Disclaimer: The
information contained in this book is educational in nature and is not intended
as diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure for any physical or mental
disease, nor is it intended as a substitute for regular medical care. Consult
with your doctor regarding any health or medical concerns you may have.
The opinions expressed in this
manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the
opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted
full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
Probiotics: How To Use Them To Your
Advantage
Why You Probably Don’t Have Enough
Probiotics And What You Can Do About It All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2016 Jo A. Panyko, BS, MNT
v3.0
Cover Photo © 2016 Jo A. Panyko. All
rights reserved - used with permission.
This book may not be reproduced,
transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic,
electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
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Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are
trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
To Steve, the man of my life, for your never-ending love,
support, humor and patience through all of our journeys together; and to
Alison, Ellen and Alex, for being true blessings in my life.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband
and children for your unconditional love and unwavering support, and to my
parents for introducing me to things I did not understand at the time.
Thank you to Shari
Navarette, my lifelong friend, for your friendship and insightful editing
suggestions.
Thank you to Alison
Bailey for your talented editing suggestions.
Thank you to all of the
researchers in the probiotics/microbiome realm for your meticulous work.
Finally, I am grateful
to everyone who has touched my life and helped to make me the person I am.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Concept of
Probiotics Chapter 1: What Are Probiotics? Chapter 2: Who Benefits from
Probiotics?
Chapter 3: How to Understand What
the Probiotic’s Name Means Chapter 4: Where Do Probiotics Live?
Chapter 5: How Do Probiotics Work?
Chapter 6: What Are the Benefits of
Probiotics and Which Conditions Can Be Helped by Them?
Chapter 7: Why Don’t You Have
Enough Probiotics and Beneficial Microbes?
Chapter 8: Side Effects of Probiotics
Chapter 9: Introduction to the Major Probiotics Chapter 10: Where to Get
Probiotics and When to Take Them? Chapter 11: How to Choose a Source of
Purchased Probiotics, Including a Probiotic Supplement
Chapter 12: The Magic Bullet?
Chapter 13: Easy Recipes and Tips
for Fermentation References
About the Author
Introduction to the Concept of Probiotics
You are outnumbered.
Resistance is futile. The microbes in and on your body outnumber your human
cells, with some studies showing the ratio as being ten
to one, depending
on calculation methods.
Additionally, microbial genes vastly outnumber human genes.
Seemingly unrelated
health challenges such as weight gain, food poisoning, digestive and reflux
issues, intestinal problems, vaginal issues, urinary problems, mental health
and others have one thing in common: they all can be linked to these microbes.
Not all microbes are
bad, however; there are beneficial microbes called probioticswhich
can actually help with health challenges!
This book focuses on:
Why probiotics should
fit into your life (including over 29 different benefits to you!)
Why you probably do not
have enough of them because of things you eat, take and do (things you do not
even realize!)
How you, the host, can
strategically use your outnumbered status to your advantage, particularly in
your gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Although this book
focuses primarily on the benefits of probiotics to your digestive tract, you
will understand how probiotics may be beneficial for a wide range of conditions
such as:
Allergies
Constipation, diarrhea,
reflux (GERD), IBS
(irritable bowel syndrome), IBD
(irritable bowel disease) and pouchitis
Reproductive challenges
such as bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis and infertility
High cholesterol and
cardiovascular risks Urinary tract infections (UTI) and kidney disease Skin
conditions such as eczema, acne and atopic dermatitis Mental health conditions
such as anxiety and depression Arthritis and osteoporosis
Pulmonary infections
Obesity, diabetes and
chronic fatigue syndrome Some cancers
Improved athletic
performance
The
Quest for Answers
Learning about health
has been and still is an exciting journey for me as an adult, but I did not
think it was exciting when I was a child. My father did not allow junk food and
sodas when I was growing up. For many years he had a massive garden and he and
my mother jarred a lot of produce. We ate simple foods on a strict budget
together as a family. I felt cheated compared to my friends who had access to
junk food, and I loved going to their houses and having it. I had no idea what
it was doing to my gastrointestinal tract, to my health and to me.
As a young adult, I
developed numerous health problems and took multiple courses of antibiotics,
mainly for sinus infections. When I became a mother, I wanted my children to be
as healthy as possible and thus my quest for answers to questions about health
began in earnest. Through my research, I gradually learned what nutrition meant
and why my father was so adamant about it and about family dinners. I was able
to solve the causes of my sinus infections, without antibiotics, and get
autoimmunity under control.
Part of the solution to
my health problems involved daily home-cooked family dinners and home-packed
lunches in which I could control the ingredients. As a result, those were and
are routine in our house. My kids have not-so-fond memories of being subjected
to glop-like smoothies and various epic culinary failures. However, over time
and with perseverance, I learned how to mesh flavor with nutrition and we began
to enjoy tasty and nutritious, home-prepared food. Of course, an epic failure
still occurs occasionally when I try new recipes!
My kids also remember me trying to sneak probiotic bead capsules
into their yogurt or applesauce since they couldn’t swallow them with water.
Without understanding the intricacies of probiotics, I knew they had some
kind of magical
benefit. We have been using them in our family for over 20 years.
After years of
employment as an engineer and then years of proper nutrition schooling,
continuing education courses and my own zest for knowledge, I started my own
business as a nutrition therapist with this keen interest in probiotics and
anything having to do with digestive health. It is with this passion that I
created the popular science-based, informational website, www.PowerOfProbiotics.com, and wrote this book, because I have learned how amazing
and powerful probiotics truly are!
concept of probiotics
is simple, but the details are not. There is much misconception on blogs,
websites and in the media about probiotics. I see it in my interactions with
other healthcare professionals, with my nutrition clients, with people
who contact me
via my website, www.PowerOfProbiotics.com, and with the general population.
I have two goals in
writing this book:
1. The first one is to dispel many of the misconceptions people
have
about probiotics.
There is a lot of misinformation passed on by wellmeaning folks!
2. The second one is to help you gain an understanding of
probiotics so
you can use them to
your advantage to optimize your health. Probiotics offer many benefits to you
which will become clearer as you read through the book. When you are faced with
the incredible magnitude of information on probiotics on the internet and
through news media, it is no wonder that you may feel overwhelmed and not know
what to believe. It is not your fault!
While you may not be as
enthusiastic about the details of probiotics as I am, I hope you will
appreciate the essentiality of having them in your life.
Let’s Begin with the Basics
Microbesare
the microscopic bacteria, viruses, protists, archaea and fungi, such as yeasts,
that inhabit you. Microbes make up your microbiota, your
community of organisms. Sometimes the microbiota is called flora. This
microbiota only comprises about 2-6 pounds of your body weight, yet is
essential for your survival.
The microbiota have
more genes than you have human genes. Technically, the community of organisms
is called the microbiotaand the genes they contain are
your microbiome, but
sometimes the words
are used in mainstream press synonymously. The actions
of those genes affect your body locally and systemically (body-wide).
Scientists understand
that human life is influenced for good and for bad by the human microbiome.
Research on animals has shown that without beneficial microbes
there cannot be
long-term health. That
is why scientists involved in
many projects around the world are actively searching for the beneficial
microbes, the probiotics, which can improve human health. Since the outcomes of
these projects will ultimately affect what is known about health, it is helpful
to you to have an overview of what is happening with these various projects.
The Human Microbiome
Project (HMP)is one of several international efforts being undertaken to
analyze the various microbe populations that live in and on our human bodies
and to discover their potential roles in human
health and disease.
The first phase
of this massive
project investigated where different microbes live and hypothesized what
functions they could potentially perform based on their genetic makeup.
The current phase of the HMP explores what functions these
microbes actuallyperform under certain conditions and how
those relate to health and disease. One major project focuses on microbes in
the gut and the nose to
determine how
variations may trigger the development of diseases such as diabetes. Another
major project examines how microbe populations interact with the
body in inflammatory
bowel diseases such
as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. A third project
investigates the bacteria that live in the vagina and how they impact pregnancy
and preterm birth.
Other projects are also
underway. The American Gut Projectby the Human Food Project is currently
surveying a diversity of subjects (all ages, both sexes, no exclusions).
American Gut is an open-source, community-driven effort to
characterize microbial diversity
for US and
international participants. American Gut takes a stool, saliva and/or
skin sample which you provide, along with your answers to a detailed
questionnaire and diet diary, to tell you what your most abundant microbes are
and which ones you have more of compared to most people in the project. The
detail is down to the genus level.
British Gutis the same
kind of project as the American one, but offers services intended for Europeans
to save them costly international sample submission and shipment fees.
These international
efforts are not a quick-turnaround projects
since sequencing takes time and the labs are research labs, not
commercial labs.
international studies
are in progress as well. The MyNewGut Project, which is funded by the EU and
includes partners from 15 countries,
is studying the
influence of the
gut microbiome on
brain development and function and on diet-related diseases such as
obesity, especially in childhood and adolescence. The Asian Microbiome
Projectis comparing a diversity of subjects across 11 sites (all ages, both
sexes, including a sub-focus
on mothers and
healthy children). An
African Microbiome Projecthas recently been proposed.
There are
also privately-funded companies
that will sequence
your microbiota and I work with some of the laboratories that do.
These are exciting
times in microbiome history!
Three common themes are
emerging from these research projects:
1. The human gut microbiota and the microbial genome (microbiome)
play diverse
physiological roles that
influence our health
and wellbeing.
2. Particularly in the
digestive tract, the
less diverse the
microbial
community (and
especially with harmful or opportunistic organisms dominating the flora), the
less healthy the body can be.
3. Prevention of
illness is easier than reaction to established illness.
Now that you know the
very basics about probiotics and the fast pace of new research on them, it is
time to find out how this book can help you.
The
Advantage of Being Outnumbered - Finding a Strategy that Helps You Take
Advantage of Probiotics
Here is what you will
discover in this book about these three common themes and how you can use your
outnumbered status from the human microbiome to your advantage. The information
in this book is presented like a story, and each chapter builds on the
information in the previous chapters. Although you might be tempted to skip to
the later chapters, the beginning chapters will give you a solid foundation to
better understand the later chapters.
Chapters 1, 2, and 3
and 4 explain what probiotics are, who benefits from them, how they are named,
and where they live.
Chapter 5 summarizes
how probiotics work.
Chapter 6 summarizes
why you should take probiotics, how probiotics benefit your health and which
microbes benefit some common digestivesystem problems.
7 explains
why you probably
don’t have enough
probiotics, including some critically important and surprising reasons.
Chapter 8 explains how
to introduce probiotics into your daily life and what side effects may occur.
Chapter 9 outlines the
major players in the probiotics world and their actions on the body.
Chapter 10 gives you
resources on where to get probiotics and when to take them.
Chapter 11 details
fourteen things to consider when buying probiotics products, including how to
choose a probiotic supplement.
Chapter 12 provides
summary recommendations and perspectives about probiotics.
13 provides
recipes and insights
for you to
begin enjoying fermented foods
and drinks, probable sources of probiotics.
CHAPTER 1
What
Are Probiotics?
Probiotic literally
means “for life.” Probiotics are officially defined by the Joint Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as, “Live organisms that, when administered in adequate amounts,
confer a health benefit on the host.”There are five categories of
probiotics generally recognized in the industry:
. Probiotic supplements
2. Probiotic drugs
3. Probiotic foods
4. Direct-fed
microbials for animal use 5. Designer, genetically-modified probiotics.
First, understand that the FAO definition was established to
protect you when you are buying products with probiotics. Since this definition
is important for you, the consumer, to understand, let’s take a closer look at
it.
“Live organisms…”
Currently these organisms consist of certain bacteria and yeasts which, when in
or on the body, perform certain functions or secrete specific chemicals. In
order for them to perform those functions or secrete those chemicals, they have
to be alive.
This doesn’t meanthat once the bacteria or yeasts are dead that they serve no
beneficial purpose. Studies have shown that dead forms of some of those
microbes CAN have positive effects on the body. In fact, even the culture in
which the bacteria or yeasts were grown can have beneficial effects.
However, when you the
consumer are buying a product, you want the microbes to be alive so they can
maximize the benefits they provide and possibly replicate and increase their
numbers. More about this subject is provided in Chapter 11.
“…when administered
in adequate amounts…”
Some probiotics are required in numbers in the tens of
billions in order to have a demonstrable effect on the human body. Others can
be present in millions of microbes and have positive effects. Each type of
microbe is different because each type of microbe acts differently. As a
consumer, you want to make sure you are getting at least the minimum numbers of
microbes that have been shown to produce positive effects for a given
condition, and that’s where a book like this one and a website like PowerOfProbiotics.comare helpful. Products advertising vague statements such as
“contains probiotics” do not tell you if there are enough inside to make a
difference for you.
“…confer a health
benefit on the host”: This is where the definition gets tricky. What exactly
determines a health benefit has not been established for most probiotic
products on the market and that is why most probiotic products cannot state
specific health claims on their labels.
Probiotic products that
have been approved for specific medical claims are classified as medical foods
(in the US). The term medical food, as defined in section 5(b) of the Orphan
Drug Act (21 U.S.C. 360ee (b) (3)) is “a food which is formulated to be
consumed or administered enterally (through the digestive
tract) under the supervision of a physician and which is intended for
the specific dietary management of a disease or condition for which
distinctive nutritional requirements, based
on recognized scientific principles, are established by
medical evaluation.”These medical foods are supposed to be used under a
doctor’s orders. In some cases, only the super-potent form is prescription-only
(in the US). These probiotic drugs are by definition intended to treat, cure or
prevent disease.
Most governmental
regulatory agencies have not approved specific health claims for
probiotic products and
instead allow what
are called structure/function
claimssuch as “improves digestive and immune health”. Similar claims are
found on most other natural health products, too. These products are not proven
to act like drugs and a result, cannot be labeled with specific disease health
claims.
benefits of probiotics
gleaned from scientific studies extend beyond the general structure/function
claims in many instances and are discussed in Chapters 6 and 9.
While these health
benefits have not
undergone regulatory approval, they nonetheless have been discovered and
may be of use to you.
In addition to the
official definition of probiotics from the FAO of the United Nations, ISAPP
(International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics),
an international non-profit
collaboration of scientists, recommends that fermented foods
with undefined microbial content NOT be classified as probiotics unless they
meet a specific criteria, such as the improvement of lactose digestion in
lactose maldigesters. ISAPP also recommends that a probiotic have the strain
designated for a specific health claim since many targeted actions are
strain-specific.Unfortunately, even those probiotics designated as medical
foods may not disclose the strains.
What about
colonization ability of
these live organisms?
Some manufacturers argue that probiotics must colonize the body and
become part of the permanent flora in order to confer health benefits, but this
is not true. While certain species of microbes do in fact colonize inside or on
us, others have beneficial effects while passing through or by. These
passers-by are known as transientmicrobes
and they can positively (or negatively) affect our microbiome. Most of them
lose their effectiveness if discontinued and are cleared by the body in about a
week.
The summary of what
does and doesn’t qualify as a probiotic is this:
Probiotics are alive.
Probiotics are in
adequate amounts.
Probiotics should be
defined at least at the genus and species levels for general claims and at the
strain levels for specific health claims.
Probiotics are safe for
the generally healthy population.
While not explicitly in
the definition, many academic and industry scientists have stated that
probiotics are not supposed to have the capability to transfer or accept genes
from other microbes. This protects people from taking microbes which may have
the potential not only for antibiotic resistance, but also for toxin-production
or virulence ability which can cause illness or even death.
Probiotics may provide
benefit to you.
Probiotics may be part
of your beneficial microbiota.
BUT not all beneficial
microbes, even those in your flora or in products with “live, active cultures”,
are officially classified as probiotics.
Please note: Fecal
enemas have shown great promise for C. difficile infections
and IBD (irritable bowel disease) so far. While fecal enemas may contain
probiotic species in them, at the current time those enemas are not
specifically classified as probiotics.
Note that a new trend
in probiotics is to include bacteriophages (phages), viruses that attack
targeted pathogenic(disease-causing) bacteria, added to
probiotic bacteria and/or yeasts. The rationale is that the probiotics and the
phages can both exert positive influences to reduce pathogenic bacteria
numbers. Phages are not officially considered to be probiotics, so in this
book, only the actions of probiotic bacteria and yeasts are explored.
Another trend is to
take specially-formulated prebiotic supplements either as stand-alone
supplements or in
combination with probiotics.
Some information about this trend is provided in Chapter 11.
To learn how to use
probiotics to your advantage, next you need to know who needs them.
CHAPTER 2
Who
Benefits from Probiotics?
Before you read about
how probiotics are named, where they live, how they work, when to take them and
how to choose them, you need the answer to an important question: Who benefits
from probiotics?
The answer may surprise
you: Every living creature needs beneficial microbes, although specific
microbes vary among creatures. Yes, from the annoying mosquito to the
laboratory mouse to livestock to your beloved pet to yourself, every living
creature has some bacteria and other microbes in its gut and many of those are
beneficial. As you learned previously, microbial cells and genes outnumber
human cells and genes. However, microbes are small, only about one-twentieth to
one-tenth the size of a human cell. Many of them can fit in a tiny space.
In the case of the
mosquito, scientists found that bacteria in the mosquito’s
gastrointestinal (GI) tract
offer health protection
through different processes:
stimulation of the mosquito immune response, competition for binding sites or nutrients
and production of toxins.These actions are similar to what occurs inside you as
you will see in a later chapter. If gut bacteria can protect mosquitos, imagine
what they can do for you!
In the case of
livestock, probiotics are routinely used in animal feed to reduce infections
and in some cases, accelerate weight gain. Poultry, swine, ruminants such as
cattle, sheep and goats, and even farmed fish routinely are fed probiotics to
maximize gut health and animal profitability while decreasing animal morbidity.
Even the silage that many animals are fed is often treated with probiotics to
minimize waste. The global probiotics animal feed market alone is projected to
be worth 4.4 billion dollars by 2019!
In addition to
probiotics in animal feed, liquid-encapsulated probiotics can be sprayed on
baby chicks. When the chicks peck at and fluff their feathers, they ingest the
probiotics and inoculate their guts with beneficial microbiota to help prevent
dangerous Salmonellainfections that can develop.
Pet food makers are
also on the bandwagon to include probiotics in their products. Since upset
stomach/vomiting and intestinal upset/diarrhea are among the top ten reasons
why pets need veterinary attention, many of those episodes can potentially be
avoided by keeping the pets’ digestive tracts healthy with the help of
probiotics. My dogs have been on probiotics for years and also get small
amounts of fermented vegetables in their diet. While I cannot control what they
eat or do every moment when they are in the backyard roaming free, I try to
minimize any assaults on their health from what they ingest and therefore save
money by avoiding vet visits.
As you can see,
probiotics can benefit many different organisms, including you. Their
widespread presence makes them a prime target for scientific research in
genetic manipulation for treatment of disease. For example, scientists worked
on a new way to attack the epidemic of malaria by genetically-altering the
mosquito’s gut bacteria. They discovered that the parasite that
causes malaria is
sensitive to proteins
that one of the
mosquito’s gut bacteria has been engineered to produce.
Normally, this malaria
parasite forms fertilized eggs with a thick-walled outer coating which can
penetrate under the mosquito’s gut lining. These eggs produce the long,
worm-like organisms that swim into the mosquito’s salivary glands and are
deposited into the blood of whichever victim the mosquito bites.
The proteins produced
by the genetically-engineered bacteria are
able to increase
the resistance of
the mosquito gut to
penetration of these eggs and in some cases even kill them.
Scientists are also looking at using genetically-modified bacteria
in humans to diagnose, monitor and possibly even treat disease. Safety concerns
regarding use of genetically-modified bacteria are valid concerns. The
ethics and
responsibility surrounding genetically-modified bacteria for use in living
creatures is beyond the scope of this book, but I encourage you to learn about
them and form your own opinion. Some information about herbicides used
primarily on GMO (genetically-modified organism) plants is included in a later
chapter.
Similar to many
pharmaceutical studies, mice and rats are often used in probiotics studies.
Although there is debate about the ethical use of animals in studies, there are
several reasons why mice are the preferred subjects for many types of research.
The most obvious are that mice have a small size, which makes them easy to
handle, and short lifetimes, which makes it timely to see the effects.
Beyond the obvious,
however, one of the reasons mice are used is that 99% of mouse genes have an
equivalent in humans, and the mice can be genetically altered to have one
particular gene substituted with the human equivalent. This makes it possible
to study the effect of interventions on the “humanized” mouse. Not just any
mice can be used in studies; there is a protocol for using specific mice or
rats for specific studies so that data can be more standardized.
