Pro and Pre biotics

I’ve been working on this piece since August 27^th… as I left a teleseminar on the subject of Probiotics. I’ve read & reviewed the material…did some independent research and tried to come up with how to introduce it …I’ve slept on it and re-written it twice. I wanted to write about it for the same reason I went to the workshop….WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?  I’ve been intrigued every since I saw the Activia commercial on TV. You know the one with Jamie Lee Curtis?

I was happy to find out that a lot of dietitians were about as clueless as me. Well, to be honest I knew the basic premise of probiotics, but it is much more complicated than I you’d think.

I guess I should at least give you a proper introduction in plain English. Probiotics are live microorganisms (I like to think of them as tiny, tiny bugs) that when ingested in sufficient quantity can have health benefits.  To distinguish one microbe from another is where it gets very complicated for the average person….including me. There are different types of microbes…and various strains, some are of the same species… but have different functions…they each can be eaten to combat a variety of disorders.

Well…I hope you can appreciate my dilemma. How do you help people decide which products have the type of proboitics that are the best for their issue? If you are lactose intolerant probiotics may be very beneficial…but passed that it’s beyond comprehension. In my humble opinion, they should be prescribed by medical professionals that understand the function of the particular microbe and match it to the specific disorder.  

Oh…I forgot to mention the prebiotics…THEY ARE DIFFERENT! And apparently we have been eating these for a while without knowing a lot about them. Prebiotics …to put it plainly once again…are fermented food products that we eat that create changes in the beneficial microbes (tiny, tiny “good” bugs) that live in our gut. It’s like feeding the tiny little buggers nutritious food or like a pregnant women eating healthy for the baby she carries.

Bottom-line:

Prebiotics:  the research suggests that prebiotics have anti-cancer and mineral absorption properties, cardiovascular effects, anti-inflammatory actions, and they help support healthy immune function. If you are already eating foods like leeks, asparagus, garlic, artichoke, onion, wheat, oat and soybean, prebiotics occur naturally in these foods...the tiny bugs in your gut are being fed well…however it takes a huge quantity of these foods to fill the little buggers up! There are fortified foods that will fill them up in sufficient quantities to have the beneficial effects described above. These foods include yogurt with active cultures, cereals, and Kashi brand products, bread and milk smoothes like Kefir. There are also prebiotic fiber supplements. Just to name a few.

Probiotic: The products that are in the “do no harm” category are Naked juice drink, some nutrition bars, and the yogurt/fermented milk products. Align is a supplement (I’ve seen this advertised on TV also) with the microbe “B. infantis”…to be used for mild IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). It’s important to understand which microbe is present in a product to know if it’s something you need.

One of the products I purchased after the seminar was Activia (probiotic). The ingredients to look for are “inulin” as well as a listing of the actual microbes (live active cultures) that are in the product. Activia spells out its actual benefit on the label…  “helps to slow intestinal transit when eaten daily…” ! Not sure what that means…my sister ate it regularly for a week and it produced rapid intestinal transit for her! Code for diarrhea!  I also bought Kefir…milk smoothe. I’m lactose intolerant. It tasted like peach flavored buttermilk…which I found delightful and tasty. It didn’t create any GI disturbances, either... So, it worked!

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. And, after all I’ve read…I would need to investigate the potential benefits, if any future purchase. If I’m experiencing this type of intimidation, what must other people be going through, as they try to figure out what to buy? Convincing advertising and celebrity endorsements does not make it right for YOU! Do your homework!

The experts are health professionals that deal with gut integrity issues and GI disorders. There are critically ill people or those with chronic diseases who need this type of expertise. For the rest of us…the average, generally healthy, consumer… eat lots of fruits and vegetables with a dab of low-fat fermented dairy products, plenty of whole grains with limited amounts of animal protein AND You TOO will receive these “biotics”…Pre and Pro.

Le Greta