Dual effect of probiotics and prebiotics on intestinal health

The Russian microbiologist, Nobel Laureate and father of probiotics Mechnikov believes that aging starts in the intestine.

Aging is a natural law that we cannot escape from everybody. It happens all the time. With the progress of aging, the health of the human body will inevitably be affected. Whether a person’s body is healthy depends largely on his own immunity. What are the most critical factors in determining human immunity? It is not the most important heart, nor is it kidney or liver but our intestines. As the body's largest immune organ, once the red light of the intestinal tract is on, diarrhea, constipation, and enteritis can be easily followed and even catch a cold. So, how are you responsible for your own health? The easiest way is to start with improving our bowels.

There are trillions of microbes inhabiting the human intestine. These microbes gradually reach the balance of species and quantity in the process of reproduction. This balance is closely related to the normal metabolism of the body. The study found that the structure and composition of different intestinal microbes influence the host's immune function, gastrointestinal development, nutrient processing, and many other important physiological activities. Once the structure of the intestinal flora is disordered, various metabolic diseases will follow.

Probiotics, this concept was originally derived from Greek, which is "for life." FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) have defined the probiotics: Probiotics are "viable bacteria that have an effective effect on the health of consumers by taking appropriate amounts." It is a kind of beneficial bacteria to the human body, which can promote the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria and maintain the balance of the intestinal flora.

The Expert Committee of FAO/WHO evaluated that the probiotics mainly have the following physiological functions: 1 Regulating gastrointestinal disorders. Probiotics have preventive and therapeutic effects on diarrhea, constipation and other complications of intestinal diseases and complications, and have adjuvant therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. 2 enhance intestinal immune function. The efficacy of probiotics on immune responses has been extensively studied. In vitro, animal and clinical studies suggest that probiotics can both promote specific and nonspecific immunity. 3 inhibit allergic reactions. Probiotics can regulate immune responses, prevent allergic diseases, and relieve allergic reactions.

The role of probiotics is highly dependent on a particular "strain" rather than a strain. Strains are one of the species that has been selected for good performance. A certain strain of the strain reported in clinical trials and in the literature cannot be used to infer different strains of the same species. For example, B. lactis HN019 from DuPont of the United States is well-suited for improving the gut environment of the elderly, but it must not be assumed that other strains of Bifidobacterium lactis have the same effect; Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM can reduce toxins and carcinogenesis in the body The production of substances improves nutrition, but it cannot be assumed that other strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus have the same effect.

Apart from taking probiotics to improve intestinal flora, the body can also take prebiotics. Many experts and scholars agree that prebiotics are probiotics. Prebiotics can selectively promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, but they will not be used by harmful bacteria, thus benefiting the health of the host. This selective effect is mainly directed against two probiotics in the intestine, namely Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. As a selective substrate for probiotics, prebiotics are known as functional foods because they have the functions of promoting proliferation of probiotics, improving intestinal flora, and health care. The prebiotics recognized in the market today are fructooligosaccharides, resistant dextrins, lactulose, inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides, and the like.

Intestinal health is inseparable from probiotics and prebiotics. Using both at the same time, the effect on gut health is better than the use of probiotics or prebiotics alone, because of the synergistic effect between living probiotics and specific selective substrates, prebiotics. Due to the existence of prebiotics, probiotics can gain an advantage in the intestinal tract, and thus rapidly reproduce and colonize to become dominant bacteria. Probiotics and prebiotics complement each other and work together to promote the growth and reproduction of beneficial bacteria, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, maintain the balance of the microecological environment of the intestine, prevent and improve constipation and diarrhea, increase immunity and maintain human health.

Because probiotics are prone to lose their activity, especially the moisture of the product has a particularly large impact on them, and prebiotics have a water-absorbing effect, and mixing with too many prebiotics can make probiotics inactive. Therefore, it is recommended that probiotics and prebiotics be packaged separately, which is more scientific. On the other hand, separate packaging is also convenient for different people to take at different times. Prebiotics are insoluble fibers that promote bowel movements and increase stool wetness. If a person with diarrhea takes a large amount of prebiotics, the bowel will continue to peristalize, making the intestines more fatigued. Therefore, consumers with diarrhea suggest taking probiotics first. After diarrhea is improved, prebiotics will be used to regulate and consolidate the intestinal flora.

In addition to maintaining "quality", the purchase of probiotics also requires "quantity". Some parts of the probiotics lose their activity during the storage process. Only a certain amount of live probiotics will have an effect on health. The number of viable bacteria advertised by many products in the market is only their added amount or the number of viable bacteria at the time of delivery, and cannot guarantee the quantity within the validity period. Therefore, when purchasing probiotics, we must not only select high-quality strains of probiotics, but also pay attention to the number of viable bacteria within its effective period. The higher the number of viable cells, the more beneficial to health.