Probiotics Health Benefits – It’s About Time You Know Them!

With all of those TV commercials, internet ads, and everything in between claiming that their probiotic and yogurt products can prevent constipation, boost your immune system against diseases, protect your heart against different illnesses, it can get very confusing as to what are the real probiotic health benefits. And if that is NOT confusing enough in your opinion, add the fact that recent ads are now promoting prebiotics in combination to probiotics.

Now things can leave you scratching your head. Just recently, a class action lawsuit was filed against Danone’s Activia yogurt. This sparked up a lot of debate and discussion concerning the probiotics health benefits of different food supplements, yogurt, and other fermented products containing live cultures of friendly and beneficial microorganisms. It is NOT surprising if consumers are thinking if it’s really worth paying MORE for extra probiotic strains.

Before we get onto the discussion and look deeper into the REAL probiotics health benefits, let’s define probiotics first. Back in 2002, a joint group of FAO and WHO working together defined probiotics as live micro organisms that, when taken or administered in sufficient numbers, could lead to health benefits for the host. YES, probiotics are beneficial - PERIOD. BUT you should also notice the key idea there - it should be taken in sufficient amounts. It is crucial for your digestive and intestinal tract to maintain a safe count of these live and good bacteria - this was a concept that was first promoted back in 1907 by a Russian scientist.

Now let’s get to the real meat of this article - the probiotics benefits. What are they? Read on to find out:

Probiotics Health Benefits 1
Studies and researches have shown that probiotics could improve the bioavailability of different vitamins and nutrients. Vitamins B, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus - these are just to name a few. Combined with taking vitamin and food supplements, probiotics could lead to improved health.

Probiotics Health Benefits 2
According to different pediatric studies, there are certain strains like Lactobacillus GG that is found in different probiotic supplements and capsules could greatly decrease the rate and length of acute diarrhea as well as rotavirus shedding. Matters of fact, parents of infants have reported a significant decrease in diaper rash in their babies’ drinking formula that contains probiotics. How significant you ask? A whopping 25 percent!

Probiotics Health Benefits 3
Probiotics and live bacteria cultures have also been discovered to help improve lactose intolerance. The bacterial strain that is commonly used in yogurt can produce lactase enzymes. With that in mind, people who are suffering from lactose intolerance as well as kids who are suffering from intestinal infection can tolerate yogurt and get all the health benefits it brings thanks to the live and active cultures it contains.

Probiotics Health Benefits 4
There are studies that have shown that by taking probiotics, which regulate the transit time in your intestinal tract, constipation among elderly could be significantly improved. On the other hand, it has also been shown that probiotics, especially the acidophilus strain, has the ability to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in your colon. This, in turn, reduces the conversion of bile into carcinogens (these are cancer causing substances by the way).

And here’s something for those who need to improve their immunity against diseases, probiotics supplements can significantly regulate the production of lymphocytes as well as antibodies - our bodies line of defense against diseases.