What you need to know about PROBIOTICS

Probiotics are certainly having a moment, and you’ve possibly even heard of prebiotics, and you might have a vague idea that these two have something to do with digestion. But do you really know how they work? We make the science easy for you.

For your body and your little one’s body to work optimally, a healthy digestive system is essential. More than 500 different kinds of bacteria are hard at work in the digestive tract. Exactly how many and what their characteristics are differs from place to place. Every person on earth has a unique gut microbiota profile that is shaped early in life. However, this profile, or biome, isn’t fixed, but is constantly being impacted upon by all kinds of factors, for example diet or illness to name just two. Dr Anton Janse van Rensburg from Johannesburg says that unfortunately many aspects of our modern lives aren’t conducive to a healthy biome. “Because of antibiotic use, smoking, stress, anti-inflammatories, antacids for the stomach and the absence of fermented food in our diets, we just don’t have healthy biomes anymore. This is called dysbiosis.”

The establishment and maintenance of a healthy balance of bacteria is clearly rather complex, but scientists are increasingly getting to grips with how it all fits together.

LET’S DEAL WITH SOME DEFINITIONS FIRST

Probiotics are living, natural microorganisms that occur normally in the digestive tract, explains Prof. Renée Blaauw from the University of Stellenbosch’s Division of Human Nutrition.

If you take in adequate amounts of these beneficial bacteria on a regular basis, it can help the microbiotic balance in the intestines and give your health a boost. There are many different types of probiotics, with the most widely studied ones including strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Don’t be put off by the Latin – just remember that human beings have thousands of these beneficial bacteria in our gastrointestinal tracts.

Prebiotics are natural substances that occur in food. They are not digested by the body and are a form of fibre. They improve your general health by stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut. In short, prebiotics are food components that improve the food supply in the gastrointestinal tract so that the beneficial bacteria (probiotics) can grow and flourish. It is more effective to take probiotics and prebiotics together, than separately.

HOW DO PROBIOTICS WORK?

Probiotics function in a number of different ways to help improve overall health. They also play a large role in immune function.

SOME EXAMPLES

• When the body is attacked by infections, the gut wall is disrupted, and the pathogens cross over into the gut. Probiotics help to improve the permeability of the gut wall.

• Probiotics also attach to the intestinal mucus, preventing pathogens from causing disease.

• Probiotics are also beneficial in stimulating the immune response in the gut.

• They help with digestion or fermentation of starches and also produce vitamins.

• Probiotics also increase the uptake of important minerals from the gut, thus preventing deficiencies that lower immunity.

• Probiotics such as the Lactobacillus

type mentioned before produce lactic acid, which in turn changes the environment in the intestine to acidic, thereby preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.

PROBIOTICS ARE LIVING, NATURAL MICRO-ORGANISMS THAT OCCUR NORMALLY IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT.

SOURCES OF PREBIOTICS

• Bananas, berries and other fruit • Oats

• Wheat

• Onions

• Asparagus

• Leeks

• Tomato

• Barley

• Other whole grains

• Legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas)

• Spinach and other greens

SOURCES OF PROBIOTICS

• Yoghurt, if specifically stated on the label that it contains living cultures.

• Some formula or follow-on milks, or baby cereals, if it states that it has been added on the label.

• It is sometimes added to juice, energy bars or breakfast cereals – check the label.

• Fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut and amasi.

• Probiotics are of course also to be found in supplements in various forms.

The best results occur when you ingest a combination of probiotics and prebiotics. So, for example, you can give your child yoghurt and banana together.

If you are giving a supplement, stick to the recommended dose, as too much can lead to gas and wind.

Discuss with your doctor or pharmacist which supplement to use, as the health benefits are associated with adequate amounts and strain-specific properties.

20%OF VISITS TO THE PAEDIATRICIAN IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS AREDUE TO COLIC.

COLIC

If your baby is otherwise healthy, but cries inconsolably for three hours or more a day, three times a week, for three weeks, you’re most likely dealing with colic. It can start as early as four weeks, and usually starts to fade at about 16 weeks. Mostly, the crying starts in the late afternoon or early evening and can carry on for hours. Your baby might pull her legs up to her tummy and squirm and get red in the face. The causes of colic are a bit of a mystery. You aren’t alone though – 20 percent of visits to the paediatrician in the first four months are due to colic.

Things like allergies, digestive issues, lactose intolerance, hormones, temperament, an immature immune system, the environment and over-stimulation, or a combination of these, could possibly be

ROLE OF PROBIOTICS IN TREATING ECZEMA, ALLERGIES & ASTHMA

Probiotic supplementation before and after birth can possibly reduce the incidence of asthma, allergies and eczema in children, according to Bengt Björkstén, professor of Allergy Prevention and Paediatrics at the Karolinska Institut in Stockholm, Sweden. Scientists have observed that the gastrointestinal flora differs between allergic and non-allergic children. According to a theory known as the ”hygiene hypothesis”, babies who are born in sanitised hospitals and come home to sparkling clean homes may be more prone to develop allergies.

”It has been suggested that modern living is associated with too little microbial stimulation early in life, and that allergic and autoimmune disease could be regarded as a consequence of a ‘microbial deprivation syndrome’,” Prof. Björkstén says. Because children’s bodies don’t have to fight off as many bacteria as they did in the past, their immune systems start mistakenly attacking harmless substances, such as pet dander or pollen, causing allergic diseases. to blame. If your paed has checked your baby out and found nothing amiss, you can try a variety of measures to help, such as swaddling, white noise, a dummy and comforting your baby in a carrier against your chest. Probiotics specially formulated for infants are also worth a go, as there is more and more evidence that they make a difference. When ingested regularly, probiotics should improve or normalise the microbial balance in the human intestines, which means that the gut functions better. Babies are born without any microflora. That’s why they are so susceptible to opportunistic gut conditions. Adding probiotics to their diet can increase the levels of beneficial bacteria in the gut, creating an environment that is unfavourable for harmful bacteria to grow.

Researchers hope to get more proof that, by giving an infant probiotics, their immune system is stimulated as it would be if they were exposed to bacteria in less clean surroundings.

Studies have shown that infants with atopic eczema improve with probiotic Lactobacilli. This type of eczema affects up to 20 percent of the population and is associated with asthma and also with hay fever.

Research also suggests that by changing the gut microflora in early infancy with the help of Lactobacilli, the child’s risk of developing atopic eczema at a later stage of life is also reduced. Prof. Björkstén also says that preliminary research shows that vaginal flora during pregnancy can play a role in whether a child develops asthma by the age of 5.

The risk is linked to a lack of Lactobacilli, which can easily be remedied by a good supplement taken during the last four weeks of pregnancy.