Another lesser-known
reason that mice are used in probiotics studies is that mice and humans share
many of the same categories of intestinal bacteria.
Although specific
microbes vary among creatures, the intestinal microbiota effects the health of
each creature. So you see, humans are not alone in needing beneficial microbes
in their gastrointestinal (GI) tracts! To decide which probiotic microbes you
may want, you need to understand how microbes are named, and that is the topic
of the next chapter.
CHAPTER 3
How
to Understand What the Probiotic’s
Name Means
In biology, taxonomy is
the science and practice of identifying, describing, naming and classifying
organisms. Taxonomy is important because it shows the genetic lineage of
organisms, which in turn shows which microbes are similar and which are not.
Once you understand the lineage, you can understand at what level microbes are
related and be able to ensure that you are getting the microbe you want.
The taxonomy of
probiotics and other microbes can be compared to categories of recreational
activity; this comparison is provided in Table 1. Following the table rows
below, from top to bottom, using the probiotic Lactobacillus
acidophilusDDS-1 as an example:
Recreation is
comparable to kingdom with the probiotic example of Eubacteria.
The type of recreation
(sports, reading, etc.) is comparable to phylum with the probiotic example of
Firmicutes.
For sports, the type of
sport is comparable to class with the probiotic example of Bacilli, and so on,
as shown below.
Note that the plural of
phylum is phyla and the plural of genus is genera.
Table
1
The major
difference between the
recreational categories and microbe/probiotic taxonomy examples are
that all levels in the microbe and probiotic taxonomy columns (kingdom through
strains) are genetically related. Just as any biological children you may have
are related to you and you are related to your parents who are then related to
their parents, and so on, taxonomy of microbes is like a family tree. So in
this example, DDS-1 is the name of a strain of Lactobacillus
acidophiluswhich is in the Lactobacillaceae family, the Lactobacilliales
order, the Bacilli class, and the Firmicutes phylum in the Eubacteria kingdom.
The Firmicutes phylum
is one of the three most common in the Westernized gut and is usually found in
the highest proportion at approximately 60%. Bacteroidetes and
Actinobacteria are the
other two phyla
comprising approximately 10% each.
Probiotic microbes are named first by their genus (italicized),
then by their species (italicized), and sometimes then by their strain, like
this example: Lactobacillus acidophilus strain X. You may
encounter the abbreviated versions
of these names,
such as Lactobacillus
acidophilus X or L. acidophilus X
instead of the full Lactobacillus acidophilusstrain X name.
One thing to be aware
of so that you’re sure you are getting the microbe you want is that there can
be more than one species that is abbreviated with
the same
first letter. For
example, “L.” can mean Lactobacillus or Lactococcus(or
any other “L”genus name), “B.”can be Bifidobacterium or Bacillus
or Bacteroides (or any other
“B” genus name) and “S” can mean Saccharomycesor Streptococcus(or
any other “S” genus name).
The genus includes a
number of core genes common to all species in that genus. Likewise, every
strain in each of those species has the same core genes, too. The differences
lie in the variable genes which change between every species and every strain.
It is those variable
genes which cause significant differences between microbes. Therefore, the
effectiveness of probiotics, in many cases, is both strain-specific and
condition-specific, because of those variable genes. For example, you cannot
expect every strain in the Lactobacillus rhamnosus
species to act identically because the minor differences in their
genes make them act differently.
When I first started
this journey, many years ago in my quest to understand probiotics, I
thought I could
buy a high-powered
microscope and differentiate
between the various microbes. After all, the different bacteria and yeasts have
different physical characteristics: some are round; some are oblong; many
cluster in chains; some cluster in bunches; and so on. I didn’t understand then
that the difference of a few genes down to the strain level can make
different microbes have
different functions. Those
genetic differences cannot be seen through a microscope.
Although you,
the consumer, are
concerned about what
particular species/strains are most effective for you, the majority of
probiotic research in diseases and health is only narrowed down to the phylum
level, or, at most, the species level. Researchers are looking at the bigger
picture of microbe interactions, not at YOUR particular microbiome
interactions, and generally, the more specific the study is, the more expensive
it is.
Research on particular
strains usually results in a patented product due to the time and expense
involved in doing the research. An example of this is Lactobacillus
rhamnosusstrain GG. If Lactobacillus rhamnosusGG is
proven to benefit a given condition, another Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain,
Strain F for example, cannot be implied to have the same effects as GG. Likewise,
an undesignated strain
labeled only as Lactobacillus rhamnosus cannot
be construed to be the same as GG.
Now you have a better
understanding of how probiotics are classified and named, as well as why
variable genes are so important. Knowing where certain microbes typically live
can help guide you in your buying decisions and that is the subject of the next
chapter.
CHAPTER 4
Where
Do Probiotics Live?
Microscopic organisms
are found in and on our bodies in major mucosal surfaces and on our skin.
Mucosal surfaces are slick and slippery due to the mucus on them and include
nasal passages, trachea/lungs, eye membranes, oral cavities
(mouth and esophagus),
gastrointestinal (GI) tracts
and urogenital tracts.
The microbial
communities (recall microbiota) reside in many parts of your body, and
their relative populations differ depending on their location. Your colon, for
example, has an intestinal flora that differs from the community found in your
nasal passages. And although there are similarities in the communities between
people, each person has their own unique microbiota which can even vary over
time!
Although the
microscopic organisms make up approximately 1-3% of your body’s mass, they play
a truly vital role in health. Microbes also contribute more genes that are
critical for your survival than you have yourself. Estimates are that you have
360 times MORE microbial genes than human ones in/on your body.
Since most probiotics
(but not all of them) are taken into your body through your mouth and are
prevalent throughout your gastrointestinal tract, this book focuses only on
these GI tract probiotics and the gut microbiome. In the gut, estimates are
that microbial genes outnumber human genes by approximately 150 times, and that
each individual harbors at least 160 different bacterial species with bacterial
numbers outnumbering or being equal to human cell numbers.,
I like to compare
probiotics and other GI tract microbes to human society. They are very similar
to human society in five ways:
. Contributions 2.
Variety
3. Interactions 4.
Clustering 5. Transience
Contributions:In any
successful society, the contributions of those that benefit the society must
outweigh the negative influences of others. Those contributions must also be
diverse enough to meet the needs of the society. In human societies, some
people make great contributions; some don’t do any significant good or harm and
live a peaceful, neutral existence; some normally are peaceful but can end up
looting if the opportunity presents itself; and some people act incorrigibly
and do more harm than good.
A similar
situation exists in the digestive
tract. Many microbes
are beneficial to the human or animal host; some are neutral
(commensal); some are beneficial or neutral but can cause opportunistic
infections if not kept in their proper environment or in proper numbers
(opportunists); and others do harm every chance they get (strictly pathogenic).
If there is not diversity in the contributions of the gut microbes, and
particularly if negative influences from harmful or opportunistic organisms
dominate, then the body will be less healthy than it could otherwise be.
Variety:Microbes
are also similar to a human society in that it takes many different kinds to
maintain balance. Just as some people are doctors, some are lawyers, some are
mechanics, some are cosmetologists and others fill a variety of jobs, the
microbes in and on you have a variety of different abilities and functions and
work together to maintain a healthy ecological balance. The
human gut microbiota
and the microbial
genome (microbiome) certainly do play diverse physiological roles that
influence our health and wellbeing.
Interactions:Another
similarity of your microbiota to human society is that it takes interactions to
make a society. Scientists have shown that microbes acknowledge each other and
communicate based on a concept called quorum sensing. In
quorum sensing, bacteria use chemical and electrical signaling molecules to
communicate with our cells and with each other and to determine microbe
population density.
Quorum sensing enables
bacteria to coordinate their behavior for survival. Survival involves
adaptation to availability of nutrients, defense against other microbes which
may compete for the same nutrients and the ability to avoid potentially
toxic compounds. Communication
between different species may
even occur.
Quorum sensing is very
important for pathogenic (harmful) bacteria during infection of a host such as
a human, animal or plant. This ability of pathogens allows them to coordinate
their attack and defenses against the host’s immune response so they not only
survive, but also thrive and establish an infection. Pathogenic microbes such
as Group A Streptococcus can actually detect when your
body is under stress and increase their assault.
Scientists are working
on ways to interrupt this ability of bacteria to communicate as a means to
manipulate drug-resistant bacteria. Quorumsensing inhibition
(QSI) strategies work
by interrupting the
signal production and/or signal detection of the targeted bacteria or by
degrading or modifying the signal itself. However, bacteria differ in the ways
they produce, detect and degrade or inactivate the signals, so QSI has to be
specific to the targeted bacteria. QSI may be one way to combat
antibioticresistant bacteria.More about the subject of antibiotic resistance is
discussed in Chapter 7.
Clustering:
Another commonality between
humans and microbes
is clustering, in which organisms group together to live. Clustering
provides protection, sharing of resources and companionship. When most people
think about bacteria
they think about individual bacterial cells that can be seen through a
microscope. These individual cells are called planktonic bacteria,
but they are not the way most bacteria are found in/on the body. Most microbes
cluster together in pairs, chains, clusters and on surfaces in what are called biofilms.
Biofilms are
essentially slimy masses of microbes attached to some sort of surface (like
your intestines) with channels running through them. The channels allow the
microbes on the inside of the biofilm to be protected yet still receive
nutrients and have wastes removed. Microbes in the biofilms produce
polysaccharides (long-chain carbohydrates), proteins and special molecules
which form the matrix of the films. Biofilms make curing some infections
particularly difficult because antibiotics target the individual cell, not the
biofilm.
Examples of biofilms
are dental plaque (which is why you have to brush your teeth to remove the
plaque and not just rinse your mouth), middle ear infections, drain
clog slime, slippery
rock slime and
shower scum. Estimates are that
over 80% of microbial infections in the body are caused by bacteria growing as
biofilms.
According to a recent
study, biofilms can be found on most colon polyps and cancers, especially those
found on the right side of the colon. It is possible that by examining for the
presence of biofilms via a noninvasive test, doctors may someday be able to
predict which patients are most likely to develop colon cancer.
Biofilms containing
probiotics like Bifidobacteriumand Lactobacillusare
mostly protective to us.
Transience:A
final commonality that microbes share with human society is transience.
Transient people pass from place to place, never establishing themselves in one
location. When we go on vacations or holidays, we are just visiting the places
we go and then we return home, so we are transient
then. If we use our
vacation time to do charitable work, then we are temporarily benefitting the
societies we help. Some microbes are transient through our bodies and help us
while they pass through, just like our charitable work, even if the microbes do
not colonize us.
On the flip side, we
can do harm when we travel through places by littering, defacing property,
trampling on alpine growth and contaminating the water, among other things.
Likewise, some microbes, such as those that cause food poisoning, can cause us
harm when they pass through.
You can see that your
microbes are very similar to human society in contributions, variety,
interactions, clustering and transience. Just as the saying goes that it takes
a village to raise emotionally healthy children, it takes a
village of microbes
to maintain a
physically, mentally and emotionally healthy you!
Where
Does This GI Village Exist and Who Is in It?
Many probiotic supplements are advertised for colon health, so it
is logical to think that probiotics live in the colon. However, in your
digestive system, probiotic microbes live in more places than your colon, such
as in your mouth, esophagus, stomach,
small intestine, and
appendix. Each environment is
suited for certain types of microbes, so each environment has unique types and
numbers of microbes and these may vary depending of your age, stage of life
(including pregnancy and lactation) and your diet.
To determine which
microbes are present in the GI tract, biopsy(collection
of a small tissue sample) and stool analysis are typically used. In the past,
biopsy and stool samples were cultured to see what would grow and then the organisms
were identified based
on laboratory analysis.
Some organisms grow well
under these conditions,
especially the aerobic (oxygen-dependent) microbes.
Other microbes, such
as many of the
probiotic microbes, do not grow well in cultures because they are anaerobic
(grow in the absence of oxygen). Even when culturing conditions
were controlled for air content, culturing still favored some organisms over
others. Modern identification techniques
employ culture-independent
techniques which help identify microorganism components but do not necessarily
reflect the quantities of the microbes.
Culture-independent techniques such as fluorescence microscopy,
bacterial microarrays, 16S rRNA/18S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomics
have significantly expanded
scientific knowledge of
the human microbiome. Nonetheless,
realize that one method, be it culture-dependent or culture-independent, is not
the be-all-end-all final word on what is really in our guts. The use of several
methods in a study helps to more-specifically identify microbes, identify if
they are capable of living and quantify them. Even with several diagnostic
methods, microbes that do not fit in any predefined category are often
encountered in gut sequencing and grouped
into an unclassified
category. This shows that there is much to learn about the gut microbiota!
In general,
culture-independent techniques have shown that among healthy individuals there
is:
A high diversity of
microbial types present in each individual
Site-specific
clustering of microbes with specific bacterial populations commonly found in
specific areas
Uniqueness per
individual at the lower levels (species/strains) of taxonomy.
The advanced
culture-independent technologies are showing us that, in addition to the
discovery of microbes that do not fit in any existing category, some microbes
previously named by culturing methods have to be re-classified based on
DNA/RNA. Such reclassification can make following the trail of research on a
particular microbe challenging.
The numbers and types
of microbial communities shift along the length of the digestive tract, which
is typically about 16 feet long in the average adult, starting with high
numbers in the mouth, decreasing through the stomach and beginning of the small
intestine, and increasing through the end of the small intestine and colon.
The living space for
these microbial communities also varies depending on the portion of the
digestive tract. In the past, based on cadavers or on relaxed tissue during
surgery, it was estimated that the area of the GI (gastrointestinal tract)
tract was about the size of a tennis court (600-1,000 square feet), but a
recent study puts the estimate at approximately 350 square feet.Of
course, the exact length and surface area of your GI tract may differ from
other people.
Of that area,
approximately 3% involves the mouth, esophagus and stomach and 6.5% involves
the colon. The rest is accounted for by the small intestine (91.5%). This is an
important finding because the small intestine has many folds and protrusions
(called villi) that allow maximum surface area for maximum absorption of
nutrients. Any decrease in that area due to celiac disease, Crohn’s disease or
other digestive disorders results in less efficient nutrient absorption.
Typical numbers of
microbes (bacteria and others) in each section of the GI tract are:-
Mouth: There are
approximately 100 million microbes per gram. It contains the most diversity.
Stomach: Yes, your
stomach has bacteria in it despite the stomach acid! There are up to 1 thousand
bacterial cells/gram.
intestine:
There are approximately 10 thousand
bacterial cells/gram in the beginning of the small intestine, increasing
up to 10100 million/gram near the end.
: There are
approximately 10 billion to 1 trillion bacterial cells/gram
Stool: Some estimates
are up to 1 trillion microbes per gram.
to who exists in the
microbial communities along the GI tract, a recent order-level bacterial RNA
studyfrom biopsies and stool samples of 4 healthy Canadian individuals (2 males
and 2 females) showed that 5 orders dominated
out of 49 orders
identified. Some bacteria
could not be classified. These 5
orders were Lactobacilliales, Fusobacteriales, Clostridiales,
Bacteriodales and small percentages of Bifidobacteriales. From the mouth to the
colon to stool samples, major residents were from helpful (with beneficial
actions), neutral (commensal), opportunistic and pathogenic microbes in each
section of the digestive tract.
One important takeaway
from the Canadian study is that although some bacterial orders/genera/species
are small percentages of the total bacterial count, their small percentages can
have drastic effects of being very helpful or very harmful. Therefore, it is
best to keep the pathogenic or potentially opportunistic microbes
under control. Beneficial
microbes such as probiotics keep
the contributions, variety,
interactions, clustering and transience of the microbes in the GI
tract in favor of the “good guys” in order to maintain GI health.
The Canadian study
mentioned above (and some other studies) showed that the ratios
of the types
of bacteria in
colon biopsy samples
differed somewhat from those in stool samples despite their similar
microbial concentrations; however, still other studies have shown a pretty good
correlation between stool and biopsy bacterial types.-
Differences may be due
to the locations of the biopsies along the GI tract, how the biopsies were
processed, the type of culture-independent method and the number of sample
reads. Also, stool can be a cumulative collection of microbes all along the GI
tract, not specifically at one segment.
If you’ve never
collected a stool sample before, you need to realize that only a tiny amount of
stool is actually sampled and that it is a snapshot in time. Human feces
usually are made up of approximately 75% water and 25% solid matter. In the
solid matter, about 30% to 50% is bacteria.That tiny amount of stool sample may
or may not be completely representative in absolute numbers or types of which
exact microbes are throughout the GI tract or along the intestinal walls.
Likewise, biopsy
samples are only small representations, too. However,
if stool analysis or biopsy shows that pathogenic microbe amounts are higher
than they should be and probiotic species are lower than they should be,
that means that
a person most
likely has dysbiosis (unbalanced
microbiota) and an intervention with probiotics may be helpful.
Now that you see where
bacteria may live inside the gastrointestinal tract, how an
intervention with probiotics
may work to
rebalance your microbiome is the
subject of the next chapter.
CHAPTER 5
How
Do Probiotics Work?
Now that you know what
probiotics are, who benefits from them, how they are named and where they live,
the next logical step in learning how to use them to your advantage is to
understand an overview of how they work.
In short,
probiotics work by
significantly impacting your
digestive, immune, nervous and endocrine systems and their functions, as
well as other bodily functions, in beneficial ways, whereas not all species in
your flora do. More about some of the dangers of harmful bacteria and how
probiotics can mitigate them are in the next chapter. As you will see in the
next chapter, probiotics can also affect every system in the body. Most of
those effects probably have their origins in either the digestive, immune,
nervous or endocrine systems.
The
Probiotics to Digestive and Immune Systems Connection
First, let’s look at
your digestive and immune systems. Your digestive system takes the food and
drinks you consume, breaks them down into useable components and absorbs them
into your body for nourishment while subsequently eliminating wastes. Since
probiotics reside in or pass through your digestive system, it makes sense that
they could impact your GI tract. More information about how they do that is
provided in the next chapter.
In your digestive
tract, there is a sheet of epithelial (tissue) cells that line the tract and
act as a barrier so that only desired substances are supposed to pass through
to your bloodstream. These cells are meant to stay close together. On top of
the epithelial cells in the digestive tract are mucus and microbes. The mucus
is supposed to be thick and continuous in order to separate the epithelial
cells from microbes and gut contents. In many GI conditions, the mucus is
disrupted. Probiotics can affect mucus in positive ways as Chapter 6 shows.
immune system protects
you from external invaders and internal abnormal cells. Underneath the
epithelial cells in the digestive tract are immune cells generally referred to
as GALT, or gut-associated lymphoid tissue. GALT is the largest lymphoid
tissue of the body’s immune system. Approximately 70-80% of
your immune system
is actually in
your intestines! GALT is found in the intestines in organized patches
and nodes as well as in scattered immune cells-and is very active in
protecting your body.
As you might imagine, the epithelial cells lining your
gastrointestinal tract (GI) tract can interact with and influence the GALT
cells underlying them, forming an intricate relationship. Since the majority of
your immune system is in your digestive tract, having an intact digestive
system with those
epithelial cells close
together is very important to keep your immune system and your entire body
healthy. An intact digestive tract also helps to prevent your body from
mistaking your own tissue as being a foreign invader and mounting an autoimmune
attack.
You may have heard of
the term leaky gutwhich describes the presence of gaps in
the junctions between the epithelial cells. With a leaky gut, your digestive system
is compromised and it sets the stage for your immune system to react.
Fortunately, probiotics
can help prevent leaky gut.
In their communication
with the cells of your digestive and immune systems, probiotics influence,
through chemical messengers, which genes are turned on or turned off. In turn,
those cells communicate back. Thus, probiotics can affect how your genes and
your genome(all the genetic material of an organism) work. This effect on
genes can also determine how your immune system develops.
You see, the genes you
inherited do not necessarily determine your fate. If and how those genes are
turned on or off is what matters. For example, there are many genes affecting
Crohn’s disease risk, and Crohn’s disease is believed to be caused by an
inappropriate response of the immune system. Even if you are genetically
susceptible to Crohn’s disease, estimates are that your risk of developing
Crohn’s based solely on having the genes is less than 30%. Estimates for
ulcerative colitis and celiac disease are even lower.-
Probiotics play a
role in appropriate
gene and immune responses.
Since my genes, my lifestyle factors and my environment are
different from yours, it cannot be assumed that what affects my microbiome in
one way will affect your microbiome in the same way. Even if we have common
genes between us, the activation or deactivation of those genes can be
dependent on our lifestyles and environments. By influencing our body
environments,
probiotics influence our genes and can serve as preventive measures for
disease.
