Probiotics are strains of bacteria and fungi that have positive effects both locally in the gut and on overall health. Prebiotics are different types of fibers that provide nourishment to the probiotics. Synbiotics refers to a mixture of benign strains and nutrition adapted to them. Susceptible people with IBS-like problems and SIBO may experience (at least initially) more symptoms from prebiotics.
Can we influence our microbiome?
The composition of the intestinal flora varies from individual to individual and also over time. It is affected i.a. of our diet, which medicines we take, but also of how much natural light we get on the body. The foundation of our microbiome is laid at birth and growing up. But there is much we can do to influence it accordingly. In recent years, both clinical and laboratory-based research into the importance of gut flora for health has exploded. Only about a decade ago, probiotics were something we took only to get "good stomach feelings", cure diarrhea and bloating e.g. after a course of antibiotics.
How do bacteria affect us?
We now know that immune system and resilience, mental and cognitive health, reproductive and hormonal health are all affected by the composition of the microbiome in our guts. We have evolved as a species over hundreds of thousands of years with bacteria in our digestive system.
They help our food break down by:• secrete cleaving enzymes
• convert fibers into fatty acids, which are of great importance for health and the immune system
• produce organic acids that prevent unfavorable bacteria from thriving.
A diverse good bacterial flora balances our immune and hormonal systems by:
• secrete substances that suppress inflammation
• produce hormones such as serotonin and dopamine.
New research shows that via the vagus nerve, substances produced by our microbiome can reach and affect the nervous system and brain.
Different kinds of bacteria and fungi
There is a difference between bacteria and fungi that remain and colonize the intestinal mucosa and probiotics that are active while passing through the intestine. The probiotic that does not stay behind still makes a big difference to well-being. Some people should not take
spore-forming probiotics, if you e.g. have a weakened immune system. Non-spore-forming and non-histamine-forming probiotics are a suitable first choice of probiotics.
Sources:
https://nyheter.ki.se/tarmbakterier-paverkar-skyddet-fran-blod-hjarnbarriaen
