Friendly bacteria and the amazing gut
HOW much do you know about your intestines? You will be surprised to learn that, at any one time, you have about one hundred trillion bacteria inside your digestive tract, particularly in your intestines. These trillions of bacteria are made up of about 500 different species, which began settling into your body from the very first day you were born.
About 85% of these bacteria perform beneficial functions, such as digesting food, protecting against infection and influencing a few physiological processes in the body. The remainder of the bacteria may either not provide any benefits or could be potentially harmful, which sometimes referred to as “bad” bacteria.
At the same time, most of the body’s immune system also lives in your digestive tract, home to about 70- 80% of immune cells. So any changes that occur in the gut have a strong impact, not only on your digestive health, but also on your overall health.
The balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut has to be maintained in a fragile balance. This ratio between the “good” bacteria and the other bacteria becomes one of the critical factors determining your optimal health. The ideal balance between them is 85% good, 15% “other”. Our environment greatly influences this balance, and a poor diet, stress, medications and an unhealthy lifestyle can disrupt it, causing bad bacteria to flourish.
When that happens, a person is likely to experience digestive health problems, such as bloating, intestinal pains, constipation or diarrhoea.
On the other hand, a healthy, balanced environment in the gut can protect the immune system from pathogenic bacteria, toxins, allergens, chemicals and pollutants. For instance, research suggests that a particular strain of bacteria may help to maintain healthy intestinal microflora.
One way to boost our good bacteria count is by taking probiotics with our food or as supplements. Probiotics are live bacteria that help to re- establish a healthy bacterial balance in the intestines.
As more probiotic products appear on the market today, it is important to ensure that you are choosing a product that provides the best benefits.
The first criterion of a good probiotic product is the strain of bacteria used. It should be clinically documented in published clinical studies, safe to be consumed, able to withstand the stomach acids and bile during the digestive process, and able to attach to the intestinal lining.
L. Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium are two groups of bacteria commonly used in probiotic products, of which a few strains have been scientifically tested to be beneficial. The bacteria must be alive, or viable, gastric acid- and bile salt- resistant and have a better survival rate in order to perform their beneficial functions after they have been consumed.
Probiotics that contain highly stable microencapsulated strains with the right stabilisation processes during packaging and transportation will protect the bacteria against light, heat, humidity and moisture breakdown.
Biogrow Probiotics provides highly stable microencapsulated strains made from patented microencapsulation technology from Institute Rosell- Lallemand, Canada that ensures the probiotics are resistant to heat shock up to 50 C, gastric acid and bile salts and have better survival rate. Remember, only live bacteria confer benefits to its host, not dead ones!
This article is contributed by Legosan ( Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. For more information, call 03- 7628 8888/ 03- 7956 2220 ( direct line) or visit KKLIU No. 2615/ 2014