That explains why data
from the Human Microbiome Project shows that there isn’t one specific type of
gut microbiome associated with health; gut flora and
genetics differ from
person to person.
Species that may predominate in one individual may be
found in very low numbers or be completely absent in another. What seems to
define health is that the actions of the beneficial microbes, including
probiotics, overpower and either control, or completely eliminate, the
pathogenic microbes.
The environment around
your gut microbiome depends on diet and lifestyle. Although studies show your
microbiome is relatively stable, changes from a different diet can start to be
seen in the gastrointestinal tract in as little as 24 hours, even before the
remains of the food has left the body.These changes stop once the food is
stopped. So by simply changing your diet, you can begin to change the relative
makeup of your microbiota and the way those microbiota interact with you.
The
Probiotics to Nervous System Connection
It is easy to see how
probiotics can affect your immune system through your digestive system. But
what is the probiotics to nervous system connection? Your nervous system
consists of your brain and all of the nerves in your body. Your first brain is
part of your central nervous system. However, it is less commonly known that
your gut acts as a “second brain”, functioning as your enteric
nervous system. Both brains originate from the same fetal tissue and each
communicates with the other via nerves and neurotransmitters or their
precursors. The functions of both brains can be affected by probiotics.
Your digestive system
and your brain are directly connected predominantly by a
major nerve, the
vagus nerve, which
runs between the
two. Communication through this nerve is two-way, from the brain to the
gut and from the gut to the brain. Estimates are that about 90 percent of the
fibers in the vagus nerve carry information from the gut to the brain and not
the other way around!,The microbes in your gut communicate with your “second brain” which
then communicates with your brain-brain via the vagus nerve. The brains can
also communicate via chemical messengers in the bloodstream. Consequently, what
happens in the gut doesn’t necessarily stay in the gut and can affect many
aspects of brain functioning including emotions and clear thinking.
The gut microbes also
communicate with your endocrine system.
The
Probiotics to Endocrine System Connection
Your endocrine
system is the
system in your
body responsible for controlling bodily functions through the
release of hormones and hormonelike chemicals. Hormonesare
substances which are released in one part of the body but usually affect other
parts of the body by attaching to certain cellular receptors. Examples of
endocrine organs and their commonly known hormones are:
Pancreas and insulin
Adrenals and cortisol
Ovaries and estrogen
and progesterone Testicles and testosterone
Thyroid and thyroid
hormones
What you may not
realize, however, is that you have endocrine cells in your intestines, and the
hormone-like substances produced by them can be influenced by probiotics. Also,
many hormones are eliminated through the intestines after being processed
through the liver and their fate can be influenced by
probiotics. Additionally, through
methods still being investigated, probiotics have the
capability of affecting your body-wide hormones.The probiotics to endocrine
system connection is an exciting new area of exploration!
Now you
see how probiotics
work by significantly
impacting your digestive, immune,
nervous and endocrine systems. Then, primarily from these four systems,
probiotics can influence all other systems in the body. Such an influence is
beneficial in many ways, as the next chapter explains.
CHAPTER 6
What
Are the Benefits of Probiotics and Which Conditions Can Be Helped by Them?
From the overview in
Chapter 5 of how probiotics work to influence bodily systems, we are now going
to explore some of the specific benefits probiotics provide to your body. There
are at least 29 ways in which probiotics help you! If you understand the
benefits generally, then you can appreciate
how advantageous it
is maintain substantial
quantities and varieties in you.
As I mentioned in a
previous chapter, the numbers and types of microbes vary along the
gastrointestinal tract (GI) tract and from person to person. Some of those
microbes are known as Gram-negative bacteria, some are Gram-positive bacteria,
some are
Gram-neutral bacteria, some
are fungi/yeasts, many are archaea, a percentage are viruses and
protists and all are part of a normal flora.
Official probiotics,
which are mostly Gram-positive bacteria except for the Gram-negative E.
coli Nissle
and certain yeasts
(and potentially F. prausnitziiin the
future), impact your digestive, immune, nervous and endocrine systems and their
functions in beneficial ways as explained in the last chapter, whereas not all
species in your flora do.
What does this Gramdesignation
mean? Hans Christian Gram was a scientist who developed a method of staining
bacteria to make them visible in tissue samples. Over time, it became a way to
identify the general type of bacteria quickly based on how the cell walls
colored, as Gram-positive bacteria stain differently than Gram-negative ones.
Scientists estimate
that bacteria evolved into Gram-negative and Grampositive groups about one
billion years ago.However, not all bacteria
stain either positive
or negative consistently, and some don’t stain at all, so that is where
culture-free (fluorescence microscopy, bacterial microarrays, 16S rRNA/18S rRNA
gene sequencing and metagenomics) analysis is particularly useful in
identification of microbes.
What’s the big deal
with these Gram designations? The big deal is that Gram-negative bacteria have
what is called LPS(lipopolysaccharides) in their cell walls which can cause major
problems for us. The LPS of some bacterial species acts like a toxin in our
bodies causing an immune response and even septic shock, a severe infection
which can cause multiple organ failure and possible death.
LPS is often associated
with different kinds of infections depending on the bacteria involved and is
particularly hazardous if it enters the bloodstream via a leaky gut or via
overwhelmed, normal body absorption processes. A leaky gut is one scenario in
which the normal protective barrier (the intestinal wall) in the body is
broken. This broken barrier allows particles, such as food molecules, LPS and
bacteria, which would normally be prevented from entering the body tissues and
bloodstream, to enter and cause problems. Since LPS from the Gram-negative
bacteria causes an immune response, it leads to acute or chronic inflammation,
even if it doesn’t cause a significant, specific infection. Prevention of
illness by keeping the gut lining intact is easier to manage than reaction to
an established illness caused by a leaky gut.
Examples
of pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria and the infections they cause are:
E. coli(such
as E. coliO157:H7, an enterohemorrhagic food-borne
infectious strain which
causes diarrhea, hemorrhagic
colitis and hemolytic uremic
syndrome)
Klebsiella(such
as Klebsiella pneumoniawhich can cause destructive
changes to the lungs)
Salmonella
(such as Salmonella
enterica which can cause
food poisoning with symptoms of diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps and
occasionally cause localized infection or an infection in the blood)
Pseudomonas (such
as Pseudomonas aeruginosa which
is an opportunistic bacterium
that can cause
infections of the
blood, pneumonia and post-surgical infections, especially in people with
weakened immune systems)
Legionella (such
as Legionella pneumophila which
causes Legionnaire’s disease)
Shigella (such
as Shigella dysenteriae which
causes severe gastrointestinal
distress)
Vibrio(such
as Vibrio cholera, a cause of cholera)
Neisseria(such
as Neisseria gonorrhoeaewhich is responsible for the
sexually-transmitted disease (STD) gonorrhea)
Prevotella(such
as Prevotella dentalis, a common cause of dental
infections)
Fusobacterium(such
as Fusobacterium nucleatumwhich is a very potent
bacterium responsible for infections ranging from periodontal
disease to invasive
infections of the head, neck, chest, lung, liver and abdomen)
Bacteroides (such
as Bacteroides fragilis, one
of the highly opportunistic members of the Bacteroides
genus which is found with a high frequency in clinical infections
and resistance to antimicrobial agents)
Many of these
infectious Gram-negative bacteria are resistant to antibiotics so treatment can
be difficult, especially if they are in biofilms.
Note that not all
Gram-negative bacteria cause infections, and likewise not all infections are
caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Some species of Grampositive bacteria such as
Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Listeria, Bacillus and Clostridiumhave
strains which can also cause disease. Bacteria without cell walls, such as Mycoplasma, can
also cause infections. However, LPS from Gram-negative bacteria is a known
health hazard.
Many Gram-negative
bacteria also have the capability of sharing their antibiotic-resistant genes
with other bacteria via gene transfer, which you will remember from Chapter 1
is one trait that probiotics should NOT have. Additionally, several
Gram-negative bacteria produce
very toxic compounds with high
biologic activity as well as enzymes which break down human tissue and
immune-system molecules, thereby allowing their infections to spread more
easily.
Although
Gram-negative,
Gram-positive, Gram-neutral and
cell walldeficient bacteria can
cause infections and be resistant to antibiotics, Gramnegative bacteria are
significantly harder to kill due to the outer membrane of the cell wall. This
outer membrane contains the LPS and is particularly adept at preventing certain
drugs and antibiotics from entering the cell and killing it. To add to the
pathogenic potential of harmful Gram-negative bacteria, it is now known that
LPS from Gram-negative bacteria can coat
viruses and protect
them from your immune system,which makes it harder for your immune system to
detect, confront and eliminate viruses.
As you can imagine, LPS
toxin in the bloodstream has the potential to affect every part of the body and
cause inflammation. One huge benefit of probiotics, in general, is their
ability to reduce or eliminate the bacteria that produce the LPS toxin. This one
benefit alone can be very significant in health! Probiotics reduce the
LPS-producing bacteria and protect against pathogenic (disease-causing)
microbes, viruses and parasites inside you such as the food poisoning
E. coli H0157:H7, Candida yeast
overgrowth, and the other harmful microbes mentioned above. This occurs by
several beneficial mechanisms, including the following:-66
. Crowding out the
pathogens so there is no space for them to attach to
tissues
2. Making it hard for
pathogens to attach to your tissues 3. Displacing the pathogens from their
attachment to your tissues
4. Making the
environment too acidic
for pathogens to
survive by
producing acids such as lactic acid or acetic acid, for
example
5. Producing
antibacterial/antifungal
substances that kill pathogens.
(Some of these
probiotic antibacterial substances are even used in the food industry as
preservatives!)
6. Stimulating your body
to produce more
protective mucus, more
antibodies in
that mucus, more
white blood cells
and more antibacterial
substances to limit an infection
7. Helping your body
decide if something is a friend or a foe 8. Affecting your bile acids so they
are more toxic to pathogens
In addition to these 8
important benefits to you in reducing pathogenic microbes, and the very
significant benefit of LPS reduction, probiotics have many other benefits. Some
of these are listed below.
Other
Benefits of Probiotics
Here are some other
benefits of probiotics:-
. Aid in digestion and nutrient absorption of humanly-digestible
foods.
Probiotics can
digest sugars and other carbohydrates, which can help with problems such as
lactose intolerance. Others degrade proteins in the colon so that the proteins
do not putrefy there. Some can break down anti-nutrients, like phytates, in
foods to make minerals more available to us.
2. Convert some plant
compounds into active, beneficial forms that our
bodies can use.
3. Provide energy for you from foodstuff you otherwise could not
digest:
Many complex sugars
and fibers would pass through us and be useless to us without our microbes.
4. Play a role in the proper development and functioning of the
intestines:
Studies show that
without proper flora the intestines do not develop properly.
5. Communicate with your body for proper development of your
immune
system: Studies
also show that without proper flora the immune system is not primed properly
and has dysfunctions.
6. Create a lasting benefit in several aspects of natural (innate)
immunity
and acquired
(antibody) immunity: Our microbes can help prevent an over-exaggerated immune
response to harmless
substances and provide a
competent response to harmful assaults from bacteria, yeasts, molds, viruses,
and parasites.
7. Communicate with
your genome: As I mentioned before, it is not only
the genes you have that may determine your fate but how
those genes
respond to the
environment around them. An intestinal environment full of pathogenic microbes
will respond differently than it would if it were balanced with beneficial
microbes.
8. Prevent leaky gut by helping your body’s intestinal cells stay
closer
together: Tight
junctions in the intestines are supposed to prevent rogue molecules from
passing into the bloodstream. Probiotics affect those tight junctions in a
positive way and thus can prevent immune responses and infections.
9. Communicate with your
body’s tissue cells
to produce an anti
inflammatory or
pro-inflammatory response that can extend beyond the GI tract to other body
tissues: Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in the gut does not necessarily stay in
the gut. Both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory molecules can leave the
gut and influence tissues anywhere in the body.
10. Help to maintain the pro- to anti-inflammatory ratio of the
immune
system: Balance in
the immune system is important to health. Different probiotics can affect the
production of inflammatory and/or antiinflammatory cytokines (chemical
messengers).
11. Communicate with
and/or influence other
bacteria to perform
functions they otherwise would not do.
12. Produce short-chain
fatty acids (SCFA’s) that nourish your colon cells
and increase nutrient absorption.
13. Balance water and
electrolyte absorption. 14. Balance your blood lipids.
15. Affect the
metabolism of some
drugs by enhancing
their
bioavailability.
. Produce B vitamins
and vitamin K for you or influence other bacteria
which do.
17. Help your bowel
movements to be regular, especially in diarrhea,
constipation, IBS and other digestive disorders.
18. Re-populate the
digestive tract quickly when consumed after you take
antibiotics so that the harmful microbes don’t become the
majority.
19. Influence your
behavior and moods
(via the brain-second
brain
connection), as shown in Chapter 5.
20. Reduce other
intestinal-derived toxins besides LPS that may be carried
in circulation and distributed to distant sites in the
body.
The
Benefits Keep On Going
Due to the benefits
which probiotics can provide, it is no surprise that they can be helpful for
many conditions, both within and outside of the digestive tract. Some of the
different body systems and the conditions investigated with probiotics are:
Immune system
(autoimmune connection, allergies,
possible HIV transmission
prevention)
Digestive system
(food poisoning, constipation,
diarrhea, reflux [GERD], IBS,
IBD)
Reproductive system
(bacterial vaginosis, candidiasis,
infertility, herpes simplex 2 virus)
Cardiovascular system
(atherosclerosis) Excretory system (kidney disease, UTI)
Integumentary system
(eczema, acne, atopic dermatitis) Nervous system (anxiety, depression)
Skeletomuscular system
(arthritis, osteoporosis)
Respiratory system
(pulmonary infections, cystic fibrosis pulmonary deterioration, respiratory
tract infections)
Endocrine system
(chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, diabetes) Global disease states such as
some cancers
Improved athletic
performance
Probiotics can
influence many of these bodily systems and conditions through the 29 benefits
you discovered earlier in this chapter. However, recognize that many of the
benefits, despite how significant they can be, are not commercializable in the
US. Many of them contribute to improved overall health, unlike drugs, which
target diseased body segments.
Unless a probiotic goes
through the drug-approval process to benefit a specific disease, which requires
large sums of money and time, a probiotic product can only state a
structure/function claim as you saw in Chapter 1. Therefore, although any
single benefit, such as #13 above (water/electrolyte balance), could improve
your entire body, it has not been shown to treat or cure some disease or one
that has been singled out as a marketable trait. As a result, you will not see
research, beginning with in-house laboratory petri dishes, then to genome
sequencing, and progressing to animal studies, then to human studies and
finally to full-blown clinical trials, on a probiotic marketed to
balance water and
electrolyte absorption. That
does not diminish the importance
of what that probiotic can do for you, however.
Keeping that in mind,
there are some probiotics that havebeen
studied in the hopes of improving some particular medical condition. Some of
them are classified as medical drugs, many are patented for their actions, but
most of them still retain only the structure/function claims.
Some of the probiotics
I have listed below are not even on the market yet with any structure/function
claims. I have listed them only to show you that there is the potential for a
particular microbe, or several microbes, to have effects on bodily functions
significantly enough to possibly benefit you for certain conditions.
Let’s look at a few gastrointestinal conditions you may be
struggling with and see which specific types of microbes have been investigated
at some level for helping those conditions. More information about each of the
major probiotic genera and species is provided in Chapter 9. Information
|
about |
other |
conditions |
is |
available |
on my
website, |
www.powerofprobiotics.com.
Note that I am not diagnosing,
prescribing, treating or curing any condition, be it mental or physical. If you
suffer from any of these conditions, you can research many of the details
further and discuss them with your preferred medical professional. Note also
that some conditions present differently in children versus adults, so that
what might help in one group may be ineffective in the other. Lastly, these
short lists are not all-inclusive.
Constipation
To aid in constipation,
probiotics can play a role in the proper development and functionality of the
intestines, balance water and electrolyte absorption and help with regularity.
In general, probiotics
work best as preventive agents, not as quick “cures”. But many
times probiotics can
help with constipation
once it is an
established condition.
Some probiotics that
have shown efficacy in helping constipation are:-
E.
coli Nissle 1917 (adults, 25 billion CFU/day)
Lactobacillus casei Shirota
(adults, 6.5 billion CFU/day)
Bifidobacterium lactisDN-173010
(adults, 150 million to 1.5 billion CFU/day)
Lactobacillus rhamnosusLcr35
(children, 800 million CFU/day)
Diarrhea
In various cases of
diarrhea, probiotics can contribute similar aid as they do for constipation.
Probiotics also competitively
exclude the pathogenic microbes causing the diarrhea by
methods previously mentioned, preserve gut-barrier function and recruit
immune-system involvement, among other functions.
, probiotics have been
shown to:-
Prevent
antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Some examples are: Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285
and Lactobacillus casei LBC80R (adults, 50-100
billion CFU/day))
Lactobacillus caseiDN-114-001,
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus
thermophilus(adults, 420 million CFU/day)
Lactobacillus acidophilus CL1285
and Lactobacillus casei (adults, 50 billion
CFU/day)
Saccharomyces boulardii(Adults,
30 billion CFU/day)
Help in treatment and
prevention of rotavirus diarrhea in children. Some examples are:
Saccharomyces boulardii(80
billion CFU/day)
|
Lactobacillus |
acidophilus, |
Lactobacillus |
rhamnosus, |
|
|
Bifidobacterium longum and Saccharomyces boulardii |
|
(250 |
million CFU/day)
Lactobacillus rhamnosusGG
(1-100 billion CFU/day)
Help in treatment of
relapsing Clostridium difficile diarrhea. A few examples in
animals are:
Lactobacillus rhamnosusGG Saccharomyces
boulardii Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086
Help prevent acute
diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea.
Many probiotics can help with this since most of these
infections are caused by a disturbance in gut flora
Reflux
(GERD)
Balancing the gut flora
and encouraging proper functioning of the digestive tract are where probiotics
excel, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that probiotics may help GERD. Probiotics
work on the root cause of some forms of GERD, not just the symptoms.
Treating the
symptoms of a
condition like GERD
are what many medications do.
For example, the
goal of conventional anti-acid medications is to reduce stomach
acidity. That can provide relief for the discomfort of excess stomach acid for
the short-term and can be extremely beneficial for GERD that erodes the
esophagus. Reducing the pH in the stomach may, however, hinder proper digestion
and set the stage for dysbiosis (unbalanced flora) in the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract with resulting conditions such as SIBO(small
intestine bacterial overgrowth).
Some probiotics that
have been specifically studied for GERD relief are:,
Lactobacillus reuteriDSM
17938 (regurgitation in infants) Bifidobacterium infantis35624
(adult pilot study) Lactobacillus rhamnosusGG (adult pilot study)
IBS-D
(diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome), IBDUC (irritable bowel
disease, ulcerative colitis) Remission and Pouchitis Remission-
The honor of
benefitting all three of these conditions goes to the multispecies, medical
grade probiotic supplement, VSL#3. A review of the product is on my website.
Since it is a medical food, it can advertise its use for specific medical
conditions.
E. coli Nissle
1917 was efficacious in IBS in adults (2.5-25 billion CFU/day)
Bifidobacterium infantis
was helpful in IBS in women (100 million CFU/day)
Bacillus coagulans GBI-30,
6086 preliminary data showed it was helpful for IBS.
Some
Insights about the Benefits of Probiotics
One thing that’s
important to notice about the GI conditions above is that there wasn’t just one
particular probiotic species that was able to provide relief for one of them or
all of them. There were many. This illustrates the concept that it takes a
village of microbes to be healthy, and that what works for one person may not
work for another because we are all unique individuals.
Another thing to note
is that most of the time, improvement is not overnight. Although changes in
microbiota can begin to occur fairly quickly (within 24 hours), it takes time
to turn an unhealthy intestinal environment into a healthy one.
Additionally, keep in
mind when reading articles about studies on microbes is that in
vitro(in the laboratory petri dish) tests are useful to gain knowledge
of strains and the probiotic effect and possible benefits, but the use of
probiotics in human trials may give the best clue as to their usefulness in a
given health condition.
Also, remember that
each probiotic strain has its own specific properties, so any health benefits
attributed to one particular strain cannot be assumed to be attributed to other
strains, even strains in the same species.
Since probiotics and
beneficial bacteria and yeasts are so important, why is that you probably do
not have enough? The answer to that question is explored in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 7
Why
Don’t You Have Enough Probiotics and Beneficial Microbes?
