Recently I found myself exposed to a new term ‘Probiotic foods’ over and over again. Quite frankly I was using Danone's Activia yogurt from a couple of months but was not aware about it being probiotic and what it really stands for. I casually assumed it was some sort of marketing gimmick/terminology that companies were resorting to these days. However, then I read an interesting article on probiotic foods in one of the many weekend magazines. That’s when I thought there maybe many others just like me who don’t really know much about probiotic foods and how we maybe just falling prey to the media promotions. This got me started to do some preliminarily research on the subject and hence this blog.
Probiotic actually refers to dietary supplements or foods that contain beneficial, or "good," bacteria that are similar to those normally found in your body. I found myself asking do I need it. How much of these bacteria do I need? And are there no natural sources to obtain the same? Why these foods? If I over consume them will there be an imbalance in my body? Will it lead to any side effects? Here is what I found;A person using antibiotics is at a greater risk of being deficient in probiotics because the antibiotics kill both good and bad forms of bacteria. So if you have been taking antibiotics several times throughout the year, it’s a good idea to consume more probiotic-rich food. Additionally, if you do not eat a balanced diet, you could be deficient because you do not consume enough nutrients to produce or maintain the necessary levels of bacteria. Vegetarians and vegans who have not yet learned how to balance their meals without meat may also find that they’ve developed a probiotic deficiency. Those who suffer from diarrhea are also prone to having a probiotic deficiency, as they are more likely to have used up or depleted the good kinds of bacteria in their body.
The telltale sign that you have a probiotic deficiency is if you’re having trouble digesting your food. This can range from having constant indigestion after meals to having stomach pains or a ‘hard time’ in the loo. Many people with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are deficient in probiotics. If you have a yeast infection or a urinary tract infection, it could also mean that there’s something wrong or off with your bacteria levels.
If probiotic food/supplement is for maintenance or preventive purposes, a reasonable dose would be between 1 billion organisms two or three times weekly and 4 billion organisms daily. For therapeutic purposes, such as fighting an intestinal infection, coping with an illness or after a course of antibiotics, an effective dose would be 5 billion to 10 billion organisms two or three times daily. However, probiotics obtained through foods are generally not considered to be available at therapeutic levels. Because the quantities of live probiotic bacteria are minimal in food sources--and probiotics are considered nontoxic--it is relatively impossible to consume too much probiotic bacteria through foods. In earlier times, when fermentation was one of the main methods for the preservation of food, the intake of probiotic bacteria was high. Today the situation is different. The use of freezers, refrigerators, the pasteurization of dairy products and the use of a variety of preservatives have replaced fermentation as a method for the preservation of food. The intake of probiotic bacteria has dramatically decreased.
Today, you get these foods in a whole range of products. It could be yogurt, yogurt drinks, cottage cheese, or even in a concentrated probiotic supplement. However, what is vital is that the bacteria count in the product you eat or drink should be in suitable quantities. There’s no way this is visible, so the best thing to do would be to make sure that you buy products from a well-known manufacturer and also probiotic products need to be stored well – the packaging will give you the instructions.
What is interesting is that while there are thousands of different bacterial strains only a few dozen have been tested for health benefits. And though studies suggest some products may offer relief to people with digestive issues, it's not known whether healthy people receive any benefits from snacking on the live bacteria. For the consumer, finding the right probiotic can be vexing. Labels can't legally declare that the probiotic can cure, treat or prevent disease. So health claims, which don't require FDA approval, are often vague. Probiotics interact with bacteria already in the body and everyone has slightly different microflora, said probiotic expert Gary Huffnagle, a professor of internal medicine and microbiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. So a product that works for one person might not be the right one for another. He also says one of the best things about probiotics is they're safe and your own trials should yield answers in a few weeks.
So here are some tips before you decide to venture in to the probiotic world:
Just because a food product says "probiotic" doesn't mean it's a probiotic. Even more aggravating, manufacturers often leave important information off the label, such as whether the product contains live organisms or the full name of the bacterial strain.
Watch the dates: The organisms can die off while the product is sitting on the shelf. The best way to ensure it has an effective number of live bacteria is to look at the "best by" or expiration date.
Get enough microbes. Easier said than done. There is no single dosage for probiotics; studies have documented health benefits for products ranging from 50 million to more than 1 trillion colony-forming units (the measure of live microbes) per day.
Scour yogurt labels. Look for yogurt products with "live and active cultures" and avoid the ones that say "made with active cultures." Those may have been heat-treated after fermentation, which kills the bacteria. Also, Acidophilus and Bifidobacteria are less sensitive to stomach acid and more likely to make it into the colon alive than other names you might see on the label, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilis. Also,remember that even "live, active cultures" aren't necessarily probiotics, meaning they may not have been tested for health benefits.
Speak the lingo. A probiotic is defined by its genus (e.g. Lactobacillus), species (e.g. rhamnosus) and strain (a series of letters or numbers). "Products that list the genus and species and also the strain tend to have inherently better quality control and products," says probiotics expert Gary Huffnagle.
After reading so much about them I can safely say I know a wee bit about this probiotic syndrome that’s hit the market..........I hope you can too!!!
