Probiotics: What is it, Benefits, Side Effects, Food & Types

Probiotics are formed with live bacteria or yeasts and are available in our human bodies. These are naturally in our bodies and are helpful for health concerns. In our body, both good and bad bacteria are available and play separate roles in maintaining health concerns. The bad bacteria start acting whenever there is an infection in our bodies. This is a clear signal that the level of bad bacteria is increasing in the body and disrupting the balance. On the other hand, the good bacteria helps in eliminating the bad bacteria and hence maintains the balance between the two. Probiotics are one good bacteria and must be maintained well for better health results. Probiotic supplements are also beneficial in adding good bacteria levels to human bodies. 

Probiotics are available in Yogurt and other similar food products. The bacteria like lactobacillus, bifidobacterium, saccharomyces boulardii (yeast) are found in multiple body parts. The probiotics are made from these bacteria and yeast and are available in our guts as well. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium compose up the bacteria part and saccharomyces boulardii for yeast part in probiotics. 

What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics can be defined as the good bacteria in our bodies that are the combination of bacteria and yeast. They live naturally in various parts of our bodies. These are considered to be good or beneficial bacteria. It has been a common misconception that bacteria are bad and have only negative impacts on our bodies. But, there are two sorts of bacteria running in our bodies like good bacteria and bad bacteria. Probiotics are the good bacteria responsible to keep your body healthy. They are highly beneficial in multiple ways like competing with bad bacteria. It keeps the balance in control and helps in reducing the bad bacteria. It helps in making the person feel better.  

Probiotics come with a huge scope in our body’s health. They have a deep relationship with good health and the microbiome. The microbiome is the diverse section of organisms that are responsible for maintaining the health of the body. Microbes are the elements of the microbiome and play a vital role in fighting bad bacteria. On average, there are trillion microbes in our body. 

If we take a deep look at the microbes, they are formed with the combinations of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. In every individual, a unique microbiome is there. Every two individuals don’t have similar sort of microbes and cells even in the case of twins. But not every microbe is probiotic, it must surpass certain characteristics in order to become probiotic. The probiotic can be isolated from our bodies. It can survive in the intestine even after the food is ingested into your body. The probiotic supplement is safe to be consumed and comes with huge benefits to everyone. 

Where do probiotics reside in our body?

Although, the commonplace available for good bacteria can be the gut or large intestines. Yet, there are several other body parts that can be considered as the prime storage for microbes. More good microbes result in healthy body structure and functioning. The locations where microbes reside in our body are: 

Gut.

Mouth.

Vagina.

Urinary tract.

Skin.

Lungs.

Probiotics work to keep a healthy balance in the body. Consider it keeping the body neutral and function seamlessly as a normal one. Once we start feeling sick, it means that the bad bacteria are increased in our bodies and we need to take more probiotics. The fight between good bacteria and bad bacteria ensures that the health remains neutral the balance must be restored. This ensures the immune system in the body and controls inflammation. 

Good bacteria also help in the digestion of food. Keeps you away from getting sick and provides certain vitamins. They assist in preventing the damage in the gut from bad bacteria. You might be consuming the bad bacteria from direct consumption of food and stopping them from entering from blood. 

Probiotics also play a role in absorbing medications and enhance their effectiveness as well. The balance between good bacteria and bad bacteria happens naturally in our bodies and does occur all the time. This is a misconception that we need to take a probiotic supplement to accelerate the process. Our body is capable enough of maintaining the probiotic process. The supplements are only required if we need to maintain the probiotic level in the body. The priority is for those who are found to have serious concerns related to decreasing probiotic levels in the body. All you need to do is to keep your diet well balanced and rich in protein and fibers. Also, include probiotic-rich foods in your daily diet and try to maintain your food choice accurately. It can maintain a good bacteria level in the body. 

If we check some of the common types of probiotics available in the market, here are some of the major ones: 

Lactobacillus.

Bifidobacterium.

These can be easily found in the stores and purchased. Probiotics are also made up of yeast and here are common types available in the probiotics: 

Saccharomyces boulardii.

Are probiotics available in our food as well? 

Increase the level of good microbes in your body. You can easily achieve the same with the food being eaten. There can be certain food items that have good bacteria and are usually eaten in day-to-day life. The microbiome can help in achieving good health with fewer or no issues. Such foods can be included in day-to-day routine and can be easily added to the regular lifestyle. 

There can be certain food items that you’re already having on a daily basis and you are not aware of their benefits. Keep checking the food labels and other factors. Here are some of the prominent food items that can be used to improve the probiotic levels in the body: 

Yogurt.

Buttermilk.