You now know what
probiotics are, who benefits from them, how they are named, where they live,
how they work and the numerous benefits they can provide. You also know that
probiotics are critical for health, yet why don’t you have enough? There are many
reasons for insufficient levels of probiotics and beneficial microbes in your
GI tract and some of them include:
Modern day diets Sugars
Artificial sweeteners
Diabetes and sugar
dysregulation
Prescription and
over-the-counter medication use Glyphosate, the active ingredient in herbicides
such as RoundUp Disconnect of modern medicine to the concept of a whole body
Lack of adequate sleep
Stress
Understanding these
reasons will help you determine positive changes you can make to support the
numbers and types of beneficial flora in your body.
Note that this list is not meant to be fully comprehensive, but
instead is meant to get you thinking about the effects on your microbiota of
things you put in or do to your body. A good rule of thumb when considering
things you put in or on
your body is this: if something is not naturally found in nature in a
particular form, then maybe it should not be in or on you.
Let’s take a look at
each of these reasons in more detail.
Modern-Day
Diets
Food fermentation is a
method of food preservation. Bacteria and yeasts transform sugars and starches
in food into acids (such as lactic acid), gases or alcohol which then act to
kill harmful microbes and preserve the food. As they preserve the food, the
beneficial microbes increase in numbers as the pathogenic ones decrease. Many
of the bacteria which ferment food are known to be probiotics. More information
about fermented foods and drinks is provided in Chapters 10 and 13.
In the history of the
human race, people hunted and gathered their food and ate what was in season
for their particular part of the world. Together with drying and salting, food
fermentation is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. It has been
confirmed that over 9,000 years ago people drank fermented drinks.
In human history, food
and drink fermentation was a household- or villagelevel practice to preserve
food, give food more flavor and reduce food toxicity. Many indigenous peoples
around the globe, especially in East Asia and Africa, still consume fermented
foodstuffs. In some cases such as mahewu, a fermented maize meal in South
Africa, these fermented foods are staples in the diets of those people.
In today’s modern society,
with the emphasis on industrial-scale food production and fast food, many of
the old ways have been abandoned. Even in countries where fermented foodstuffs
are still commonly prepared and still could serve as the basis of a healthy
diet, the stigma that homemade fermented
foods and drinks
are only for
the poor results
in people abandoning them in
order to purchase processed foods as soon as they can afford them.
Where did this stigma
that homemade foods are only for the poor come from? Have advertisers’
marketing distorted our perception of what is really
valuable? More
importantly, how do we dispel of that stigma? Homemade foods, including
fermented foods, can be some of the most nutritious foods available made from
simple ingredients that you can pronounce. These simple ingredients reset our
taste buds to enjoy the subtle flavors the food offers in ways that experienced
chefs know. When have you seen a worldrenowned chef adding MSG, saccharin and
other artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors and artificial colors to their
dishes? You haven’t, because real food doesn’t need those things!
Modern people expect
food to look appealing, taste sweet and/or fatty and/or salty and delicious and
still expect to be able to go to a drivethrough, pop food into a microwave oven
or stop into a restaurant and have their food quickly available. Because of
this, the modern-day diet is more heavily weighted towards questionable
proteins and unhealthy fats and is scarce
in fiber, vitamins,
minerals, beneficial microbes
and healthpromoting plant
compounds. We are fooled into thinking that because the quick “food” tastes
good or satisfies our cravings (thanks to all the added chemicals manipulating
our senses) that we are feeding ourselves. Instead, we are actually consuming
things that take away from our bodies’ stores of nutrients. Instead of
nutrition, we consume only calories. There is a disconnect between “food” and
nourishment.
Today’s western
societies focus on doing more in less time and for some aspects of life, that
focus is appropriate. Modern appliances can certainly make our lives and food
preparation easier. But to abandon the cultural ways of preparing and enjoying
food together because we want to watch more television, go to more sports games
or movies or go about our busyness is a mistake that is costing our society.
The Slow Food
movementthat was started in Italy and is now an international movement is one
effort to counter “the standardization of taste and culture” and preserve the
“connections between plate, planet, people, politics and culture.”
The Weston A. Price
Foundationis another effort at raising awareness about how our disconnect with
the food we eat is affecting our health and the health of our planet. Part of
their mission is “restoring nutrient-dense food to the human diet” and it
emphasizes the importance of fermented vegetables, fruits, dairy, beverages and
condiments in the diet.
Initiatives such as
these are important, and if for nothing else than your personal well-being, I
urge you to consider re-evaluating your diet and lifestyle and making nutritious
food more of a priority in your life because modern processed food is void of
the nutrients your body and your microbiota need in order to be healthy.
Modern food is
typically very high in sugars, sodium, artificial flavors, artificial
sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial preservatives, fake fats,
stabilizers, emulsifiers and other ingredients which are, among other things,
low in
the nutrients (vitamins,
minerals, essential fatty
acids, phytochemicals) and fibers that feed the beneficial microbiota in
your gut. Additionally, some of those very ingredients may be damaging to your
beneficial gut microbes as you will see.
Sugars
Sugars can upset the
ecological balance in your GI tract. Bacteria and yeasts of all types LOVE sugar
as a food source. Since different microbes are able to reproduce at different
rates, typically the microbes that should be absent or present in only small
numbers (the harmful ones) reproduce faster than the beneficial microbes and
take over when sugar is provided to them.
, the regular sweetener
simply called sugarthat is obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets, is a 2-part sugar
(a disaccharide) that is composed of the 2 one-sugar molecules
(monosaccharides), glucose and fructose. Your body breaks down the sucrose into
the monosaccharides.
Fructose, found
predominantly in fruits and in small amounts in many vegetables (bound in the
plant cells), is usually not a big problem until it is found in the form of
free high-fructose corn syrup in processed foods and especially in soft drinks.
Combined, these 3
sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) are the simpler sugars which are used in
most sweetened products and they are fuel for the growth of
many microbes. Unfortunately, they
fuel faster growth
of undesirable bacteria and yeasts.
Salmonella, a
bacterial species with many pathogens, thrives on glucose and doubles its
numbers every 20 minutes or so under the right conditions. That is why
infection symptoms can appear within 6-72 hours of infection. Also, Salmonellacan
make its own proteins to produce whip-like tails called flagellawhen
it needs them. The flagella allow it to move to the nutrient-rich layers
of the intestinal
lining and continue
growth and reproduction.,
In contrast, the
doubling time of probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillusor Bifidobacteriummay be
measured in HOURS or DAYS, not minutes, and
many rely
on you to
consume the things
to optimize their
growth. Additionally, Lactobacillusand Bifidobacteriumdo not
have flagella. So although probiotic microbes use glucose, too, they reproduce
much more slowly, need more nutrients supplied from you than most pathogenic
microbes do and are not able to propel themselves to the source of nutrients.
Sugar intake puts the beneficial microbes at a disadvantage.,
Artificial
Sweeteners
Okay, so you think you
will do your microbiome a favor and skip the sugar and replace it with
artificial sweeteners instead. Is that a good idea? From many health
perspectives, including the risk of metabolic diseases and risk to the health
of the beneficial microbes in your gut, that is not a good idea!
This book is focused on
probiotics, so any information presented deals with effects of artificial
sweeteners on the microbiota. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention
that the general use of artificial sweeteners increases your risk for metabolic
diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
The artificial
sweeteners which have been studied for their effects on gut microbiota are:
Saccharin (Sweet’N’Low)
Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) Sucralose (Splenda)
The results for all
three show that they can modify bacterial communities in the GI tract, tipping
the balance in favor of pathogenic microbes to the detriment of beneficial
ones.-
What if you still want
to use artificial sweeteners? Can taking probiotics be effective to prevent any
bad effects on the gut microbiome from using them? That answer is not yet
known. What is known is that the artificial sweeteners listed above increase
your risk of a disrupted microbiota, among other conditions. Why would you
still want to use them?
Diabetes
and Sugar Dysregulation
Type 2 diabetes is a
dysfunction in blood-sugar and insulin handling in the body causing abnormally
high (and damaging) blood-sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is primarily a result
of poor diet and lifestyle. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which
the person’s immune cells attack and destroy the insulin-producing cells of the
pancreas.
In the US alone, over
21 million children and adults, or over 9% of the population, has the diagnosis
of diabetes. That is about 1 out of every 11 people and 90-95% of them have
Type 2. Frighteningly, another 8 millionplus people have Type 2 diabetes and do
not know it. That means that out of everyone with diabetes, almost one-third
are undiagnosed and do not know it! Yet, on average, one American aged 20 and
over is diagnosed with diabetes every 19 seconds. That equates to 4,660 people
per day and 1.7 million per year.
Even more frightening
are the numbers of people who have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes means that
blood-sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be officially
diabetes. The CDC estimates the number of people with pre-diabetes to be more
than 1 out of every 3 adults and 90% of them do not know they have it! For
people who have pre-diabetes and do not lose weight and improve their diets and
lifestyles, 15-30% will go on to develop full-blown diabetes. Pre-diabetes is a
serious wake-up call to make immediate positive changes!
As you have seen from
the information in this book so far, pathogenic microbes love sugars and they
can easily use them to overpower beneficial microbes. And while the focus has
been on sugars in the diet, which makes most people think only about the
effects of the sugars in the digestive tract, those sugars in the digestive
tract make their way into the bloodstream to cause high blood sugar levels
there, too.
High blood sugar levels
from any kind of blood-sugar dysregulation feed pathogenic microbes
and encourage some
harmful microbes, such
as Candida albicans, to become invasive into our
tissues. Invasive microbes are hard to displace.
So whether you have
diabetes, pre-diabetes, or just sporadic high blood sugar levels from eating
and drinking sugary and refined foods and drinks (candies, cookies, donuts,
muffins, regular breads, boxed cereals, sweetened coffees, sodas, etc.), the
net result to your microbiota is the same: You are favoring the pathogenic
microbes and putting the beneficial ones at a disadvantage.
Prescription
and Over-the-Counter Medication Use
Do you take
medications? If so, you are certainly not alone. Nearly everyone in the
Westernized world takes some kind of medication at some time. Statistics for
over-the-counter medication use is not available, but in the US alone nearly
49% of people took at least one prescription drug during one month (2009-2012
statistics).
During one month,
nearly 22% of people took 3 or more prescription drugs and nearly 11% took 5 or
more prescription drugs. Prescription drugs are big business and I don’t need
to tell you how expensive they can be. Over 260 billion dollars were spent in
2011 on those drugs in the US.
doctor visits, over 75%
of those visits to approximately 1500 physicians who answered a questionnaire
in 2010 involved the prescribing of drug therapy. The most prescribed
medications in those office visits were for pain, for high cholesterol and for
antidepressants.
Besides contributing to
many nutrient deficiencies, some prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs
have direct effects on gut microbes as you will see in the paragraphs below.
These actions can be involved in the drug’s side effects. Other drug actions
have a more indirect, sneaky way of affecting your gut microbes in a bad way.
Interestingly, studies
conducted back in the 1970’s and to date showed that many medical drugs inhibit
or kill human intestinal bacteria, including probiotic bacteria. Applying that
knowledge, researchers are adding nonantibiotic medical drugs to antibiotic
therapy to attempt to cure antibioticresistant bacterial infections.
What is not being
tested, however, presumably since there is no potential drug market involved,
is what effect numerous drugs have on the probiotic bacteria within and on us.
In addition to blatant
antibacterial activity, one of the sneaky ways that medications affect gut
microbes is that many medications deplete nutrients. This makes it harder for
the beneficial microbes, which need nutrients from us, to flourish. The classes
and numbers of drugs that deplete nutrients is truly staggering.
For instance, birth
control pills are known to deplete B vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, and many
minerals.Unfortunately, there are many microbes such as Lactobacillus
johnsoniiLa-1 which rely on the host (that’s you) or other microbes to
provide it with nutrients for its basic needs, one of which is B vitamins. So
birth control pills in essence rob you and your beneficial microbiota of
nutrients for health.,
Additionally, while
specific actions against the microbiota have not been investigated for most
medications, it is not hard to imagine that if the
GI tract is affected by nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea or general GI
upset by any medication, whether over-the-counter or prescription, then there
is the possibility that the microbiota is altered due to that effect.
Let’s take a look at
four other popular types of medications which can adversely affect your
microbiota: antibiotics, antidepressants, reflux drugs and NSAIDs.
Antibiotics
It is no secret that
antibiotics kill life; that is their purpose. What is more of a secret is that
probiotic bacteria take a serious death toll when antibiotics are used.
Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is one result.
Also, since antibiotics
do not kill 100% of the bacteria, of the bacteria that remain, the harmful ones
are able to quickly outnumber the beneficial ones, as was shown with the case
of Salmonella in a previous chapter. The result is a flora that may never fully recover to its
previous health.
Some antibiotics are
not marketed as antibiotics. For instance, an FDAapproved drug, Xifaxan
(rifaximin), which was originally approved for treatment of travelers’ diarrhea
caused by E. coliand for adults with recurring brain/mood
problems caused by an overtaxed liver, has recently been approved for treatment
of IBS-D (irritable bowel syndrome, diarrheapredominant). It is meant to
improve abdominal pain and stool consistency, but people prescribed this drug
for IBS-D may not really understand that it is an antibiotic. They do not know
that it has broad-spectrum efficacy against anaerobic probiotic bacteria such
as many lactobacilli.
They also may not
understand that ironically, it can cause stress on the liver (which could be
causing brain/mood distortions and other problems that it was initially
prescribed to treat!)
We may be unaware of
how significantly we are exposed to antibiotics, and how they negatively impact
the beneficial microbes in our bodies. Some of these exposures are through:
Antibiotic medicines we
take for infections
Antibiotics in drinking
water from improperly disposed medications and from human wastes
Antibiotics which
are used extensively
in conventional CAFO’s
(confined animal feeding operations) and which can be found in CAFO meat, fish,
poultry and milk
Antibiotics present in
manure or waste water used on produce Antibiotics sprayed on certain fruit
trees for pest control
Previous information in
this book discussed antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the possibility of using
QSI (quorum-sensing interruption) to combat them. Antibiotic resistance is a
real and serious concern and occurs because some bacteria are able to adapt to
threats on their existence. People die from infections because pathogenic
bacteria develop resistance to even the most sophisticated antibiotics.
Government agencies finally are realizing that measures to
limit the use
of antimicrobial drugs
that are medically important for humans should be
instituted, although some countries have been more proactive than others.
Sadly, the US is not the leader in this effort.
Note that
although some probiotic
bacteria naturally have
resistance (intrinsic resistance) to one to three antibiotics, such as
vancomycin, this resistance usually is part of their cell-wall composition. As
such, the resistance is not genetically-transferable to other bacteria. Also,
probiotic bacteria are usually susceptible to the most widely used antibiotics.
Research on
antibiotic-resistance in different strains in different probiotic species is
continuing and may show which ones are most susceptible to dangerous genetic
exchanges. Probiotics that
are comprehensively researched
and genetically-sequenced should not have the capability to transfer mobile
genetic elements containing antibiotic-resistant genes to other bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance in sequenced probiotics
should therefore be of a concern only when rare infections involving
them are encountered.
What is the bottom line
for consumers? Only use antibiotics when they truly are medically necessary,
and never for a virus like a cold. Always take the full course of your
antibiotics and never flush unused medications down the drain or in the toilet.
Re-populate your GI tract with probiotics, potentially waiting 3 hours after taking
each dose of antibiotic, if not contraindicated by your physician. Also, use
your purchasing power to buy only those livestock, fish and poultry products,
as well as produce, which do not employ antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance
can also be caused by herbicides such as glyphosate in RoundUp, as you will
see.
Antidepressants
A recent study
conducted by University of Michigan researchers has shown that people with
major depression have a much greater risk of contracting a bacterial C.
difficileinfection than those without depression. C.
difficile (Clostridium difficile) can cause life-threatening
GI infections that are hard to cure. Taking either antidepressant, Remeron
(mirtazapine) or Prozac (fluoxetine), DOUBLES the risk of a C.
difficileinfection, and taking both mirtazapine and trazodone (Desyrel)
together increased the risk of a C. difficileinfection
by almost 6 times.
Tests in
vitro (in a laboratory dish) showed that the SSRI’s (selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral),
fluoxetine (Prozac,
Sarafem) and paroxetine
(Pexeva, Paxil) have
significant antimicrobial activity, mainly against Gram-positive bacteria
(which many probiotics are) yet are inactive against most of the Gram-negative
bacteria (many of which are pathogenic as you saw in a previous chapter).
Whether or not these
results directly reflect what happens in the gut is unknown. However, a common
side effect of SSRI’s is gastrointestinal upset experienced as a wide range of
symptoms from dry mouth to diarrhea. Such upset can be due to the effect of the
serotonin receptors in the gut as well as the possible detrimental influence on
the beneficial microbiota.
Antidepressants in water are another concern. Tiny concentrations
of the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) found in the Great Lakes of the US
were found to kill off microbial populations of E.
coliand Enterococcusbacteria in the water.These species of
bacteria contribute to the microbial society in your GI tract in ways discussed
in Chapter 4. While they can cause infections when not kept under control (they
are opportunistic), they usually live inside us and either benefit us or do not
cause harm (commensal). The question
remains to be
answered about how
those concentrations of
fluoxetine in water
affect beneficial bacteria within/on us and in the ecosystem. Medications of
any sort should never be flushed down the toilet.
Reflux
(GERD) drugs
The goal of reflux
drugs is to reduce the acidity of the stomach, which normally can range from
1-3 and be buffered to 4 or so when filled with food. Normally stomach acid
protects against pathogenic bacteria because although they have various sneaky
ways of adjusting to hostile conditions, many cannot survive low pH.Reflux
drugs eliminate this protective mechanism, allowing pathogens to pass through
the stomach into the rest of the digestive tract where they can exert their
harmful functions.
Probiotic lactic-acid
producing bacteria, however, are generally able to survive in low pH. Stomach
acid, therefore, is designed to allow helpful bacteria through, yet kill
pathogenic ones.
Consider this if you
are regularly taking some kind of acid blocker or neutralizer: laboratory
animals are often given acid-blocking medications prior to the administration
of pathogenic microbes so that the pathogens can become established in the GI
tracts of the animals and the effects from the pathogens can be seen.
NSAIDS
It is a
well-established fact that NSAIDs (non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs) can damage the upper GI tract, the small intestine and
the colon in many ways causing
increased mucosal permeability, inflammation, erosions, ulceration, and even
other more serious clinical outcomes such as anemia, and overall bleeding,
perforation, obstruction, diverticulitis and deaths.
NSAIDs are responsible
for a marked reduction of lactobacilli. Other research has implicated NSAIDs in
promoting the progression of bacterial infections by reducing the body’s
immunologic response to those infections. Recent research
suggests that Gram-negative
bacteria appear to be
particularly important in
the initiation and
progression of NSAID enteropathy (disease of the
intestines), possibly through release of LPS toxin.-As you
saw in the last chapter, probiotics can reduce the microbes which produce LPS
toxin.
Treatment with
probiotics has shown promising positive effects against NSAID enteropathy in
animal models with the beneficial effects believed to be due to colonization by
the bacteria. There have also been human studies demonstrating preventive
effects of probiotics
against NSAID-induced small
intestinal injury. Perhaps future research will shed more light on the exact
mechanisms involved.
Glyphosate,
the Active Ingredient in Herbicides Such as RoundUp
Glyphosate is
the active ingredient
in the herbicide,
RoundUp. The chemical Roundup
combines glyphosate with
surfactants and other ingredients that
make it easier
for the glyphosate
to get into
cells. Glyphosate-resistant
genetic material is
used in GMO
crops such as Roundup Ready corn, cottonseed, canola,
soy, sugar beets, alfalfa and potentially other crops. Glyphosate is also
sprayed on crops to accelerate ripening.
Glyphosate favors
the growth of
pathogenic bacteria over
beneficial bacteria in two ways:
1. Targeting beneficial
bacteria which do not have defenses against it 2. Increasing the antibiotic
resistance of some pathogenic bacteria
In the first way,
glyphosate targets a molecule known as EPSPS. In plants, in many bacteria and
in other microbes, a pathway to create amino acids which are necessary for
survival relies on the enzyme EPSP synthase (EPSPS). Humans and animals do not
have the EPSPS enzyme, so on first glance it would seem that glyphosate would
not affect us, even if we ingest it at sub-lethal doses. However, glyphosate
potently and specifically targets the EPSPS enzyme in some gut bacteria which
do not have defenses against glyphosate. Targeting the enzyme disrupts its
functioning.,
Unfortunately, many
beneficial bacteria species such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillusare
moderately-to-highly susceptible to the effects of glyphosate.
