Bacteria are everywhere, they are also present on the human body surface and in the body cavity to form a large number of microbiota, the human body has about 500-1000 species of normal flora, and the number of bacteria reaches 100 trillion, which is 10 times more than the number of human cells, about 1.5-2 kg.
Studies have found that a variety of metabolic diseases, immune diseases and even tumors are closely related to the intestinal flora. For example, researchers from UWM found in 2012 that type II diabetic patients showed moderate gut microflora dysbiosis and butyric acid-producing bacteria were reduced in type II diabetic patients, and butyric acid mainly regulates the human intestinal microecological balance and plays a key role in intestinal health.
In 2001, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) defined probiotics as live bacteria that can play an effective role in the health of those who consume them by consuming them in appropriate amounts, called in English “Probiotics”.
Domestic probiotic strains commonly used in food are Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus royale, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus and dozens of other species, please refer to the latest list of strains that can be used in food published by the National Health Planning Commission. As for the strains that can be used for infant food, according to the Ministry of Health Announcement No. 25 of 2011, four strains were approved, including six designated strains.
What is the use of probiotic supplementation?
Regarding the role of probiotic supplementation, there are thousands of related studies published in the past decades, among which the number of probiotic-related clinical studies is also increasing year by year. There have been many positive trial results targeting gut regulation, immune modulation, allergy relief, cancer inhibition, and women’s health. While most of the claimed effects still lack sufficient evidence, there are also few reported side effects.
The American Society for Microbiology organized a symposium on probiotics in 2005, the summary of which clearly stated that “the vast majority of probiotic use in humans to date has been preventive and supportive rather than therapeutic for disease management”.
NHS England concluded that there is relatively strong evidence that probiotics can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea (ADD); weaker evidence that probiotics may help treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lactose intolerance and treat complications of ulcerative colitis; in addition probiotics may help protect some premature infants from intestinal disease; and others help After 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) no longer allows food companies to claim that probiotic drinks can “boost the immune system.” In September 2014, the EFSA began revising its guidelines on gut and In September 2014, EFSA launched a consultation on the revision of the guidelines on immune health claims.
How to take the right probiotic supplement?
The amount of probiotics the body needs has been the subject of much research and debate among scientists. However, most agree that the daily intake of probiotics depends on the purpose of probiotic supplementation, and more and more probiotic researchers or institutions are now repeatedly verifying the dose of probiotics that work through animal pre-clinical trials and clinical trials. We can usually take probiotics by choosing foods that contain a variety of probiotics.
In order to promote health through probiotic supplementation, it is necessary to have “specific bacteria”, “maintain activity”, “sufficient number of bacteria” and “continuous consumption”. be taken continuously”. And different varieties of probiotics, the number of live bacteria, dosage forms, storage methods, and methods of administration will also have an impact on their effects.
1, yogurt, cheese and other milk or dairy products yogurt.
Most yogurt or yogurt products generally contain only two kinds of bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, and do not contain active probiotics, or the added probiotics are inactivated. The addition of probiotics to yogurt may include strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus royale. Although yogurt is not the best source of probiotic supplementation, yogurt has a range of beneficial metabolites such as vitamins and enzymes produced during the fermentation of lactic acid bacteria, as well as rich protein and calcium, making it a very worthwhile food to eat.
When selecting yogurt with active probiotics these points need to be noted.
The type of probiotics and the number of live bacteria; the production date or shelf life; try to choose plain, low-sugar, low-fat yogurt; yogurt labeled as containing dietary fiber such as oligofructose, inulin and other prebiotics is better.
Cheese.
Some cheeses made by fermentation methods contain active probiotics. Commonly used probiotics in cheese include Lactobacillus plantarum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Propionibacterium propionicum, etc. Generally the longer the fermentation time, the more healthful probiotic metabolites in the cheese. Usually you can eat more pure cheese as appropriate.
2, kimchi, miso, tempeh and other fermented foods usually can also be appropriate to eat some fermented foods made from vegetables, water and grains, etc..
Such as kimchi, miso, tempeh, etc. Fermented kimchi, for example, it contains probiotics, in addition to some beneficial metabolites, and the kimchi itself dietary fiber and a variety of antioxidants to help the growth and reproduction of probiotics. Usually you can eat this kind of fermented food properly, but it is not recommended as the main way to supplement probiotics.
3, probiotic drinks common probiotic drinks mainly refers to lactic acid bacteria drinks, divided into unpasteurized lactic acid bacteria drinks and sterilized lactic acid bacteria drinks two.
