About Superfood Probiotic Yogurts
You will have seen advertisements for both yogurt with Lactobacillus acidophilis and Bifidobacteria, as well as small bottles of supplemental live bacteria eg Yakult; these are examples of probiotics, and this is one of the main reasons that yogurt is known as a superfood.
Probiotics is a general term for live bacteria that you consume in a food or as a supplement and which survive the passage all the way through the stomach and the small intestine to arrive safely in the large intestine. Here they settle down and become vigilant against evil forces.
Probiotics = Back End Health
Having a healthy bacterial balance in the large intestine is linked to normal bowel habits, healthy immunity, improved bioavailability of nutrients and possibly less risk of bowel cancer. More healthy bacteria in the large intestine means that fewer nasty bacteria are able to get a foothold and cause internal turmoil. For example, the good bacteria like Lactobacillus produce organic acids that retard the growth of nasty bacteria such as Salmonella.
Where probiotics can be very helpful is when you get food poisoning or any condition with diarrhea, because you may have washed out a lot of healthy bacteria too. If you have been prescribed antibiotics then they may kill both the nasty bacteria causing your illness as well as some of the healthy bacteria in your bowel. In both cases taking some probiotics as a supplement or via food such as a yogurt with Lactobacillus bacteria will help re-establish the good bacteria in the bowel and make it difficult for pathogenic bacteria to take a hold. Some people today take probiotics in the precautionary hope it will prevent travelers’ diarrhea.
Athletes & Probiotics
As an athlete’s training load increases so does their risk of illness, such as respiratory tract infections, so anything that has the potential to help the immune system may be able to keep an athlete healthy through heavy training and competition. There have been a few studies on the effects of probiotics and the results have been either positive or neutral.
One study found that a probiotic significantly reduced the severity and duration of respiratory tract illnesses in 20 male elite distance runners (Cox 2010). Another study of male and female athletes found that those taking a probiotic also had a much lower incidence of respiratory tract infections (Gleeson 2011). The authors speculated that this positive outcome might be due to higher levels of immunoglobulin A in those on the probiotic.
Other studies have not seen much difference and a review of all the evidence was not that enthusiastic about taking probiotics, although they did concede that they had potential for athletes undergoing heavy training. These studies are done in elite athletes who are likely to be under greater immune stress and may not have the same benefit for the generally fit and healthy.
The Future
There will be more research on probiotics because there is a food industry that can benefit. The future will see more refined knowledge where we will recommend different probiotic bacteria types for different conditions. Whether you have IBS, food poisoning or have a family history of bowel cancer, this could all help determine the type of probiotic you could take as a supplement.
Last Reviewed 11/Mar/2014