Additionally and
alarmingly, some pathogenic
bacteria, such as Pseudomonas,can
break down glyphosate and use it for an energy source.
Also of
concern is that
harmful bacteria, such
as Salmonella and Clostridiumpathogens,
are highly resistant to the enzyme-disruption effects of glyphosate. Thus, glyphosate
appears to favor
the growth of pathogenic bacteria and decrease the growth
of helpful gut bacteria.
Glyphosate has been
found in the urine, organs and meat of animals. A study in rats showed that at
least a third of the administered dose of glyphosate was absorbed from the GI
tracts of the rats and it was also found in their bones.
Residues of glyphosate and its breakdown products have been found
on GMO soybeans and animal feed and even on non-GMO food.Therefore humans and
animals can be exposed to the opportunity to ingest glyphosate.
The second way that
glyphosate favors the growth of pathogenic bacteria over beneficial
bacteria is that
when exposed to
glyphosate, some pathogenic
bacteria are able to increase their antibiotic resistance.You have already seen
that antibiotics take a toll on beneficial bacteria compared to many pathogenic
bacteria. Increased antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria due to
glyphosate means that regular doses of certain antibiotics will not kill the
“bad guys” but will kill the “good guys”, and so higher doses will be needed to
fight an infection. It may not be clear which dosage of antibiotic is necessary
to combat an infection, leading to insufficient treatment of infections.
Glyphosate is also
being investigated for interfering with human enzyme systemsand is classified
by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health
Organization as “probably carcinogenic.”
By affecting our gut
bacteria, glyphosate affects us. The extent of those effects remains to be
determined.
It can be hard to avoid
glyphosate completely, but organic foods in the US should have lower levels
since glyphosate is not permitted to be used
directly on them at the
current time.
Disconnect
of modern medicine
There is a disconnect
of modern medicine to the concept of a whole body. In an effort to ‘fix’ one
part of the body, sometimes another part is harmed. Such is the case,
especially with the prescribing of antibiotics, but also of other drugs,
without any prescribing of ways to preserve the microbiota balance. As
you have seen,
many medications can
have negative consequences on
your gastrointestinal microbiota and more healthcare practitioners have to
become aware of this fact and counsel their patients on how to avoid those
consequences.
Another example case of
a disconnect of modern medicine to the whole body concept is with iron
fortification. Iron fortification can be life-saving for people because
addressing anemia is one of the first priorities for health. However,
indiscriminately adding iron, especially in a non-ideal form, to a person’s
diet without assessing the state of their GI tract can cause the balance of
harmful microbes to probiotic microbes to tip towards the harmful ones. This is
because Bifidobacteriumand Lactobacillusonly
require small amounts of iron for growth depending on the environment they are
in, but too much free iron in the intestine from stress, intestinal bleeding,
surgery, trauma, iron fortification or dietary supplements can lead to
accelerated growth of other, possibly harmful, microbes which flourish in
high-iron environments.
This disconnect was demonstrated in a Swiss-led study in Ivory
Coast which showed that undesirable fecal Enterobacteriaceae(many
Gramnegative pathogenic species)
increased at the
expense of beneficial Bifidobacteriumand Lactobacillus
when iron was added to biscuits and given to children who already
had an unfavorable ratio of those bacteria.
Any time you are
receiving care for any part of your body, it is best to be aware of what that
care might be doing to your helpful microorganisms and
to take precautionary
measures to protect them.
Lack
of Adequate Sleep
If you want to lose
weight, check your quality of sleep. If you want to fight infections better,
check your quality of sleep. If you want to have a healthier microbiota, check
your quality of sleep. Basically, if you want to live a healthier life, check
your quality of sleep!
You know you need
quality sleep, but are you doing things to ensure that you are getting it?
Your sleep-wake
cycle is your circadian
rhythm. Disruption of
this circadian rhythm, or clock, is associated with a wide range of
diseases including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and
lowered immunity.
Biological clocks in
archaea, bacteria and eukaryota (cells with nuclei, like yours) all are
influenced by the daily rhythms of light caused by the earth’s rotation.
Your body sleep-wake cycles do not affect only you. Studies have shown,
in both mice and humans, that when sleep is disrupted by things like jet lag or
a change in shift work, not only do your cells suffer but the cells of some of
your microbiota do,
too., Certain
beneficial species, such
as Lactobacillus, appear to be more affected
by disruptions than other species.
The takeaway here is
that one of the ways a normal routine in adequate sleep helps you is through
your microbiota. So treat your microbiota well by eating real, whole foods. Also,
make sleep a bigger priority in your life to take advantage of your outnumbered
status and keep dysbiosis in check!
Sleep disruption plays
a role in stress, too, which is the next topic.
Stress
All of the topics
discussed in this chapter about why you probably do not have enough probiotics
ultimately relate to stress on the body. Although we each have our own
definitions of what stress means to us, I like the definition that
stress can be
defined as the
brain’s response to any
demand.
What a lot of events
that are typically viewed as stressful have in common is that they involve
change of some sort, whether positive or negative, whether brought about
suddenly or over a period of time: a change in work status, a change in routine,
a change in health, a change in family status, a change in living location,
etc. The change can be physical, mental or emotional. Sometimes it is the lack
of control of a situation (such as rushhour traffic) that causes stress.
It is your brain’s
perception of an event that determines whether or not it will be stressful to
you. Some events, like almost hitting a deer while driving during twilight, or
witnessing a violent episode, are real and will be stressful to nearly
everyone. Other events, like a lunch meeting with the boss, may be real to
everyone or may be perceived to be more stressful to some people than to
others. Still other stressors, such as an imbalance in gut flora, may not even
be noticeable to your conscious mind, yet your brain is sensing a stressor from
an immune response.
The brain’s response
then sets a cascade of reactions in your body into motion that result in
increased stress-hormone and stress-chemical levels. These hormones and
chemicals, in turn, cause the classic rapid heartbeat, faster breathing,
tense muscles, sweating,
decrease in digestion,
and heightened awareness, among other symptoms, that you experience from
an acute stressor.
Stress itself is not
always bad. Humans evolved to be able to react to an acute short-term stressor,
such as being chased by a beast, by running or fighting (flight or fight).
Stressing your muscles and bones during workouts causes them
to become stronger.
Acute stress during
an exam or competition can help you focus. Stress can
provide purpose and meaning to life.
When the acute stressor
has passed, humans are then supposed to resume their normal levels of stress
hormones and chemicals. Unfortunately, in these complicated times with nearly
24-hour access to everything, the acute stressors are not always easily
identifiable as one thing (like the charging beast) or they do not go away
(like the beast eventually would). The acute stressors turn into chronic
stressors that go on and on. When stress exceeds your ability to manage it, be
it acute and/or chronic, is when it can cause problems for you.
Stressors of all sorts,
whether emotional or psychological (like anger or fear), mental (like when
taking exams) and/or physical (such as exercise overtraining, crowding, noise,
heat, lack of sleep and foods incompatible with you) can cause the balance of
your microbes to be disrupted.
In general, the
response to stress results in an increase in non-probiotic microorganisms and
usually a decrease of beneficial lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillusand Bifidobacterium, in
particular) in both humans and animals.,
Think not only of what
this means to you but of what this means for conventionally-raised CAFO
(confined animal feeding operations) animals such as chickens, pigs, turkeys
and cattle and it is easy to see that their stressors may be one reason why
antibiotic use and probiotic use is widespread in those operations.
Stress causes dysbiosis
which then causes more stress in a self-perpetuating cycle.
I encourage you to look
at all aspects of your life and see where you can decrease your stress before
you develop serious health effects from it. Stress is linked to heart disease,
asthma development and complications, obesity, diabetes, headaches, accelerated
aging, depression and anxiety, among others, and yes, even to disrupted
microbiota (dysbiosis) in the GI tract.
Looking
Ahead
Probiotics definitely
have a place in a plan for health, as the chapter on the benefits of probiotics
shows. This chapter just showed you things you may be taking or doing which
damage your beneficial microbiota. Take a critical look at everything in your
life, but be gentle with yourself. Drastic changes in behavior usually do not
happen overnight. Resolve to figure out the causes of why you take what you
take and act like you do. Once you are armed with that information, then you
can start to make changes for the better, adding things like probiotics into
your routine.
Remember that similar
to the consensus that you cannot eat a poor diet and expect exercise to keep
you healthy, you also cannot eat a poor diet, do no exercise, take
medications indiscriminately, stress
incessantly, sleep horribly,
have other lifestyle habits that are harmful to you and still expect probiotics
to correct for all of that and keep you healthy.
Before you continue on
your journey to use probiotics to your advantage, it is helpful to know what
the adverse effects may be. Those effects are the subject of the next chapter.
CHAPTER 8
Side
Effects of Probiotics
There are but a few
side effects of probiotics, compared to all of those health benefits listed in
Chapter 6. If you know about them in advance, you will save yourself from
surprises. After all, when you are trying to establish a favorable gut
environment, the last thing you need is to undermine your success by making
rookie mistakes.
Unlike medications,
which can have benefits but also very long lists of scary side effects, the
downside to probiotics is minimal. If
you are generally healthy, the side effects are usually mild:
Some of the probiotic microbes produce gases; this is why you must
gradually introduce probiotics into your body so that your microbiota can
adjust and not cause you discomfort with increased passing of gas.
Some of the
microorganisms can cause an upset in your digestion, such as increased
bowel movements. Probiotics
will reconfigure your intestinal flora and influence your
immune, digestion, nervous and endocrine systems. This is another reason to
introduce probiotics gradually.
Taking probiotics can
result in a Herxheimer reaction, which is a reaction to the LPS and other
endotoxins released by the death of harmful microbes. This reaction can include
headache, fever, chills, foggy thinking, muscle pain, anxiety, and
gastrointestinal upset, among others. If the reaction is severe, you may need
to reduce the amount you are taking in. Usually the duration is short. If ever
in doubt, seek the help of a qualified health professional.
Some fermented products
can have histamine in them; use proper judgment if histamine intake is a
problem for you.
There is the rare
possibility that some of the bacteria might carry genes that could possibly
transfer antibiotic resistance genes to the host, although most strains used do
not have this capability.
There is also the
possibility that some of the bacteria and yeasts can translocate, or leave
their original location, and end up causing an infection elsewhere. However,
these instances are very rare if a person is generally healthy.
If you have a
suppressed immune system, or are under a doctor’s care, or have any concerns at
all, please check with your doctor before consuming probiotics.
If your doctor
approves, consider using whole, raw food and drink
sources of beneficial microbes firstbefore supplementing with
probiotic supplements or probiotic-fortified foods
and drinks. Doing
so could potentially prevent any
rogue infections caused by a leaky gut. Your body will recognize
the fermented whole,
raw food and
drink sources as nutrition. And you’ll be saving money by
eating nutritious food that has extra benefits.
Again, introduce probiotic foods, drinks and supplements gradually. Some
of the readers of my PowerOfProbiotics.comwebsite have had severe reactions to probiotics when taking
them unsupervised. The state of, and residents in, your GI tract can affect how
you react, so tread slowly at first. You should not assume that a probiotic
will be safe or effective under all conditions and in all people. It is
possible that a certain probiotic, given in different situations, may have a
beneficial effect, no effect at all, or an adverse effect.Starting slowly will
help you potentially avoid any side effects of probiotics, and soon you’ll be
reaping the health benefits.
Now that you are
cautioned about possible side effects from probiotics, it is time to explore
the probiotic microbes.
CHAPTER 9
Introduction
to the Major Probiotics
There are 5 main
probiotics genera (plural of genus) showing the most promise of all bacteria
for contributing to health. The main ones to know to use probiotics to your
advantage are:
Bacillus
Bifidobacterium
Lactobacillus Saccharomyces Streptococcus
Other used genera are Enterococcus,and
even Clostridiumand E. coli, but
these are much less common.
The website, www.powerofprobiotics.com, has more information on each of the 5 main genera and
their most significant species and strains. I highly recommend that you visit
this very informative site. The growth of the probiotics industry is exploding,
and it is much easier and more-timely to update a website than a book.
In the meantime, here
is an abbreviated summary of each of the main probiotic genera. I made an
analogy for each of them to help you envision what they are like.
Bacillus:The Shapeshifting Transformers of the Probiotics World
Bacillusis a
genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria in the Firmicutes kingdom that is
found widespread in the environment. As a result, they are often mistakenly called “soil organisms”or “soil bacteria”,
although they can be found in soil, water, dust and air. As such, it is no
surprise that they were detected in
food products such
as rice, milk,
other grains and vegetables.
This genus is composed
of approximately 77 very different species of bacteria ranging from beneficial
bacteria like some Bacillus coagulans strains to deadly bacteria
like Bacillus anthrax strains. Most researchers
agree that Bacillusspecies do not colonize mucous membranes
in the body permanently, so they are transient, and have been recovered in
feces in average amounts of 10,000 CFU/g without supplementation.,141
Bacillusis in
the same scientific class as Lactobacillus, so
the two species share some genes including those which allow for the production
of lactic acid. As shown in Chapter 6, lactic acid makes the environment too
acidic for pathogens to survive.
What
makes these microbes unusualin the beneficial bacteria probiotics
world are 4 things:-
. They act like
transforming shapeshifters. These
bacteria form endospores (so
they are sporulating) under stressful conditions. These
endospores have tough outer coatings that protect the dormant bacteria inside.
This protection can last for years and can be resistant to extreme heat,
radiation, extreme freezing,
drying, and chemical disinfectants. The spores of some
species are stated to be 2 to 8 times more resistant to antibiotics than the
vegetative cells. When conditions
are favorable for
growth, the endospore converts to a vegetative cell which can thrive.
2. Because of the spore-forming ability, Bacillusprobiotics
that are
guaranteed to be in
spore form may not have to be refrigerated. Always read label directions to be
sure.
3. Some Bacillusbacteria
have whip-like flagella that allow them to be
motile (move independently).
4. Most of these spore-forming bacteria thrive best in an
oxygenated
environment,
although some of them can survive in minimal aerobic conditions, like your
intestines, too.
To me, a Bacillusis
similar to a shapeshifting Transformer®in the way it can carry
out its intended functions yet be a virtually indestructible entity when things
are not going as planned.
Two species of Bacillusbacteria
have strains that may be classified as probiotics: Bacillus
coagulans and Bacillus subtilis, although there are other
species such as indicus, licheniformisand clausiithat
are sometimes used. Strain identification is critical with Bacillusprobiotics.
For more information on
Bacillus, please see www.powerofprobiotics.com
Bacillus coagulans:
Bacillus coagulans (B.
coagulans)is a bacterium found widespread in the environment and used in
many industrial applications. Some strains, but not all strains, are used as
probiotics and the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) has this species on
its QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) list.
1974 it
was classified as Lactobacillus
sporogenes because it produces lactic
acid, but it is not considered to be a lactic-acid bacterium (LAB) such as Lactobacillus,
Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Lactococcus, Pediococcus,etc.
because it forms endospores and the LAB do not.
This ability to form
endospores makes the probiotic strains of the species Bacillus
coagulansattractive for use in numerous food products ranging from breads
to frozen yogurts.
The probiotic strains
are considered to be probiotics because in their vegetative (growing) state: ,145,-
. They produce lactic
acid to make conditions unsuitable for pathogenic
bacteria.
2. They produce
antimicrobial substances.
3. Once inside
the body, these
strains survive passage
through the
stomach and begin to transform into active cells in the
intestines.
4. Based on animal
studies, they are not thought to colonize the intestines
on a permanent basis.
5. Based on animal
studies, they showed no toxicity. 6. They are suited to the temperature of the
body.
. They produce butyrate
(a short-chain fatty acid) to nourish intestinal
cells.
8. They do not contain
genes that encode known toxins. 9. They stimulate the immune system.
Some strains of Bacillus
coagulans, such as GBI-30, 6086, have been studied specifically for:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Abdominal pain and
bloating
Diarrhea-predominant
IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) Viral respiratory tract infections
Identification and
verification of the strain is extremely important; Bacillus
coagulanshas some strains used in veterinary products which produce toxins
that can cause diarrhea.
For more
information on the Bacillus
coagulans, please see www.powerofprobiotics.com
Bacillus subtilis:
Bacillus subtilis is another Bacillus species that
is found in
many environments. Certain strains
are used in
the production of
natto, a traditional Japanese
dish of fermented soybeans. It is one of the bestcharacterized (and possibly
most genetically-manipulated) species of all Gram-positive bacteria since its
discovery in the 1870’s. Like Bacillus coagulans, B.
subtilisis able to move about due to flagella.
It also is one of those
microbes in which the strain used is extremely important because some products
have listed “B. subtilis” on their labels when in fact they were
another Bacillusspecies, such as Bacillus
cereus, known to produce toxins.
This mislabeling
may be because
the B. subtilis classification has undergone changes over the years. Studies
show that there is a high genetic variety
in B. subtilis even
in strains harvested
from the same source.,,
Some strains are
capable of producing toxins. B. subtilisin
general is known to produce an extracellular toxin and an enzyme which disrupts
cell membranes of mammals (and humans are mammals). However, some strains do
not possess those factors. B. subtiliscan
cross mucosal barriers and be taken up by immune cells in the GI tract,
although no evidence in one study has been found of them reproducing once they
crossed the barrier.,
The toxins produced by
some B. subtilisare reported to have low disease potential
aside from being capable of causing allergic reactions to workers in
fermentation facilities. Therefore, Bacillus subtilisis
thought to have a weak ability to cause disease in humans unless the number of
bacteria a person consumes is very high or the immune status of the person is
very low.
Also, Bacillus
subtilisas a whole is able to acquire genetic material from other
bacteria, making identification that much more important. Research has shown
that over the years as the type strain for this species has been distributed to
various laboratories, the strain has become contaminated in some labs. Strict
storage and reproductive facilities are required to keep this species
genetically pure.
Some other
probiotic attributes that Bacillus
subtilis may have are:,,155-
Is considered to be a
normal, albeit very minor, inhabitant of the gut in animals and humans
Survives passage
through the GI tract
Some strains adhere to
human intestinal cells in the laboratory
Increases immune
reaction of intestinal cells which is helpful against pathogens but may not be
helpful in autoimmune conditions
Is able to promote GALT
development
Can persist in the GI
tract, increase its numbers and then re-sporulate, if necessary. Whether this
is good or is bad remains to be discovered.
Communicates with
intestinal cells to maintain gut barrier function Can produce vitamin K2 and B
vitamins
|
For more
information on Bacillus |
subtilis, |
please |
see |
www.powerofprobiotics.com
Bifidobacterium:The Security Officers of the Probiotics World
Bifidobacterium are
probiotic LAB (lactic-acid bacteria)
celebrities. Although you need more than one species of probiotic
microbe to be healthy, these probiotic microbes play critical roles in your
health.
I think Bifidobacteriumcan be
likened to security officers. Just as the mere presence of security officers
may prevent people from doing bad things and allows the officers to call for
backup in the case of an event, the presence of members of Bifidobacteriumcan
keep the peace to discourage pathogens and the production of toxins from foods
and other microbes.
They can cause other
microbes that live in the intestines to perform helpful duties that they
otherwise wouldn’t do, and they can communicate with your immune system and
other microbes to be either anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory, as
needed.Like security officers, Bifidobacteriumare
there to protect the premises.
Scientifically, Bifidobacterium
is a genus of Gram-positive, anaerobic, nonsporulating, non-motile
(incapable of moving about on their own due to the lack of flagella), usually
branched rod-shaped bacteria in the Actinobacteria kingdom. Many strains have
GRAS status in the US and, as a whole, Bifidobacteriumis
well-characterized, non-pathogenic and non-toxigenic.
To date, about 32 different
bifido species have been identified, although most of them are very similar in
their genetic makeup. Sometimes they are called bifidobacteriaor bifidoor
even Bifidobacillus. Some of the wellknown
probiotic species you may encounter and that have QPS status by the EFSA are:
B. adolescentis B.
animalis
B. bifidum B. breve B.
infantis B. lactis B. longum
Because they are
anaerobic and can’t tolerate oxygen-rich environments, you won’t find them
naturally widespread in food and drink products that are easily exposed to air.
In humans, they are found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, breast milk and
the female vagina and urogenital tract. These good bacteria are some of the
first microbes to take up residence in the sterile gastro-intestinal (GI) tract
of newborns, and they dominate the intestines
in breast-fed babies.
As babies age
and are weaned,
the bifidobacteria numbers and species change as the diet changes.
