A Healthy Gut by Jane Thurnell-Read

The gut contains billions of friendly bacteria. It is estimated that there are about 500 different ones. About 60% of faeces are made up of bacteria.

The bacteria are very useful for our health:

• They produce biotin (a B vitamin) and vitamin K.

• They protect against colon cancer.

• They are involved in the immune system response of the body.

•  They ferment unused food.

• They are involved in lowering blood cholesterol levels.

• They prevent the growth of organisms that could cause food poisoning.

Stress, antibiotics, certain drugs and female hormones can cause the balance to tip away from the favourable bacteria and towards unfavourable organisms.

Probiotics

The FAO/WHO define probiotics as: ‘Live micro-organisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’. The beneficial bacteria in the gut help to keep harmful bacteria in check. Probiotics provide these beneficial bacteria. The main difficulty with increasing healthy bacteria by taking them orally is that many are destroyed by the stomach acid. Certain strains, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium have been shown to have the best chance of surviving.

Not all strains of bacteria have a probiotic effect. For example, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus (used to make yoghurt) do not have this effect.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics are food for the healthy gut bacteria. These are mainly soluble fibre that cannot be broken down by the body’s own enzymes, so pass unaltered into the colon. In the colon they act as food for the probiotic bacteria, so helping to increase the number of friendly ones. Prebiotics include inulin and oligosaccarides. Fructo-oligosaccardies (FOS) is the type that the research has been done on. Both inulin and FOS can be taken as nutritional supplements.

The main food sources are onions, leeks, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, wild yam, asparagus, chicory root, oats, and unrefined wheat and barley. It may be difficult to eat sufficient of these to have a meaningful impact on gut flora, so taking supplements is often preferred.

Increasing the prebiotic content of the diet either through food or supplements can initially lead to flatulence and gas, so it may be advisable to start with a lower dose at first, and build up the intake as the population of friendly bacteria increases.

Copyright 2010 Jane Thurnell-Read Online Healthy Living Shop