What’s in Probiotics? An Introduction to Probiotics

Introduction

If you’ve walked through the grocery store or a pharmacy, chances are that you have seen shelves full of probiotics before. Have you ever wondered what is probiotics? What’s in probiotics? How do probiotics work? Or if you should take probiotics or not? This should give you brief information on probiotics. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

What is probiotics?

Probiotics have actually been a part of the human lifestyle for a very long time. There are records of the use of fermented products during the ancient Egyptian time. But it wasn’t until the 1900s that a positive relationship between probiotics was established. Lilly and Stillwell, in their 1956 publication, were the first to define probiotics as “[the] substances secreted by one microorganism, which stimulate the growth of another.”

Since then, the definition of probiotics has only expanded. The World Health Organization’s current definition of probiotics is “live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”

From these definitions, two components stood out. One, probiotics contain live, active, and defined microorganisms in a certain sufficient amount. Two, probiotics must demonstrate some health benefits to the host. That is essentially what probiotics is.

What’s in Probiotics?

Above, we have been talking about microorganisms, but what are they? Let’s break the word down. “Micro-” comes from the Latin word mikros, which means small. The second half of the word organism can be broken into organize and -ism. According to Merriam-Webster, organized means to construct a whole from interdependent parts. The suffix “-ism” combined with organized makes organism, which means a living organization exhibiting organic life. Now we can combine micro and organism. Microorganism literally means small living things. These microorganisms are so small that they are invisible to the eyes.

Not only they’re invisible to the eyes, but they are everywhere. Some work against you. These are the prime suspects behind various types of illnesses and infections. Some of them work with or for you. These work together with your body to maintain the excellent functioning flow of your body and improve your health. Believe it or not, we have these invisible workers in our digestive system, which are integral to ensuring that your foods are digested right. The idea behind probiotics is that boosting these “good” microorganisms can promote health.

That was a long way around to answer our question of what’s in probiotics. Probiotics contain one or more types of microorganisms known to be commensal or “good” in our gut. Some common types of microorganisms are Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Saccharomyces. Next time you’re at a grocery store, take a look at the nutritional fact of some of the probiotics. I can guarantee that you will recognize some of the microorganisms listed above.

Have any of you looked? Did you recognize some of them? Don’t forget to share your experience in the comment box below! 

How do they work?

Now that we know what probiotics are and what’s in probiotics, I want to talk about the second component that made up probiotics definition according to the WHO; probiotics must demonstrate some health benefits to the host (that is you!) To understand how probiotics can have health benefits, it is important to understand how they work in our bodies.

According to Markowaik of the Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology in Poland, who looked at several molecular and genetic studies, there are four primary ways that probiotics work in our body to benefit us.

1. The “good” microorganisms compete with the “bad” microorganisms for space and resources in your gut. This result is that, hopefully, the “good” microorganisms can successfully thwart the “bad” organisms, leading to them dying off due to lack of resources. Because there are fewer bad guys around to create inflammation and infection, your gut health and overall health will be better.
2. By the same reasoning as the first way, the “good” microorganisms help stop the “bad” microorganisms from making their toxin, which can cause harm to our bodies. Say hello to better health.
3. The “good” microorganisms work with our gut immune system (the body health soldier) to promote good immune response leading to better health.
4. The “good” microorganisms produce antimicrobial substances that further reduce the number of “bad” microorganisms.

So, in a nutshell, probiotics work with your body to lessen the amount of inflammation that the body would normally experience from bad buys. Probiotics also compete with the “bad” microorganisms to reduce the amount of harm they can cause to our bodies.

So what are the ultimate health benefits of all of these actions? Khalesi and co. published a paper in 2017 titled “A review of probiotic supplementation in healthy adults: helpful or hype?.” This paper performed a review of 45 studies to look at the impacts of probiotic supplements on several different health factors. They reported that the data they looked at implied that probiotic consumption in healthy adults might improve their immune systems. They further elaborated that the consumption of probiotics led to a decreasing number of upper respiratory infections as well as decreasing the infection’s severity. This study also found that there is some evidence implying that probiotics can help relieve abdominal discomfort and improve bowel movement in healthy adults. Lastly, the study pointed out that probiotics may be beneficial in maintaining women’s reproductive health by enhancing the number of Lactobacilli.

Small Caveat and Conclusion

There is still a lot of exploring to do in the scientific communities when it comes to probiotics. Until this day, the scientific communities have yet to pinpoint a specific type of microorganism that helps with certain diseases or health factors, which is probably one of the reasons why probiotics always contain two or more types of microorganisms, if not ten of them! Also, if you noticed from the various studies I referenced, all used the word implied. That is because a lot of probiotics still need to be confirmed in more extensive clinical trials. It is definitely one of the areas in healthcare that is being studied a lot, so I am hopeful that more information will become available in the near future.

I hope that this is helpful for some of you. If you have any thoughts or questions, please leave a comment below.

References:

1. Markowiak, P., & Śliżewska, K. (2017). Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Human Health. Nutrients, 9(9), 1021. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9091021
2. Khalesi, S., Bellissimo, N., Vandelanotte, C., Williams, S., Stanley, D., & Irwin, C. (2019). A review of probiotic supplementation in healthy adults: helpful or hype?. European journal of clinical nutrition, 73(1), 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0135-9
3. Quigley E. M. M. (2019). Prebiotics and Probiotics in Digestive Health. Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, 17(2), 333–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2018.09.028