Typically, their
numbers continue to decrease with age.Their total numbers are influenced by
diet, lifestyle and overall health. They are found in the highest numbers in
the colon (large intestine), although they only amount to 3-6% of the total
flora in adult feces. Bifidobacteriumcan be decimated by most
common antibiotics.
Bifidobacterium,
along with Lactobacillus, are also some of the most
wellknown probiotics and are an important part of your gut flora. Both species
produce lactic-acid from carbohydrates to lower the pH to make conditions
inhospitable for many
pathogenic microbes (and
to aid in
mineral absorption from food)
and make vitamins,
bacteriocins (antibacterial
chemicals) and antibiotic-like substances. Both have significant health
benefits on the digestive and immune systems. In fact, many of the benefits
of probiotics listed
in Chapter 6 are
due to Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillusspecies.
Adding to the Bifidobacteriumarsenal
of beneficial effects is the capability to also produce acetic acid, a
short-chain fatty acid (SCFA). Acetic acid is more effective at reducing the
growth of yeasts and molds than is lactic acid. Acetic acid can also be used as
energy by the human body.
Producing both lactic
and acetic acids and other beneficial compounds makes Bifidobacteriuma
probiotic qualified to be in the colon, where the opportunity for disease to
flourish is greater because fecal transit time slows.
A few other benefits of
Bifidobacteriumare:,-
Many of them establish
residence inside us so they can crowd out harmful microbes, prevent them from
attaching to our cells and/or displace them if they do attach.
Maintenance of the
intestinal barrier to prevent leaky gut
The production of
ethanol which may be protective to us against naturally-occurring methanol from
foods
The production of small
amounts of formic acid which may be antibacterial against pathogenic microbes
The production of
antimicrobial and antibiotic substances in some species
The ability of many
species to withstand stomach acid for short time periods and survive in bile
acids
The ability to
breakdown any proteins that reach your colon without being digested, so that
contents in your colon don’t putrefy and become nasty
Help with lactose
intolerance
The production of some
B vitamins by some species
The ability to prevent
or help constipation problems or IBS by helping your colon function normally
Some species may be
helpful for allergies, lowering of cholesterol, antibiotic-associated diarrhea,
and gastrointestinal upset with rumbling bowels, gas, constipation and
diarrhea.
Most, but not all,
species have an anti-inflammatory effect.
|
For |
more information |
on Bifidobacterium, |
please |
visit |
www.powerofprobiotics.com.
Lactobacillus:The Police of the Probiotics World
Lactobacillusare
LAB (lactic-acid bacteria) superstar probiotics, next in line after Bifidobacterium.Together,
both of these species of good bacteria work to help you be healthy.
previously stated, Lactobacillusand Bifidobacteriumare
some of the most well-known probiotics and are an important, albeit small,
percentage of your gut flora. Lactobacillusand Bifidobacteriumshare
a few common genes. Both species produce lactic-acid from carbohydrates to
lower the pH to make conditions inhospitable for many pathogenic microbes (and
to aid in mineral absorption
from food) and
make vitamins, bacteriocins (antibacterial chemicals)
and antibiotic-like substances.
Both have significant health
benefits on the digestive and immune systems. In fact, many of
the benefits of
probiotics listed in
Chapter 6 are due to
Bifidobacteriumand Lactobacillusspecies.
While Bifidobacteriummay be
more like security guards in keeping us healthy, Lactobacillusto me
are more like the police because their actions are more targeted. In general,
like the bifidos, Lactobacillusbacteria:
Can keep the peace by
their presence
Some can cause other
microbes that live in the intestines to perform helpful duties that they
otherwise wouldn’t do
Communicate with your
cells and with other microbes
Additionally, Lactobacilluscan
also mount massive attacks against harmful microbes all along your GI tract. In
contrast, most bifidos are found in the colon.
Scientifically,
Lactobacillusis a genus of Gram-positive, non-sporulating, and non-motile
(incapable of moving about on their own due to the lack of
flagella), rod-shaped
bacteria in the Firmicutes kingdom. Most of them are able to survive in small
amounts of oxygen. Unlike Bifidobacterium,
Lactobacillusis a diverse genetic genus with the different species having
different capabilities.
These good bacteria
have GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status in the US, meaning that there
is general recognition of their safety through experience based on common use
in foods. Although some of the species may be associated with dental caries or
with infections in immune-system compromised people, most of the time they are
beneficial bacteria.
These microbes are
commonly found in the environment. For instance, Lactobacillusmicrobes
are found in everyday fermented/cultured foods and drinks such as yogurt, kefir,
sauerkraut, miso, cheese, kombucha and many others.
In humans, they are
found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from the mouth, the nasal passages
(sinuses), the throat, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine (the
duodenum, jejunum and ileum sections) and the colon (large intestine). Lactobacillusare
the most popular genus in the last section of the small intestine, the ileum.
Once established, they tend to remain lifelong under normal circumstances and
with consistent replacement. They are also
found in the
female vagina and
urogenital tract. Similar
to Bifidobacterium,the total numbers of Lactobacillusbacteria
in your body are influenced by diet, lifestyle and general health.
Many, but not all,
species of these bacteria are able to withstand stomach acid and bile acids and
are able to attach to the cells lining the GI tract and interact with them.
Additional benefits of Lactobacillusare:-
Many of them establish
residence inside us so they can crowd out harmful microbes, prevent them from
attaching to our cells and/or
displace them if they
do attach.
Maintenance of the
intestinal barrier to prevent leaky gut
Lactobacillus prefer
different kinds of carbohydrates depending on their species. Some of them can
use lactose, which is nice to know if you have lactose intolerance.
For those that do not
colonize inside us, ingesting them can cause temporary increases in numbers in
your body and temporary benefits.
Some of them produce
vitamins.
Some of them produce
short-chain fatty acids.
Some of them produce
hydrogen peroxide which kills pathogens.
Most produce
bacteriocins (antibacterials) and antibiotic chemicals, depending on their
living conditions.
Species can induce
either a strong or weak pro-inflammatory response, and an anti-inflammatory
response, depending on the perceived need.
Common species you may
encounter and that have QPS status by the EFSA are:
L. acidophilus L. brevis
L. bulgaricus L. casei
L. fermentum L. gasseri
L. helveticus L.
johnsonii L. paracasei L. plantarum L. reuteri
L. rhamnosus L.
salivarius.
Since there are so many
species in this genus, you’ll have to learn more about each of them
individually to know the differences in what they can do. For more
information on Lactobacillus, please
see www.powerofprobiotics.com.
Saccharomyces:The Special Forces of the Probiotics World
Saccharomycesis
unique in the probiotics world because it is a yeast. As a yeast, it is not
affected by stomach acid, bile and antibiotics so it is able to survive harsh
conditions which might kill other probiotic species. However, anti-fungal
medications can kill it.
I think Saccharomyces
can be considered
the Special Forces
of the probiotics world because
it goes in, does its job very well and then leaves.
The main species used
as a probiotic is S. boulardii. Unlike invasive Candidaspecies
of yeasts, S. boulardiiis unable to penetrate into
tissues nor colonize the GI tract, so it performs its beneficial functions as a
passerby.
It’s not a yeast to be
afraid of, unless you’re allergic to yeast, of course. Precautions have
to be taken if you have any type of catheter, port or IV, or are
immune-compromised, but if that situation applies to you, then please check
with your doctor before using anyprobiotics.
Some of the probiotic
functions of S. boulardiiinclude:-
Stimulated
immunity in response to pathogens Ability to help with lactose intolerance
Prevention of traveler’s diarrhea
Prevention and
treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea
Prevention of
intestinal infections by pathogens such as C. difficile, E. coliand C.
albicans
Prevention of
translocation (re-location to another organ) of Candida
albicansfrom the GI tract to other organs
Reduction of the
virulence of many gut pathogens, including parasites
Potential to injure H.
pylori, making it useful when added to an antibiotic regimen
Potential to improve
outcomes in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease therapies
Potential to prevent
reactions to food antigens in very young infants who have compromised
intestines
For more
information on Saccharomyces, please
visit www.powerofprobiotics.com.
Streptococcus:Two Good Apples in the Bunch
The name
Streptococcus can raise fear in people and with good reason (think about strep
throat, meningitis and bacterial pneumonia, to name a few).
While some streptococci are highly pathogenic, most of them live
harmlessly inside us.
However, there
are two good
apples in the
bunch, Streptococcus
thermophilus and Streptococcus salivarius,which are probiotics.
Scientifically,
Streptococcusis a genus of Gram-positive, non-sporulating, and non-motile
(incapable of moving about on their own due to the lack of flagella), spherical-shaped, chain-forming, lactic-acid
bacteria in the Firmicutes kingdom.
S. thermophilus
S. thermophilusis in
the European Qualified Presumption of Safety list of food bacteria and is a
generally recognized as a safe species (GRAS status). It has a long documented
history of safe use in food and its genome is devoid of potential virulence
functional genes. It is one of the bacteria that make yogurt, well, yogurt.
In addition to its
contribution to yogurt-making, S thermophilusalso
is a probiotic that has many benefits. For example, many strains:-
Are used
in the manufacture
of some cheeses
such as Swiss, Limburger and Brick
Can survive passage to
the intestines
Can help maintain gut
integrity to prevent a leaky gut Enhance lactose digestion
Can help compete with
pathogenic microbes May produce bacteriocins
May help with gastritis
by modulating the immune response and increasing the thickness of the
protective gastric layer of mucus.
May produce folate, a B
vitamin
S. salivarius
Streptococcus salivarius, as
you might expect from the name, is often found in the saliva. It is closely
related to S. thermophilus. It can be found throughout
the GI tract, but is predominantly colonized in the mouth and back of the
throat.
Here are a few of the
benefits that some strains of S. salivarius provide:
207
Inhibit pathogenic
strains of Streptococcus
Antagonize the
pathogens involved in bad breath, tooth decay, gum disease and sore throat by
preventing their adhesion to cells and their abilities to form biofilms and/or
by directly killing them with antibiotic compounds
Secrete antimicrobials
Are anti-inflammatory
Proved to be protective
in a mouse model of colitis One strain is classified as a food in Australia and
New Zealand.
Streptococcus salivariusare
common in the mouth and make up to 40% of all the bacteria in the normal
healthy mouth. Some strains can provide oral health benefits when taken
regularly.
|
For |
more |
information |
on |
Streptococcus, |
please |
visit |
www.powerofprobiotics.com.
Onward
In this chapter, you
read about the 5 major genera of probiotics and hopefully the analogies will
help you to more easily remember them. You also may have looked for more
details about some of them from the PowerOfProbiotics.comwebsite. In the next chapter, you will see where you can
find probiotics and when to take them to use them to your advantage.
CHAPTER 10
Where
to Get Probiotics and When to Take Them?
You learned a lot about
probiotics at this point, from the basics of
What they are
Who benefits from them
How they are named, and Where they live
To more advanced
information about
How they work
How they benefit your
health Why you are probably lacking in them
How to get started with
them and what side effects may occur, and Who the major players are and what
their actions may be.
Now it is important to
understand where to get probiotics and beneficial microbes and when to take
them so that you are advantageously using sources and timing to your benefit.
As explained before,
beneficial bacteria and yeasts had been consumed by the human race for
generations, yet the modern diet is sadlylacking
in them. Approximately 25% of people consuming a Western-style diet have
absolutely NO Lactobacillus in their feces. That means
that twenty-five percent of people eating Western-diet foodstuff, devoid of
real nutrition, do not have the benefits given by Lactobacillus. Are
you one of them?
One of the easiest ways
to increase beneficial microbes, some of which may have probiotic actions but
do not fit the exact definition of probiotics, in your gut is to eat raw, fresh
produce. Raw, whole foods are foods that look like they were just picked off
the tree, vine or plant stem, or dug up as a root of a plant such as those you
would find in vegetable and fruit gardens, at a farmer’s market stand, or in
the fresh produce section of your grocery store or supermarket.
Whole foods have the
complete nutrients of the food. For example, an apple has fiber, vitamins,
minerals and phytonutrients (plant compounds). Whole foods are excellent
sources of prebiotics to feed the probiotics, too. An apple is a whole food.
Apple juice is not a whole food. It is basically sugar water with vitamins
added back into it by manufacturers.
Brown rice is a whole
food. White rice is not. Steel-cut oats is a whole food. Ready-to-eat cereals
are not. Raw cacao is a whole food. Milk chocolate is not.
Raw, fresh produce has
microbes, such as Lactobacillus plantarum, on it and if you eat
organically, washing thoroughly with water is usually enough to remove dirt and
potentially harmful microbes. So, for example, coleslaw (go easy on the
sweetener!) is more microbe-friendly than sautéed cabbage and carrots, even
though both contain the amazing vegetable, cabbage.
Another easy way to
increase beneficial microbes is to consume fermented food and drink products.
Fermentation preserves food from spoilage and allows beneficial microbes on raw
food (or in an added culture) to flourish. Sorry,
wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks are fermented to the point of having too
much alcohol in them to be healthy sources of beneficial microbes.
From the above example of coleslaw, instead of mixing the cabbage,
carrots and herbs with a sauce to make coleslaw, taking the ingredients and
submerging them in salt water will yield sauerkraut in a matter of days,
thanks to the
fermenting actions of the bacteria on the cabbage. Sauerkraut and coleslaw are
both packed with nutrients, but the sauerkraut has several advantages including
increased populations of beneficial bacteria, fewer populations of harmful
bacteria, little to no sugar, easier digestibility and higher levels of
vitamins C, B and possibly K. Chapter 13 has several recipes utilizing cabbage.
The tanginess of the
sauerkraut is caused partially by lactic acid secreted by the beneficial
microbes. For a video and directions on how to do make sauerkraut in bulk, see www.powerofprobiotics/Sauerkraut.html. Be sure to eat raw sauerkraut and not heat-killed jarred
or canned varieties.
different types of
foods, beyond sauerkraut and the familiar yogurt, can be fermented to yield
microbial benefits. Kefir, kimchi, kombucha, kvass, pickles (not the ones in
vinegar), gingerbeer, some cheeses, some sausages, raw honey, miso, natto, some
olives, raw cacao, tempeh, raw milk and raw buttermilk are just some of the
foods and drinks in the Westernized world that contain beneficial microbes to
help you gain control over the potentially harmful microbes. I included some
recipes for using fermented foods and drinks in Chapter 13. You can also attend
a workshop on fermentation if you need someone to guide you step-by-step.
if you don’t like the
taste of fermented foods and drinks? As you learned in Chapter 7, modern-day
processed food is laced with chemicals to make you like the food and even crave
it. Fermented foods and drinks have tastes and textures that are very different
from those in processed foods. Don’t worry, however. All you need to do is keep
an open mind and start with a tiny amount of a fermented food or drink. You may
dislike the taste or smell of something at first, but you can learn to adapt to
it over time. For most people, including children, learning to tolerate, and
even like, different tastes and textures is completely possible with small,
repeated exposures. Research shows that it can take 10 to 16 repeated exposures
before acceptance to a new food occurs. For people with diagnosed sensory
sensitivities, this can
be more of a challenge, but is still doable. Don’t give up trying too quickly!
Just remember that you
do not have to LOVE the taste of a fermented food or drink. Appreciating how
good it is for you can help you get over the mental hurdle. Pairing the
fermented food or drink with something else can enhance the flavors of both, as
you will see in Chapter 13.
Sometimes a good way to
get beneficial microbes is to consume products that are fortified with them. Bacillusspecies
are one example of this as they can be added to frozen foods, room-temperature
foods and hot foods and still survive. Lactobacillusand Bifidobacterium
can be added to cool foods as long as their favorable
environmental conditions are met. Streptococcus
thermophilus multiplies fastest at 95-108 degrees F and that is why milks are
heated and kept warm when making yogurt. Refrigeration slows down the
fermentation process.
There are four
excellent reasons for including fermented or probioticfortified foods in your
diet. The first reason is the real beauty of eating and/or drinking
food or beverages
with beneficial microbes:
you are nourishing your body with
the kinds of sustenance that it is accustomed to having for overall health. You
will be getting all the vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and plant compounds
from them that your body needs for optimal health, plus the benefits of the
helpful microbes. And all of this will happen naturally any time you feed your
hunger or thirst.
Another beautiful thing
about incorporating sources of beneficial microbes into your routine is that it
is always helpful to consistently take in those microbes. Since some microbes
are transient, meaning that they pass through, you have to keep ingesting them
to keep reaping their benefits.
A third bonus from
eating and/or drinking sources of beneficial microbes is that you will
inoculate your digestive tract, starting in the mouth, through
the esophagus and in
the stomach, not simply in the intestines as you would with a swallowed
supplement.
The last excellent
reason for eating and/or drinking most food or beverage sources of beneficial
microbes is that you get the beneficial supernatant with them. The supernatantis the
medium on which the microbes grow and release some of their health-giving
substances. While probiotics research focuses
on the particular
microbes, other research
shows that the supernatant has healthy properties, even
without the microbes present.
If, however, there is
any doubt about how many beneficial microbes, including probiotics, you are
consuming, you can always take a probiotic supplement. Doing so can be
especially helpful for one of the many conditions that probiotics have been
shown to benefit and for basic health maintenance. Additionally, probiotic
supplements can be taken in acute situations to provide a blitzkrieg to
overwhelm the pathogenic microbes.
It is best to take most
probiotic supplements, especially the LAB (lacticacid bacteria), with at least
some food so the food can provide nutrients for the microbes and also can
buffer the acid in your stomach. Sometimes an empty stomach can have a pH of
less than 2 which can:
Make it harder for
probiotics to survive
Make you feel nauseous
if you put supplements in your empty stomach
Do not take probiotics
with hot liquids, nor sprinkle them on hot foods, as the heat can damage all
but designated Bacillusprobiotics. Likewise, do not subject foods
and drinks with beneficial microbes in them to heat unless the packaging says
so.
Do not take probiotics
(with the exception of Saccharomyces boulardii)
within 3 hours of taking antibiotics or herbals with antibiotic properties
because the antibiotic substances may kill the probiotics.
Of course, if there is
ever any question about whether any of these options for sources of probiotics
and other beneficial microbes are right for you, it is recommended that you
consult with a qualified healthcare professional.
Probiotic supplements
are big business these days and how to choose them is the topic of the next
chapter.
CHAPTER 11
How
to Choose a Source of Purchased Probiotics, Including a Probiotic Supplement
As seen in the last
chapter, probiotics and other beneficial microbes are available in a wide
variety of foods, drinks and supplements. Additionally, prebiotics are
naturally found in a variety of whole foods.
Many times people want
to buy sources of probiotics and beneficial microbes, instead of trying to make
them, or they need extra help from specific microbes that are known to be in
purchased products. How do you know which products to choose? It is easy to
feel overwhelmed when sifting through the different products on the market. The
information below will help to guide you.
Additionally, my
website, PowerOfProbiotics.com, has many reviews of different purchased
products and those
reviews detail many
of the considerations listed
below. New reviews are added regularly.
There are 14
considerations when deciding which sources of probiotics from purchased
products will give you an advantage:
1. Your condition:
Where is the problem and what is your current state?
What medications are you currently using?
2. Your expectations:
What is your goal?
3. Your sensitivities, intolerances
and allergies: Do you have
any
restrictions on what you can take?
4. The need for
prebiotics
5. The types of
probiotics: Where do the probiotics act and what are the
substances
produced by and
actions of the
probiotics you are
considering?
6. The need for enteric
coatings
7. CFU of the food,
drink or product: How strong is it?
8. CFU of each
probiotic strain: Do the CFU amounts of your desired
probiotic strains equal the amounts shown effective in
studies?
9. Storage conditions:
Are you able to store it properly?
10. Size and dosage
recommendations of the product. What is the serving
size? Are you able to take the product as recommended?
11. Knowledge of the
company
12. Third-party or
in-house certification: Are the contents equal to what is
listed on the label?
13. Your uniqueness 14.
Proprietary formulas
First,you
need to consider your body. What are your needs? Do you need security guards,
police, shapeshifters and/or
transient microbes? For example, where in the body is the focus
of your concern?
Are you generally healthy except for this problem or are you
dealing with multiple concerns? If you are generally healthy then you may think
that you don’t need probiotics and other beneficial microbes, and you would be
wrong. Good health is not a guaranteed, continuous state; it requires daily
maintenance. Just because you may be at your optimal weight does not mean you
can neglect exercising. Just because you may have money in your wallet for
today’s lunch does
not mean that
you can stop
working. Prevention of bad health- and wellbeing-outcomes is not a
one-time dosage
of something but rather
involves the incorporation of preventive measures into your daily life.
