Probiotics what kind

They also can boost your immunity, fight inflammation and potentially have beneficial effects on cholesterol. To be a true probiotic, a product must contain live and active bacterial cultures, and it should indicate as much on its packaging.

A general recommendation is to choose probiotic products with at least 1 billion colony forming units and containing the genus Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium or Saccharomyces boulardii , some of the most researched probiotics. But you may have to delve deeper, as each genus of bacteria encompasses numerous strains that produce different results.

Cresci explains. Some companies, though, add extra bacteria into the product, so check the labeling and choose products with bacteria added to the starter cultures, she advises.

Cresci adds. You would want a product that helps with immunity. Some people prefer probiotic supplements over foods, but Dr. Cresci notes that probiotic foods are a better choice. In particular, fermented foods — like yogurt, kefir a yogurt-like beverage , kombucha fermented black tea , sauerkraut refrigerated, not shelf-stable , kimchi made from fermented cabbage and tempeh and miso made from fermented soybeans — provide a nourishing environment in which healthful bacteria thrive and release an important byproduct: short-chain fatty acids.

The probiotic industry is booming, but the benefits of probiotic products and the quantity of viable bacteria they contain can vary. So, instead of adding bacteria from an outside source, you might be better off consuming prebiotics, like fermentable fiber, which support your own beneficial bacteria, Dr.

Cresci says. Good dietary sources of prebiotics include dried beans and other legumes, garlic, asparagus, onions, leeks, certain artichokes, green bananas and wheat. Prebiotic supplements are available, as well. Some bacteria are necessary for hormone production or vitamin e. Development of childhood type 1 diabetes may be associated with inflammation related to inadequate gut bacteria biome.

Research published by the American College of Gastroenterology indicates that particular strains of probiotics may:. Some doctors advise you to use probiotics when taking antibiotics to combat a specific infection. This is because antibiotics kill off some useful bacteria along with the bad, which may cause diarrhea. The probiotics help maintain or restore a healthy balance in your gut.

The most commonly consumed probiotics are strains of two main species. These species are also the most studied of probiotics:. Bifidobacteria: This species of bacteria is commonly used in foods and supplements. Lactobacillus: This species of bacteria produces lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, or milk sugar. These bacteria also produce lactic acid.

Lactic acid helps control the population of bad bacteria. Lactobacillus bacteria are found naturally in the:. Probiotic strains are genetic subtypes of species. Each probiotic strain has a different effect in the body. You will see the probiotic strain names on food or supplement labels, combined with the species name.

For example, the Bifidobacteria or Lactobacillus species are often abbreviated as B. This gives you the probiotic L. This is how the name will appear on food or supplement labels. In both places, it fights off infection-causing bacteria, or yeast. It helps your body absorb nutrients by fermenting sugars. It also breaks down plant fiber to make it digestible.

It also serves as a starter for:. It helps break down carbohydrates and also can be an antioxidant. It helps digestion and may help fight off vaginal bacteria. In the past 15 years researchers have established that many of these commensal microbes are essential for health. Collectively, they crowd out harmful microbial invaders, break down fibrous foods into more digestible components and produce vitamins such as K and B The idea that consuming probiotics can boost the ability of already well-functioning native bacteria to promote general health is dubious for a couple of reasons.

Manufacturers of probiotics often select specific bacterial strains for their products because they know how to grow them in large numbers, not because they are adapted to the human gut or known to improve health. The particular strains of Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus that are typically found in many yogurts and pills may not be the same kind that can survive the highly acidic environment of the human stomach and from there colonize the gut.

Even if some of the bacteria in a probiotic managed to survive and propagate in the intestine, there would likely be far too few of them to dramatically alter the overall composition of one's internal ecosystem.

Whereas the human gut contains tens of trillions of bacteria, there are only between million and a few hundred billion bacteria in a typical serving of yogurt or a microbe-filled pill. Last year a team of scientists at the University of Copenhagen published a review of seven randomized, placebo-controlled trials the most scientifically rigorous types of studies researchers know how to conduct investigating whether probiotic supplements—including biscuits, milk-based drinks and capsules—change the diversity of bacteria in fecal samples.

Only one study—of 34 healthy volunteers—found a statistically significant change, and there was no indication that it provided a clinical benefit. Despite a growing sense that probiotics do not offer anything of substance to individuals who are already healthy, researchers have documented some benefits for people with certain conditions.

In the past five years, for example, several combined analyses of dozens of studies have concluded that probiotics may help prevent some common side effects of treatment with antibiotics.

Whenever physicians prescribe these medications, they know they stand a good chance of annihilating entire communities of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, along with whatever problem-causing microbes they are trying to dispel. Normally the body just needs to grab a few bacteria from the environment to reestablish a healthy microbiome.

But sometimes the emptied niches get filled up with harmful bacteria that secrete toxins, causing inflammation in the intestine and triggering diarrhea. Adding yogurt or other probiotics—especially the kinds that contain Lactobacillus —during and after a course of antibiotics seems to decrease the chances of subsequently developing these opportunistic infections. A review by Cochrane—an independent network of experts who serve as rigorous arbiters of medical research—found that probiotics may be particularly useful in a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.

The addition of beneficial bacteria to a nutritional regimen seems to significantly reduce the likelihood of developing necrotizing enterocolitis, which is a devastating, poorly understood and often fatal gut disease that primarily afflicts preterm infants—especially the smallest and most premature among them. Researchers think that many cases of the disease begin with an opportunistic bacterial infection in the not yet fully developed intestine of an infant. As the illness progresses, gut tissue becomes increasingly inflamed and often starts to die, which can, in turn, rupture the intestine and flood the abdominal cavity with pathogenic microbes that proliferate to dangerous levels.

Researchers estimate that 12 percent of preterm infants weighing less than 3. Standard treatment involves a combination of antibiotics, feeding via intravenous tubes, and surgery to remove diseased and dead tissue.