prebiotics-probiotics

ProbioticsandPrebioticsWeeatfoodtonourishourbodies.Abasic,varieddietcanusuallymeetthebody’snutrientandenergyneeds.Withadvancesinscientificresearch,theworkoffoodmanufacturersandincreas-ingglobalizationofourfoodsupply,moreandmorespecialtyfoodsandnutritionalproductsarebeingputonthemarket.Theseproductsclaimtoimprovehealth.Itcanbedifficult,however,todeterminehowvalidthesehealthclaimsreallyare.Prebioticandprobioticproductsareonegroupoffoodsthatarebecomingincreasinglypopular.Thesefoodsfocusonimprovingdi-gestivehealth.Ourdigestivetracthousesmil-lionsofbacteria.Thesebacteriaserveseveralfunctions.Theyareinvolvedindigestiveprocessesandproducefattyacidsandvita-minsforuseinthebody.Thesebacteriaserveasaprotectivebarrierwithinthedigestivetract.Theypreventinfectionbypathogenicbacteriathatmayenterthebodyandworkwiththeimmunesystemtopreventinfection.Prebioticsandprobioticshavethemainpur-poseofinfluencingthecomposition,growthandpopulationofbacteriaintheintestineforoptimalintestinalhealthandprotectionofthebody(Ouwehand,2007).ImportantDefinitions:Probiotic-“livemicroorganismswhichwhenadministeredinadequateamountsconferahealthbenefitonthehost”(FAO/WHOWorkinggroup,2002,p.8).Prebiotic-“anon-digestiblefoodingredientthatbeneficiallyaffectsthehostbyselectivelystimulatingthegrowthand/oractivityofoneoralimitednumberofbacteriainthecolon,thatcanimprovethehosthealth”(ISAPP,2003,p.8)“Ourdigestivetracthousesmillionsofbacteria”ProbioticFoods:Allcontainlivebeneficialbacteria.YogurtButtermilkKefirTempehMisoSauerkrautAllofthesefoodsresultfromthefermentationofafood,us-ingbacteria,toproduceanotherfoodwithdifferentsensorycharacteristicsandfunctions.Yogurt,kefirandbuttermilkaremadefrommilk.Specifictypesofbacteriaand/oryeastareaddedtothemilkandthemix-tureisallowedtoincubateforaspecifiedtime,atacertaintem-peraturetoallowfermentation.Sauerkrautisfermentedcab-bageandmisoandtempeharefermentedsoybeans.ProbioticandPrebioticFoodsPrebioticFoods:EncouragethegrowthofbeneficialbacteriaJerusalemartichokesSoybeansOnionsGreensFlaxLegumesGarlicThesefoodsallnaturallycon-tainaprebioticcompoundcalledinulin.Inulincanbeaddedtootherfoodstoo,likebread.Inulinisextractedfromthechicoryrootforcommercialuse.Inulinisnotbrokendownbythehumandigestivesystem.Itisfermentedspecificallybythebeneficialbacteriaofthecolon,andencouragestheirgrowth(Murphy,2001)“Whenprebioticsandprobioticsareeatentogether,theyworktogetherandhaveasynergisticeffect”(Arvanitoyannis&VanHouwelingen-Koukaliaroglou,2005).Probioticbacteriaenteryourdigestivesys-temwithfoodandtraveltothestomach.Thestomachisveryacidicandthesecon-ditionswouldkillmostbacteria.Aneffec-tiveprobioticbacteriawillsurvivetheharshconditionsofthestomachandmoveintothesmallintestine.Thebacteriawillstarttoliveandgrowinthesmallandlargeintestine.Nowintheintestines,thebacteriacandotheirworkandpasshealthbenefitsontothehost(Agrawal,2005)Prebioticcompoundsalsoenterthediges-tivesystemwithfood.Theymoveintothestomachandsmallintestine,butarenotbrokendownandabsorbedlikemostnu-trientsinfood.Likefibre,theprebioticmovesintothesmallandlargeintestine.Thegoodbacterialivingintheintestinescanuseprebioticcompoundsasasourceofenergy.Becausethegoodbacteria“eat”thesecompounds,theyareabletothriveintheintestines(Murphy,2001).Inshort,noallprebioticandprobioticfoodsa.Inlookingatprobioticfoods,re-memberthatthebacteriamustsurvivethedigestionprocessbeforeitcancolonizetheintestines.Bacteriaarefairlyspecificorganisms,theycanonlysurviveataspe-cifictemperaturerangeandpHrange.Ifthebacteriadieonthewaytotheintes-tine,thereisnohealthbenefit.Severalorganizationshavebeenexten-sivelyresearchingprobioticorganisms.Theyhavefoundthatsomeofthemostef-fectiveprobioticsthatcanbeusedinfoodarespeciesof:BifidobacteriumandLacto-bacillus(Heller,2001).Foodsthatcontainclinicallyprovenbene-ficialprobioticsandarecurrentlycom-merciallyavailableinclude:•Yogurt•Kefir•Juice•CheeseCurrently,specificvarietiesofwholegrainbreadareoneofthecommerciallyavail-ableproductswithaddedprebiotics.HowdoPrebioticsandProbioticsWork?AreallPrebioticandProbioticFoodsCreatedEqual?WhataretheHealthBenefitsofConsumingProbioticsandPrebiotics?AllergyPreventionandRecoveryExperimentalevidenceindicatesthatprobioticsareeffectiveintreatingatopiceczemainin-fants.Ithasalsobeenshownthattheincidenceofallergiesininfantswithahighriskofallergycanbehalvedwiththeconsumptionofcertainprobioticsbytheirmoth-erswhenpregnantandbytheinfantafterbirth.Itisthoughtthatconsumptionofprobioticshelpstoformanormallyfunctioningimmunesystem,preventingallergies(Ouwehand,2007).TreatmentofPepticUlcersHelicobacterpyloriisapatho-genicbacteriathatcausespepticulcersandothergastricprob-lems.H.pyloriisnormallytreatedwithantibiotics.Thistreatmentisexpensiveandhasnegativesideeffects.Theconsumptionofprobioticswithantibioticsisthoughttobethemosteffectiveandsafesttreatment.(Lesbros-Pantoflickova,Corthésy-Theulaz&Blum,2007).DiarrheaEvidenceindicatesthatprobi-oticbacteriainfoodscanhelppreventandtreatdiarrhoeainchildren.Rotavirusinfectionsareacommoncauseofdiar-rhoeainchildren.Inclin