Sourdough bread.

Cottage cheese.

Fermented pickles.

Miso soup and a lot of others. 

The balance is necessary while having probiotic-rich foods along with others. It is obvious that we need other vitamins and minerals for a healthy body along with probiotics. It doesn’t mean that you need to keep eating only probiotic items. Probiotic foods do not come with any problems until the balance is maintained. If you keep on taking one food only, again and again, there can be some problems in your body. Try to include all types of food in your diet and keep the health level streamlined. 

When it comes to taking the probiotic supplement, there are several ways. Some of them are: 

Foods.

Drinks.

Capsules or pills.

Powders.

Liquids.

Combine probiotic supplements with prebiotics and try to take them. These are carbohydrates that become the food of microorganisms available in the gut. The prebiotics can be said to be the food of the good bacteria and include inulin and pectin. Keeping the good bacteria healthy will keep the person healthy. The combination of probiotics and prebiotic can be said to be synbiotic. 

Do probiotics show effective results? 

If we believe the researchers, the probiotics come up with various good results but still, there is no assurance in getting the nature of the probiotics in regard to consumption as external supplements. There have been various researches in the field but nothing seems certain here. Even after getting some positive results, more details and assurance are needed. 

The probiotic supplement does not need to be approved by FDA and this causes serious concerns in regard to safety and security. The medicines are approved by FDA and hence they can be consumed without any warning or security concerns. The manufacturers and suppliers of probiotic supplements can sell these products without any claim or confirmation. 

So, it's mandatory to discuss with the healthcare provider before intake of supplement or suggestion to anyone. If you’re taking any specific medication, the supplement can interfere with the same. For pregnant ladies, it is highly advised to take the doctor’s prescription before taking up the probiotic supplement. 

How to store probiotics and use them?

The probiotic products are highly fragile and need complete protection from heat and humidity. If they are exposed to oxygen or heat or humidity, there are high chances of breakage of the probiotics. That’s the reason why probiotics need to refrigerate or restored in a particular place. It can provide the necessary benefits of probiotics once the refrigeration is done. You need to read the instructions mentioned on the packing of the probiotic supplement before actually deciding to take them. Keep checking the expiry date to avoid any future concerns. 

The probiotic supplement has the composition of the same microbes as of the natural occurrence in the body. Due to this reason, the external consumption of probiotic products is not going to harm your body. Because the same composition is already available in the body. But, there are some problems faced with them like allergic reactions, stomach upset, gas, diarrhea, etc. These concerns can be faced after the first few days of consumption of probiotics. 

People must be aware of the risk of infection and start having the products after the right check and analysis. These can cause weakening of the immune system, serious illness, surgery problems, etc. Even consider consulting a doctor before giving products to the infants. 

Are there any side effects of probiotics?

Usually, probiotics do no harm to a healthy body. In general practice, they are safe to intake and are considered to be worth trying once. They can even assist with certain medical conditions. When it comes to finding the side effects or bad impact of probiotics, a lot of research is already conducted and scientists are still figuring out their effects and consumption process. Hence, you need to discuss with the healthcare provider about the probiotics consumption and its side effects (if any). There might be some scenario where a probiotic shouldn’t be used and hence must be discussed with some expert before actually using the same. 

In general practice, probiotics are considered to be safe for consumption. But, as nothing is perfect, they come with some risks and that can be serious if you have any medical condition going on. Weakening of the immune system is one common bad effect of probiotics on your body. Others are infection, resistance to antibiotics, harmful byproducts, etc. 

Do we really need to go for probiotics?

If you’re thinking of adding probiotics to your diet, it's good for health but the same needs to be discussed with the health care expert as well. Basically, it is a matter of discussion and analysis to decide whether to include probiotics in your daily diet or not. 

If you are thinking of including probiotics to your diet, it is highly advised to make sure the conversation is done with the health experts or doctor consultation. While many providers will suggest giving it a try others might deny the same. It is a general procedure to add probiotics to your usual diet plan and see improvements in health. It should be noted that probiotics vary and no two come with the same ingredients or benefits. But, every probiotic comes with a certain set of benefits and is harm-free as well. In the beginning, you can simply add probiotics to your usual diet. Yogurt is one such example of offering extra probiotics. 

Before beginning the intake of supplements, it is very necessary to discuss with the healthcare expert. It might be as beneficial for you as it seems but a discussion won’t do any harm. You will get an idea about the best probiotic to go for and in what quantity and time. It’s your health, so discussion is highly necessary before trying to choose probiotics. We hope that the above-shared details about the probiotics are clear to you and prove helpful in making the right food choice and remain healthy.