If you are generally
healthy, the effects from adding sources of probiotics may not be as dramatic
as if you were sick, and instead may be subtle. However, that does NOT mean
that you are not benefitting from them. Recall from Chapter 7 that you
experience many assaults on your digestive tract and its microbiota from things
you encounter every day. Replenishing the beneficial microbes keeps the
microbiota balanced. One of the best uses of
probiotics is in
prevention of illness
through influences on
your digestive, immune, nervous and endocrine systems. It is worth
repeating that prevention of illness is easier to achieve than management of an
established illness.
If you have multiple
concerns, then the place to start is in healing your digestive tract.
Probiotics are a critical piece of the gut-healing protocol for re-inoculation
with beneficial microorganisms, although they are not the only piece. You may
require help from a professional in restoring health to your GI tract. From
there, you can target your specific conditions with specific probiotics.
Are you strong enough
to handle probiotics? If there is ever any doubt, please consult with a qualified
medical professional first.
What medications are
you using? What effects might those medications have on your microbiota based
on the information in Chapter 7? Are there other options? Always speak to your
doctor before discontinuing any prescribed medications.
Second, what are your
expectations? Are you expecting miracles for your problems or will you be happy
with minor improvement? Are you hoping that your need for medications or
surgery will decrease? Are you willing to complement the
usage of probiotics
with other diet
and lifestyle improvements?
While probiotics can be life-saving and can have drastic
effects on the body,
many other times the results are more subtle and take time to show any
recognizable signs of improvement. As you saw in Chapter 6, benefits of
probiotics are so amazing and widespread, but remember that probiotics, unless
classified as a drug, are not meant to treat or cure any disease.
Third, do
you have allergies or intolerances to yeasts or histamine that may affect which
microbes you can take? Do you have allergies, sensitivities or intolerances to
any of the other ingredients in the products? Sometimes the medium on which the
microbes were cultured is included with the products. In the past, many probiotics
were cultured on a dairy base so traces of milk proteins or lactose were
common. Nowadays you can find probiotics that are cultured on non-dairy bases,
but some may have traces of soy, or corn maltodextrin (usually as GMO) as a
filler, or sugar as a sweetener, or gelatin capsules, for example.
You must
read ingredient labels
carefully if you
have any allergies, sensitivities or intolerances. Look
for a product with the least amount of additives. My website highlights
possible allergens in products.
Fourth, do
you want prebiotics in the formula with the probiotics, also known as
synbiotics? Prebiotics are substances which increase the growth of the
probiotics. FOS (fructooligosaccharides) and inulin are common ones. Prebiotics
+ probiotics = synbiotic. Sometimes a prebiotic fiber by itself has beneficial
actions on the microbiota, but remember, the right microbes have to be present
in the first place in order for them to feast on prebiotics.
Synbiotics are fine if you do not react to the prebiotic fibers.
For instance, some people, especially those with IBS, may react badly to the
FOS prebiotic. If you take any probiotic supplement with real, whole foods (as
I recommend), then the supplement’s prebiotic may be inconsequential in comparison
to the prebiotics in the foods. Many studies have shown that prebiotic amounts
measured in grams, not milligrams, are necessary to have
a significant GI
effect, yet synbiotics typically contain 100-200 milligrams of a prebiotic. A
varied whole foods diet will naturally give you prebiotics.
Fifth,
consider the microbes you want or need. Where do they normally live? What
substances do they produce? What actions do they have in the body? Is the
supernatant part of their healing abilities? The best thing to do when taking
anything with probiotics in it, if possible, is to choose the particular strain
that has been proven effective for a given condition, if you need help with
that condition. As previously mentioned, my website is a great resource for
this information.
The sixthdecision to make is the need for enteric coatings. Enteric
coatings are used on many supplements and medications to keep the substance
inside protected from stomach and bile acids and to deliver the substance to
the targeted site in the digestive tract.
Many enteric coatings,
such as oils and algae extracts, are relatively harmless unless you have an
allergy to them. However, the potential for the use of dangerous phthalates
exists. Phthalates are a group of chemicals commonly used to make plastics more
flexible. They are known to be endocrine disruptors, meaning that they have
actions in the body which interfere with normally functioning of hormones.
Endocrine disruptors are associated with obesity and diabetes, female
reproduction problems, male reproduction
problems, hormone-sensitive cancers
in females, prostate cancer, thyroid problems and others.
Phthalates are lesser-known than BPA (bisphenol A), but both have these
endocrine-disrupting actions.
Avoid any product that
has the word “phthalate” in it, and be suspicious of enteric coatings and/or
time-release products. Contact the manufacturer if you have any concerns.
The seventhconsideration in the choice of a source of
purchased probiotics is the strength of the source. How do you know if your
product has enough of the desirable microbes? One thing to compare is the CFU.
CFU is an acronym (type
of abbreviation) commonly seen on products containing probiotics.
It stands for colony
forming unit
and is
a measurement of some of the good bacteria and yeasts inside. A colony
forming unit is a single bacterium or yeast, or group of bacteria or yeasts,
which is/are capable of living and reproducing to form a group of the same
bacteria or yeasts. Sometimes products will say “viable cells” which may or may
not be exactly equal to CFU.
Microbiologists use CFU
to describe the number of active, live organisms instead of the number of all
the organisms - dead, inactive and alive - in a laboratory sample.
Only the viable
organisms are considered
to be probiotics. Viablemeans
that the microbes are capable of living under the proper circumstances.
You may also see it
listed as CFUs - colony forming units. Most probiotic supplements in capsule or
tablet form will state the number of colony forming units in the capsule or
tablet. Or, if more than one capsule or tablet is the recommended serving size,
then the colony forming units listed may be the total in the serving size. The
only way to know for sure is to read the package.
Unless individually
packaged, most powder probiotic supplements will have a recommended serving
size listed and then the colony forming units in that serving size. For
example, 1/4 teaspoon may contain 100 billion CFU. Taking a consistent amount
of a powder may be difficult, especially if you only want to take one-sixteenth
of a teaspoon for 25 billion CFU.
Another way the
information may be presented is CFU/g or /ml, meaning colony forming unit per
unit of measure, or how many capable-of-living microbes are in a certain
measurement. In these cases, you must look at the serving size in g (grams for
a solid) or ml (milliliters for a liquid) and perform a mathematics equation.
Multiply the colony forming units per gram or per milliliter by the number of
grams or milliliters in the serving size to get the total number of colony
forming units.
It is easier to compare
products when the standard of measurement is the same, and that’s where colony
forming units make an “apples to apples” comparison easier. Products that simply
state total numbers of good bacteria or yeasts by weight (such as grams) of
microbes in a product are not easily compared to other products, and they may
not contain enough cultures to make them therapeutic. A total number of grams
of probiotics really doesn’t mean anything.
Reputable companies
should state the number of colony forming units or viable cells and state if
the CFU is at the time of manufacture or at product expiration. I believe that
it is better if the CFUs stated on the label are at the time of product
expiration, not at the time the product was manufactured for several reasons
listed below in the storage requirements discussion. This information is very
important because it tells you if you really are getting the number of microbes
listed on the label when you consume the product.
You see, very few
product manufacturers who sell probiotic products actually grow their own
microbes. Only certain companies sell the bacteria and yeasts,
usually in a
raw material form.
They either package
it themselves or ship it to many product manufacturers who package the
raw material in their products, and those are the products you buy and the
labels you read.
If a product
manufacturer does not have the material tested for the number of colony forming
units prior to and after putting it in their packages, the number on the label
could be the number that was in the raw material, not the number that is
actually in the product you’re buying.
The eighthconsideration in
choosing a source of purchased probiotics is the CFU of each strain in the
product. Each strain should be present in an amount at least equal to the
amount shown in studies to be efficacious for the health condition you have.
For instance, if studies show that 10 billion CFU of L.
acidophilusLA-1 helped a certain condition, then 2 billion CFU in a product
cannot be assumed to have the same effect as the 10 billion
used in the study. How
can you know how many CFU are shown to be beneficial in studies? Check out my
website, PowerOfProbiotics.comand subscribe to my newsletter. I share the detailed
results of studies with my readers and subscribers.
Relating to the
strength of the product, the ninthconsideration
in your choice of which probiotic source to buy is the storage requirements. Do
you travel frequently or travel to places where maintaining refrigeration is
not possible? Many probiotic
foods, drinks and
supplements must be refrigerated or the microbes will die. In
some cases, probiotic supplements may say that they are shelf
stable. Shelf stable does not mean that you can subject the probiotics
to high heat and humidity, but it means that they can withstand
room-temperature conditions. Unless a probiotic label says NOT to refrigerate
it, always refrigerate probiotics to preserve their numbers.
There are several ways
the colony forming unit listed on the label can decrease so that it is less
than that by the time you buy the product. For example, if the original raw
material microbe product from the raw material supplier of the microbes was
made with a certain number of viable bacteria in it, those bacteria can die if:
The product wasn’t
shipped in cool, low-humidity conditions from the raw material supplier to the
product manufacturer
The product manufacturer
didn’t store the raw material in cool, lowhumidity conditions in their
warehouse
The product
manufacturer didn’t package the raw material in a facility where the
temperature and humidity were tightly controlled
The packaged product
wasn’t stored in cool, low-humidity conditions in the manufacturer’s warehouse
The packaged product
wasn’t shipped in cool, low-humidity conditions
The store (either
online or brick-and-mortar) didn’t keep the packaged product at low temperature
and humidity before you bought it
You took the product
home and left it at room temperature instead of refrigerating it, if that is
what the label instructions said to do. Or worse yet, you forgot about it and
left it in your hot car.
Some probiotics, such
as some freeze-dried Saccharomyces boulardiiyeast ones, may state on the
label NOT to refrigerate it. However, this is rare.
Always
read and follow product label instructions and contact the manufacturer if you
have any concerns.
If you use probiotic products
from a reputable manufacturer who follows strict handling procedures, you buy
your products from a seller who knows how to store the products properly, and
you yourself store the product correctly and consume it by the expiration date,
the CFU you consume should be at least the amount you were promised.
if the CFU is not
listed? Many times you will only see the words “live cultures”, not
“probiotics” on purchased products. This is because the numbers of probiotic
microbes in them are not high enough to satisfy the World Health Organization’s
definition of probiotics or the microbes are not technically probiotic
microbes.
The National Yogurt
Association allows a Live and Active Cultures Seal on yogurts that contain the
two probiotics that define yogurt, Lactobacillus bulgaricusand Streptococcus
thermophilus. Other microbes may be added to the yogurt, but those two are
required. This seal still does not tell you how many microbes you are consuming
because restrictions state that the product must start with 100 million total
CFU at time of manufacture.
It is true that products that say “live cultures” on the label may
or may not contain enough beneficial microorganisms to be statistically
significant in scientific studies. It is also true that sometimes saying “live
cultures” is a
marketing strategy to
lure you into buying a product. So buyer-beware: you may not be getting a
significant amount of beneficial microbes and may instead be getting a lot of
added sugars and other junk.
The tenthconsideration when you are considering a bought probiotic deals
with serving size. The size of a capsule or tablet can be too big and be a
choking hazard for some people. Some probiotic capsules can be opened and mixed
in cool drinks or food; others must be kept in the capsule. Some brands,
especially for children, are meant to be mixed in water and drunk. Having a
source of extra water and a cup in some circumstances, such as on a camping
trip, can make taking the supplement difficult. Also, at times, a serving size
is only one capsule or tablet, but in other cases, a serving size is 2 or more.
You must read the label to know how much you need to take.
The eleventhpoint to ponder during your choice of
probiotics is the knowledge of the company selling the product. Some brands of
probiotics are sold by people with no knowledge of the characteristics of the
microbes they sell. Bigger supplement companies usually, but not always, have
the resources to study and carefully choose the microorganisms they include in
their products. Some smaller companies (but not all of them, of course) are run
by people with more marketing knowledge than scientific background and they contract
with the microbe manufacturers to include random or trendy microbes in their
products.
Do your research. Find
out how the company selling the product is qualified to be doing so.
The twelfthconsideration is a very important one:
good manufacturing practices or third-party
certification. Third-party testing
means that someone who has no
financial interest in the product evaluates the product for three standards:
1. The genetic identity
of the microbes inside
. The numbers of viable
microbes in it, and 3. Contamination with toxins or pathogens.
I believe that testing
of any probiotic product is crucial for safety and effectiveness, and for
companies that cannot do in-house testing, third-party certification is a must.
A company that tests the final product for quality assurance is probably a
reputable company.
The thirteenthconsideration when purchasing a source of
probiotics is a probably the most important one: to remember your uniqueness.
Based on the findings from culture-independent methods discussed in Chapter 4,
it is not possible to say that a certain microbe will definitely benefit
everyone in every circumstance. Your microbiota and microbiomes are unique to
you.
Articles in newspapers
and on news sites, while beneficial to some people, may not
be relevant to you or
help you in
your buying decisions. Sometimes the only way to know
what works for you at this point in time is by reading
about what the
research has shown
on the PowerOfProbiotics.comwebsite and then trying similar products and diet
interventions through trial and error, or by consulting with a qualified
professional.
Recall from previous
chapters that what seems to be important in health is that the beneficial
microbes keep the body balanced. Although the numbers and even species of
microbes can vary from healthy person to healthy person, the beneficial
FUNCTIONS the microbiome as a whole performs are what matter. For instance,
there isn’t just one microbe capable of digesting lactose (milk sugar) for you.
So if you have Microbe A that does it, and I have Microbe B that does it, our
microbes are different but the benefits they provide to us are the same.
You can get the most
benefits from probiotics by understanding your condition, your expectations and
goals, your sensitivities, your allergies and
intolerances, the
basics about the probiotics you are considering, the CFU required for your
certain condition, the required storage conditions of the product, the serving
size and dosage requirements, the qualifications of the producer, the validity
of claims made on the label, and what seems to help or hurt your body. My
website, www.PowerOfProbiotics.com, is helpful for understanding much of this information.
Additionally, taking in
a variety of probiotics from a variety of sources may be the best way to keep
your flora diverse and healthy because as you saw in previous chapters,
different microbes prefer different environments. Again, check the website for
information and for nutritional help in narrowing down the best strains for
your needs.
If you
are consistently eating
or drinking raw,
fermented foodstuffs, especially
if you make them yourself and incubate them with added probiotic cultures, then
you may be consuming enough to be considered “adequate amounts”, even if it is
not officially declared to be so.
The fourteenthand last subtopic in this topic of how to
choose a source of purchased probiotics, including a probiotic supplement, is
the idea of proprietary formulas. If you think back on the information in this
book, I have stressed the importance of knowing the strain of the probiotic(s)
you are considering if you are looking for a certain health benefit. Most
people are looking for something to help them with a specific condition and so
specific strains are
desired. Many probiotic
products, especially
supplements, will only say that the different species listed are blended
together in a proprietary formula consisting of a certain number of total CFU
or viable cells. Some products will go so far as to even list the other
ingredients as general ingredients, such as “vegetable fiber”.
Unfortunately for us consumers, many manufacturers are claiming
that their probiotic formulas are proprietary and they won’t disclose which
strains are in the different species. Unless that particular product was used
in specific research, you have no idea of what specific conditions it can
benefit and in
most cases, the label
will say that it supports GI and immune health, or something along
those vague, structure/function lines.
This doesn’t automatically mean
that the product is inferior to others in any way, it only means that it makes
it more difficult to find the exact strain that you may seek for a particular
condition and you may have to trust that the reputable manufacturer has the
correct strains in it. Other manufacturers use strains that are patented and
marketed around the globe and they disclose that information.
If this kind of
labeling frustrates you, you are not alone. I completely share your frustration. Manufacturers are
trying to comply
with general structure/function
allowances by governmental regulatory bodies while also getting ahead of their
competition by formulating the best mix (in their opinion) of microbes.
However, I believe that we consumers need to know what is in our supplements,
just like we need to know what is in our food.
Since most probiotic
products can only list structure/function claims such as “improves digestion”,
such broad claims do not help us if we are seeking targeted strains for our
particular circumstance. Perhaps, sometime in the future, as companies satisfy
the requirements of governmental regulatory bodies and
are awarded with
stating specific health
claims on their products, we consumers will have an
easier time choosing the best probiotic supplement for our unique
circumstances. Of course, probiotic supplements must be available to the
general public and not prescription-only products for that to happen.
When you are faced with
the incredible magnitude of information on probiotics on the internet and
through the media, it is no wonder that you may feel overwhelmed and not know
what to believe. It is not your fault! Review these fourteen points when
considering a probiotics product and you will be able to choose those which
give you an advantage.
CHAPTER 12
The
Magic Bullet?
My goals in writing
this book were twofold: one, to dispel many of the misconceptions people have
about probiotics; and two, to help you gain an understanding of probiotics so
you can use them to your advantage to optimize your health.
In this book, you have
learned so much about probiotics, from the basics to more advanced information,
in order to fulfill those goals. You began by learning about the 3 main themes
that are emerging from international research on the gut microbiota and
microbiome:
1. The human gut microbiota and the microbial genome (microbiome)
play diverse
physiological roles that
influence our health
and wellbeing.
2. Particularly in the
digestive tract, the
less diverse the
microbial
community (and
especially with harmful or opportunistic organisms dominating the flora), the
less healthy the body can be.
3. Prevention of
illness is easier than reaction to established illness.
You now understand how
probiotics address those themes based on the details of what you learned in
this book:
Probiotics are, “Live
organisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit
on the host”.
Any untampered living
thing in the Animal Kingdom has microbes in it; some have beneficial properties
and some are probiotics.
Probiotics and other
microbes are named to reflect their genetic lineage. Probiotics should be
defined at least at the genus and species
levels for general
claims and at the strain levels for specific health claims.
Probiotics and other
microbes live in and on our bodies, primarily in major mucosal surfaces. They
are very similar to human society in terms of contributions, variety,
interactions, clustering and transience. As in any successful society, the
contributions of those that benefit the society must outweigh the negative
influences of others. Probiotics may be small percentages of the total
microbial numbers, but their benefits are critical to health.
Probiotics work by
primarily influencing you digestive, immune, nervous and endocrine systems,
which then can affect every part of your
body. They really
do play diverse
physiological roles that influence us.
There are many known
benefits to probiotics and many more which are
being discovered every
day as research
is fast-paced and international. These benefits affect many
different bodily systems and conditions. Keeping your digestive tract as
healthy as possible with probiotics and other beneficial microbes on a daily
basis is the best way to prevent
the consequences from
an unhealthy intestinal environment.
There are many things
you are doing or taking which may be the cause of why you are probably lacking
in beneficial microbes and probiotics and tipping the balance in favor of
pathogenic organisms. Stop doing the unnecessary things!
You should start slowly
with probiotics and cultured foods and drinks or you may experience mild (if
you are otherwise healthy) side effects as your microbiome is reconfigured. You
should always check with your qualified healthcare provider if you have any
concerns about probiotics.
There are 5 major
genera in the probiotics world and a few lesser others. To remember what they
do, the major ones can be compared to Transformers®, security guards, police
officers, Special Forces and good apples-in-the-bunch to reflect their actions.
Probiotics may not dominate the GI tract in sheer numbers, but their actions can
determine whether you have a healthy or unhealthy intestinal environment.
You can find probiotics
and other helpful microbes in many places. Taking them in from a variety of
sources will add diversity to your GI tract. Knowing how and when to take them
gives you an advantage.
There are many
important points to consider when choosing a source of probiotics, including a
probiotic supplement.
By this point you must
agree that the list of benefits of probiotics shown in Chapter 6 is indeed very
impressive. Combine those benefits with the reasons shown in Chapter 7 of why
you probably do not have enough probiotics, and you can see that it is to your
advantage to consistently take probiotics
and/or consume beneficial
microbes in some
form, and preferably several
forms. Since the
uniqueness of each
person’s communities of microbes is relatively stable over time, the
only way to make changes are to consistently take the beneficial ones you don’t
have (or don’t have enough of) and to pamper the desirable ones that you do
have.
Replenishing the
helpful microbes takes advantage of the fact that microbes and their genes at
least equal or outnumber human cells and genes. Resistance really is futile, so
you might as well work with the ones that are there to protect you and benefit
you or else the opportunistic or harmful ones will dominate.
