Harvard Medical School; Health Benefits of Taking Probiotics; September 2005
- The Mayo Clinic: What are Prebiotics?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
- MayoClinic.com: Is it important to include probiotics in a healthy diet?; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
- U.S.probiotics.org; Probiotics Basics; Mary Ellen Sanders; 2007
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