According to the national health standard for lactic acid bacteria drinks (GB16321-2003), the former must contain ≥ 1 million (6 times 10) units (cfu) of lactic acid bacteria per ml when it leaves the factory. In 2001, the State Ministry of Health stipulated in the Provisions on the Evaluation of Probiotic Health Food that the production of probiotic health food live bacteria products in liquid form is not advocated. Because it is difficult to guarantee the survival rate of probiotics in the process of transportation, sales and storage. It is recommended to buy from regular supermarkets, choose frozen (generally unpasteurized lactic acid bacteria drinks), close to the production date, low sugar and low energy lactic acid bacteria drinks.
4.Probiotic supplements
There are many kinds of probiotic products in the market, such as capsules, tablets or solid drinks, both probiotic food and probiotic health products with “blue hat” registration, and even drugs. When choosing and purchasing probiotic supplements, attention should be paid to.
Choose reliable brands and manufacturers such as food with QS logo, health food with valid “blue hat” registration.
Choose probiotic supplements that meet the needs of different people to choose probiotic supplements that meet the needs of different people to improve related functions, such as relieving diarrhea/constipation, assisting in lowering blood lipids or relieving irritable bowel syndrome.
Check the specific information of the labeled probiotic strains or strains to see if the labeled strains are in the “List of strains that can be used for food” or “List of probiotic strains that can be used for health food” announced by the state, for details, please refer to the official website of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China.
According to the national regulations, except for probiotics used for baby food which need to label specific strains, other probiotic food or health food can only label strains.
To understand probiotics, first of all, you need to distinguish between genus, strain and strain. For example, Lactobacillus is a genus with more than 20 strains, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus plantarum, etc. Under these strains, there are many strains, such as Lactobacillus plantarum ST-III. This information is needed because different strains of the same species may have different functions. For example, studies have found that Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG can alleviate the adverse effects of triple therapy for ulcers, but this does not mean that other strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus species also have this effect.
You may see two different product labels for probiotic supplements, the former for Bifidobacterium or Bifidobacterium lactis and the latter for Bifidobacterium lactis HN019. The manufacturer of the latter may have stricter requirements for the quality of the product and also gives the customer the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the product and to consult the research literature related to the strain.
The number of labeled probiotics The Ministry of Health of China stipulates that the number of live bacteria per ml/g of live bacteria type probiotic health food should not be less than 1 million (6 times 10) units (cfu) during its preservation, in fact many probiotic products labeled (actual) number is much higher than this standard. In addition, don’t buy products that only indicate the weight but not the number of live probiotics, because the weight and the number of bacteria are not proportional.
Check the shelf life It is important to check the shelf life of probiotic supplements. Before you buy, make sure you can finish your probiotic supplement within the shelf life. Add other ingredients such as prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, etc. The prebiotics in them play an important role in the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract.
Do not be confused by exaggerated advertisements such as some manufacturers claiming that
The efficacy of Lactobacillus casei on antibiotic-associated diarrhea has long been clinically proven. This may sound plausible, but the problem is that there are multiple strains of Lactobacillus casei, only some of which, such as Lactobacillus casei DN-114001, have been shown to have a definite preventive or palliative effect on antibiotic-associated diarrhea, while others may not have a similar function or even some strains have long been shown to have no benefit on antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
Taking probiotic supplements requires attention to.
1, choose probiotic supplements containing dietary fiber, mainly water-soluble dietary fiber (such as gum, beta-glucan, oligofructose, inulin, oligogalactose).
2. the temperature of food mixed with probiotics should not exceed body temperature.
3, it is recommended that probiotics be taken at the same time during the taking of antibiotics, but the time between taking them should be 2-3 hours.
4, not on an empty stomach, sufficient amount of water (at least half a glass), can also be taken with milk; divided into doses (such as once in the morning and once in the evening), adhere to take a period of time (at least 7-15 days in a row, if you want to alleviate the symptoms of IBS, the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends adhering to take probiotic supplements for at least four weeks).
Along with direct probiotic supplementation, it is also important to supplement probiotic foods – prebiotics, such as beta-glucan, hydrosugar and oligofructose, which can effectively increase the number of intestinal probiotics.
Although there is not enough evidence about certain effects of probiotics, the balance of intestinal flora is about our health. In addition to appropriate probiotic supplementation through some food or supplements, it is crucial to form a good diet and lifestyle to maintain the balance of intestinal flora for health purposes.