Let me backtrack a bit. As I mentioned before, I was giving my
kids probiotic supplements when they were able to eat yogurt on their own. I
was also taking the same supplement. In retrospect, it was probably better than
taking nothing but it was too weak and too late to help me with the
many autoimmune
problems that had already taken hold on me without me knowing, especially since
I was still eating gluten, sugars and processed foods at the time and taking
multiple courses of antibiotics. I was suffering from debilitating chronic
fatigue and other problems and it was not until years later that I found out I
had autoimmune diseases and had absorption problems, food sensitivities and
other unexplained concerns. Somehow I got started on probiotics back then and
hardly ever miss a day without having either a supplement and/or some kind of
beneficial-microbe food or drink. I am much, much healthier than I was then.
Some results of what
happened to me I cannot change, but I try my best to use probiotics to my
advantage. Note this important message: I
do not take probiotics in a vacuum, and neither should you.Probiotics
are one part of this complicated human endeavor we call health. You
cannot eat junk, be lazy, be stressed out, not sleep well, be socially isolated
and then pop a pill trying to fix it all.
What does this mean to
you? Probiotics are PART of the magic bullet for health! Ensure that you get
some kind of probiotic and/or beneficial microbes daily.
Additionally, try some
of these other ideas in the magic bullet:
Start to eat more real
food with real vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, healthy fats, unaltered
proteins and naturally-incorporated fiber found primarily in plant foods (and
NOT found in typical Western-diet foods).
Substantially reduce or
eliminate added sugars. Substantially reduce or eliminate refined flours.
Substantially reduce or
eliminate artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives and flavor
enhancers like MSG and artificial sweeteners.
Eliminate transfats
and refined vegetable
oils and learn
how to correctly cook with oils.
Substantially reduce or
eliminate as many over-the-counter drugs as you can.
Talk to your healthcare
provider about the medications you are taking and what, if anything, you can do
to reduce your dependence on them.
Eat organic when
possible, especially for foods with soy, corn, canola, cottonseed, zucchini and
yellow crookneck squash, papaya, russet potatoes and
sugar beets. Those
foods are most
likely GMO (genetically-modified
organisms).
Eat meat, poultry and
fish that are raised the way they would naturally eat and live, not in CAFO’s
(confined animal feeding operations).
Reduce stress as much
as possible.
Make sleep a priority.
Eat more raw fruits and
vegetables. Lactobacillus plantarumis a great probiotic species
which can be found on raw produce. Fruits and vegetables have fiber and other
substances which nourish you and your microbes.
Eat more
cultured/fermented foods like sauerkraut. Try some of the recipes in the next
chapter.
Drink more healthy
(non-alcoholic) cultured/fermented beverages like kefir and kombucha. More
information on these is provided in the next chapter.
Drink more purified
water to flush toxins out of your body, keep your cells hydrated so they can
function better and keep feces moving along.
Get your body moving so
you can increase circulation, move lymph fluid and properly eliminate wastes.
By trying these ideas,
you will enable foods to fulfill the positive roles they can play and your body
to function the way it was intended to function. And of course, you will be
using probiotics and other beneficial microbes to your advantage!
The next chapter gives
you some tips and recipes to get started with fermented foods and drinks.
CHAPTER 13
Easy
Recipes and Tips for Fermentation
This chapter is meant
to give you a glimpse into the world of fermented (sometimes called cultured)
foods and drinks. We have been programmed that “germs” are horrible things to
be avoided, but as you have learned through this book, some microbes are not
only beneficial to us buy are also essential to our survival.
Nonetheless, it can be
scary starting fermentation on your own because you fear food poisoning. Fear
no more! As long as you follow basic hygiene, keeping your work surface,
utensils, hands and ingredients clean (wash off that carrot you dropped on the
floor!), you will be fine. Never, ever eat or drink directly from the jar.
Always use a clean spoon or pour the ferments into another container or you
will contaminate the entire batch.
Remember that fermentation
is a method of food preservation. Bacteria and yeasts transform sugars and
starches in food to acids (such as lactic acid), gases or alcohol, allowing
beneficial microbes to flourish and harmful ones to be killed. Fermentation can
also increase the vitamins in the ferments.
Lactobacillus species
of beneficial bacteria, in particular, are often present in fermented foods and
drinks.
, also, that it can
take 10 to 16 repeated exposures before acceptance to a new food occurs.
You will see bubbles and probably smell some pungent odors as
things ferment. Pungent is different than spoiled. You will know the difference
between the two if you’ve ever smelled slimy fruits or rotting meats. However,
as long as you don’t see green, pink or other-colored mold, or allow your
experiments to ferment so long that they are too acidic or dry out from
evaporation, thus exposing the food to air, you will be fine.
Remember, for most
solid-food ferments, the lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacilluson the
foods produce acids which lower the pH of the ferment. As you learned in
Chapters 6 and 7, low pH kills most pathogenic microbes.
Salt also kills or
inhibits the growth of pathogenic microbes, so it is used in many solid-food
recipes. For solid food like vegetables, fruits, nuts and herbs, keep them
under brine and you will be fine!
If ever in doubt, you
can add a bit of the juice from past ferments to a new batch to quickly
inoculate it.
I like to use
wide-mouth quart jars for bigger batches and wide-mouth pint jars for smaller
batches of solid-food ferments. The advantages of using pint jars are that you
can have several different recipes fermenting at the same time, giving you a
variety of foods and microbial biodiversity, and if your combination of ingredients
isn’t to your liking, you didn’t waste much food. The downside is that you have
to prepare the recipes more often. You can decide which size to use, or even if
you want to use something bigger like a fermentation crock, based on your needs
and preferences.
For most solid-food
recipes, dry fermentation works. This involves mixing all the ingredients
together and pressing them into a jar, allowing the natural juices from the
ingredients to supply the liquid. For fermenting whole vegetables, fruits or
nuts, you will need to supply a brine solution. This is typically one
tablespoon of pink sea salt per 16 ounces of water, but may go as high as one
tablespoon per 8 ounces, depending on your preference.
I recommend that you
use an unrefined pink sea salt for a fuller flavor and for the trace minerals.
Do not use iodized salt! It will inhibit the growth of bacteria. Remember, it
is always easier to add more salt than it is to remove salt!
Many recipes call for
cabbage. You may use green or purple, depending on your tastes. Purple cabbage
remains crisper, but green cabbage has a sweeter, milder flavor. Some recipes
have onion in them. Use mild onions and always err on the conservative side of
amounts when using onions because they are very potent and can overwhelm the
ferment’s taste.
Try to keep your
ferments at least a few feet from each other, especially if you are using cloth
and a rubber band to cover the tops (such as with kombucha) in order to keep
the cultures as pure as possible. If you cover your jars with solid lids, you
will need to burp the jars at least once per day. To burp them, simply open
them up and allow the gases to escape. You may want to keep the jars in bowls
to catch any liquids which may overflow when burping.
Put something in the
jar to keep the ferments submerged. Depending on the recipe, circles of large
vegetables or fruits or part of a cabbage leaf or kale leaf works. You may also
choose to use glass disks which I find to be very useful. If you cannot check
your ferments daily, then using a cloth on the top of the jar or a specialized
fermenting top which allows gases to escape may be a better option than a solid
lid.
Try to use organic
foods whenever possible. Although your fermenting microbes may be able to break
down some of the chemicals on your foods, you want the ferments to be as
beneficial as possible. Also try to use filtered water. Any chlorine residues
or organic molecules in tap water are not ideal for your ferments.
Keep your culturing
foods and drinks at a minimum of 55 degrees and a maximum of 75 degrees, with
the exception of yogurt and kefir. Too cold and they won’t culture correctly;
too hot and they will ferment so quickly that you might miss the peak flavor.
Taste your cultured
goods over time. While some cultured products, like yogurt or kefir, are ready
in a day, relishes and veggies may be ready in as
little as 3 days and as
late as months in the future. Flavors and bacterial concentrations develop over
time. You have to find what tastes for each recipe you prefer. When you get the
result you want, refrigerate the product to slow down the fermentation.
Fermentation will still proceed when the product is in the refrigerator but at
a much slower pace.
How much to eat daily?
As you learned in Chapter 8, it is best to start slowly when introducing
microbes into your GI tract. Start with a teaspoon of cultured solids and a
quarter cup or less of liquid ferments if you are new to fermentation.
Remember, most cultures use fermented vegetables as condiments to meals, and
even drinks like kefir and kombucha should be limited to 16 ounces per day or
less. Balance, my friend, is the key to a healthy life!
By the way, don’t feel
like you have to be doing every ferment all the time. When I first started fermenting,
I had 4 or 5 different ferments going at any given time, all in the space of my
little kitchen. Keeping the jars and crocks a few feet away from each other was
a challenge! Now my staple is my kombucha crock and everything else rotates in
as the spirit moves me. Additionally, there is only so much room in my
refrigerator and we can only eat a certain amount of food in a given time, so
I’ve learned to temper my enthusiasm! However, at the end of the
garden growing season,
fermentation is an excellent way to preserve the massive amounts of produce
that must be picked right before a frost and so my counters are crowded then.
Being overzealous with anythingwill
surely knock your body into an imbalanced state.
There are
many workshops, books,
blogs and websites
dedicated to fermentation. I
encourage you to be adventurous and try your hand at various recipes. However,
if you need a place to start or need some new ideas, these recipes and ideas
are proven in my kitchen to work.
All recipes are
gluten-free and dairy-free, unless you choose ingredients with those allergens.
Coconut
Yogurt
I use a store-bought
coconut yogurt to get my yogurt started and then use my yogurt to keep the
cultures going. You could use a starter culture or even probiotic capsules if
you desire. Note that since this recipe does not have additives like
stabilizers or thickeners in it, the yogurt will separate into liquid and a
creamier substance. Simply stir the mixture and enjoy.
One
13.66 ounce can of full-fat coconut milk
1
Tablespoon of an existing coconut yogurt or use a yogurt starter culture
2
teaspoons coconut sugar or unrefined cane sugar
Whisk coconut milk in a
small pot and slowly heat to around 180 degrees F. Whisk in coconut sugar. Let
cool to around 110 degrees F. Add yogurt and whisk. Put in a glass or ceramic
container and cover. Let container sit, undisturbed, in a yogurt maker, wrapped
in a towel and a plant seedling mat, or in a confined space like an oven
(heated for a few minutes, heat turned off and only the light on) for 8-10
hours. The target temperature for the
yogurt environment is 100-115
degrees Fahrenheit. Refrigerate.
Kefir
(pronounced kee’-fur or ka-feer’)
You can buy kefir
grains, use starter culture powder or use kefir from the store to inoculate
your batch. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.
Kefir grains are like tiny cauliflower florets when activated and
are a type of symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts (SCOBY). The
SCOBY will grow over time if cultivated in the proper conditions and can be
gently
scooped out of one
finished batch of kefir and put into the next batch. The main advantage to
kefir grains is that once you purchase them, they can last indefinitely if
properly nourished.
The main drawback with
kefir grains is that I believe you have to be a dedicated kefir maker to use
the grains because they require constant exposure to new sources of nutrients.
That means a daily (at most 2 days) transfer from the finished batch to the new
batch. Always follow the supplier’s instructions on how to prepare for the
transfer.
Another drawback is
that many kefir grains are meant to thrive in cow’s milk, not milk alternatives
like coconut, almond, soy, etc. As a result, without being occasionally
refreshed in cow’s milk, they will slowly lose their ability to survive.
Despite the higher
maintenance of the kefir grains, using the grains and marveling at the way they
transform milk into a thick, tangy drink is definitely a worthwhile experience
and you may enjoy continuing it. Also, it is possible to freeze the grains if
you leave town for a while. Most suppliers of the grains will provide detailed
instructions on how to preserve the grains in that circumstance.
Kefir starter culture
powder does not contain the same number and types of microbes as the kefir
grains. No SCOBY will form when using a powder, but usually one packet of
powder can be used for the first quart and then a small amount of the finished
kefir can be used to inoculate the next batch, etc., for a total of 8
inoculations. Even with this method, the finished kefir should be
used within a
few days to
inoculate the next
batch and instructions for proper
preparation should be followed. My website has more information on this.
Purchasing kefir is the way I think most people should start,
unless you are fortunate enough to have a friend who can let you sample theirs.
Since kefir is tangy, you will know if you like it or not before investing time
and
money into it. Be
certain to buy only plain kefir, as the flavored versions usually are quite
high in sugars and extra additives.
The downside is that
purchased kefir is expensive compared to plain milks, but not as expensive as
that coffee drink or juice bar drink you may buy! Also, purchased
alternative-milk kefirs may have undesirable stabilizers in them.
For coconut milk for
kefir, I use the more-liquid, unsweetened version found in a carton, and add a
teaspoon of coconut sugar for each cup of kefir to give the microbes food for
growth. The kefir will separate into liquid and a creamy substance, but simply
shake or stir it before drinking it. My favorite way to use kefir is in a
protein shake.
Hemp-Kefir
Protein Shake
Hemp protein powder is a
high fiber, high protein, essential fatty acid source of nutrition and is one
of my favorites. Hemp protein powder is gritty, so use the amount to your
liking. I prefer not to use bananas in my shakes, but bananas, nut butter or a
slice of avocado can make the shake smoother.
/4
cup of coconut kefir
3-4
Tablespoons of organic hemp protein powder
1
Tablespoon of good fats (coconut oil, MCT’s, olive oil, hemp oil, raw nut butter)
1/2
cup chopped fresh or frozen greens 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen berries 1 packet
of stevia
1/2
cup of water or less, depending on consistency
Whirl all ingredients
in a blender for 20-30 seconds.
Kombucha
Kombucha is a fermented
tea drink that is transformed from sweet tea to a fermented treat by a SCOBY.
My website has several pages devoted to kombucha and you can definitely save a
lot of money by brewing your own. I am a definite tea-lover and kombucha is one
of my favorite fermented items! Here are a few recipes using plain kombucha.
Ginger
Kombucha:Add 1 Tablespoon ginger juice to 8-12 ounces of kombucha.
Pomegranate
Kombucha:Add 1 Tablespoon pomegranate juice to 8-12 ounces of kombucha.
Sweet
Mustard Salad Dressing:
This recipe takes
advantage of the microbes in kombucha and honey. Use sparingly.
Tablespoons
kombucha
2
Tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1
Tablespoon raw unfiltered honey Herbs of your choice, optional
Whisk all ingredients
together.
Rosemary-Kombucha
Marinade
I found that I can substitute kombucha (depending on how acidic
it tastes) into some marinade recipes which call for white wine. Yes, the
microbes are probably killed when cooked, but the flavor is more subtle than
wine and I don’t have to buy white wine just for cooking anymore! This recipe
is great
for a marinade (enough
for 18 chicken thighs) and is adapted from an old “Energy Times”
recipe.
/4
cup reduced sodium organic tamari 3/4 cup kombucha
1
very small onion, chopped finely 3 Tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced 3 garlic
cloves, minced
Whisk ingredients
together. Marinate chicken for a few hours to overnight.
Relishes
and Salsas
Relishes and salsas are
condiments used to add flavors to foods. Think beyond hot dogs, hamburgers and
tortilla chips and use them to dress up plainly roasted meats, fish and
poultry, beans and legumes, omelets, plain vegetables and plain grains such as
rice or corn.
I tend to refrigerate
relishes and salsas after 3 days because I like the texture and tastes at that
time. However, you may certainly let them ferment longer and see when you
prefer them.
Cultured
Grape Salsa
This recipe is delicious
served with avocado, on eggs or an omelet, with mild fish like Mahi Mahi or
tilapia, with nachos or with tortilla chips as a dip.
roma
tomatoes, diced (2 cups)
About
25 red seedless grapes, cut in quarters or sixths, depending on size (1 cup)
1/4
purple onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup) 1/4 chopped cilantro
/2
jalapeٌo pepper, minced (or more, depending on taste) 1 garlic clove, minced
2
teaspoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon unrefined pink sea salt
1
capsule of non-coated probiotics, opened (optional if you need a speedy
fermentation)
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint glass jar, gently pressing
ingredients, and weigh down with something like a glass disk. Taste in 3 days
and refrigerate.
Cranberry-Pomegranate
Relish
This makes
a great substitute
for the traditional
sugar-laden cooked cranberries
served with turkey or mixed in a raw vegetable salad for a tangy fruit taste.
/2
cup fresh or frozen cranberries 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pomegranate arils 1/2
cup chopped sweet apple
1/2
cup chopped orange, inner segments only 1 teaspoon orange zest
1
Tablespoon sauerkraut or other ferment juice (especially helpful when using
frozen fruit)
Process all
ingredients in a food processor
to the desired consistency. Pack in a pint jar and
weigh down with something like a glass disk. Taste in 3 days and refrigerate.
Zingy
Carrot Relish
Ever notice how carrots
become bitter with age? Ferment them before they reach that point and you will
preserve their goodness. Scrub them but leave the skins on.
cup
carrot, grated 1 cup parsnip, grated 1 cup apple, grated
2
teaspoons ginger, grated 1/2 teaspoon pink sea salt
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint glass jar,
packing ingredients down,
and weigh down
with something like a glass disk. Taste in 3 days and refrigerate.
Carrot,
Ginger and Lime Relish
This adds some sweetness
and zing to plain hummus.
cup
carrot, grated
1/2
Tablespoon ginger, grated 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice 1/8 teaspoon pink sea
salt
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint glass jar,
pressing ingredients down,
and weigh down
with something like a glass disk. Taste in 3 days and refrigerate.
Sauerkraut
Relish
This relish is a nice
addition to many meals.
/4
cup red pepper, chopped
1/4
cup celery, chopped 1/4 cup onion, chopped
3
cups green cabbage, shredded ¾ teaspoon pink sea salt
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint or quart glass jar, packing
ingredients down, and weigh down with something like a glass disk. Taste in 3
days and refrigerate.
Longer-Cultivation
Ferments
Not-Quite-Kimchi
If you are like me and
are intrigued by the flavors in kimchi, but do not want raw seafood, super
spiciness or the starchy paste typically used, you may like this recipe which
provides flavor without the extras. There is no pre-soaking in this recipe.
head
Napa cabbage. Halve, remove core and chop into 1-inch pieces
1
large or 2 small carrots, finely shredded (1 cup) I use unpeeled carrots
8
scallions, chopped (1/2 cup) 4 garlic cloves, minced
1
Tablespoon finely grated ginger 4 red radishes, finely shredded (1/2 cup) 1
Tablespoon pink sea salt
1
Tablespoon mild chili powder
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to quart glass jar, pressing ingredients
down, and weigh down. It may fill more than one jar. Begin tasting in a few
days, but allow to ferment further for flavors to develop.
String
Beans and Dill
End-of-season string
beans can become tough. Save the last of your summer string beans and ferment
them.
Use a one quart glass
jar.
green
onion, minced
clove
garlic, minced
1
Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/4
teaspoon lemon pepper Fresh string beans to fill jar
Add ingredients in the
order listed. Cover with a brine bath of 3 cups of water with 1-1/2 Tablespoons
of pink sea salt dissolved in it and cooled. Wait at least one week before
tasting.
Zesty
Sauerkraut
cups
green cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup carrot, grated
2
radishes, grated
1/8
cup purple onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced
1/4
teaspoon celery seed
1
teaspoon pink sea salt (or to taste)
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint or quart glass jar, packing
ingredients down, and weigh down with something like a glass disk. Start
tasting in 3 days but usually one week is the minimum timeframe for flavors to
develop.
Mild
Sauerkraut
cups
green cabbage, shredded 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
3/4
teaspoon pink sea salt (or to taste)
Mix all ingredients in
a glass or ceramic bowl. Transfer to a pint glass jar,
packing ingredients down,
and weigh down
with something like a glass disk. Start tasting in 3 days but usually
one week is the minimum timeframe for flavors to develop.
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About the Author
Jo Panyko, B.S., M.N.T.
helps people transform their lives by transforming their health! She is a
Master Nutrition Therapist with a private nutrition consulting business,
Chrysalis Nutrition and Health, LLC. Jo also holds a degree in engineering,
created a health-related website, is an accomplished author and
is a professional
member of the
National Association of Nutrition Professionals.
Jo’s love of the
science behind health and fitness inspired her to create the popular
science-based website, Power of Probiotics, to
teach consumers and healthcare professionals about probiotics. Her passion for
health is evident in her website, newsletter, books and various published
articles and in her volunteer work as a nutrition educator.
In addition to her insatiable passion for investigating the links
between diet, lifestyle, environment and health, Jo enjoys precious time with
her husband, children, dogs and friends and is often seen gardening and
training for hiking and backpacking adventures. You
can contact her
at:
www.powerofprobiotics.com; on Facebook at PowerOfProbiotics; and on Twitter at
PowerOfProbiotx.
You Can Download The PDF File for the Book From Here