Everything you need to know about probiotics
Today, probiotic food has made a lot of noise in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Perhaps you have also seen foods such as cheese sold under the name of probiotics. But what is a probiotic and what is its role?
These days, there are few people who have not heard anything about new food products that can bring health to consumers. This group of food products, which has made a lot of noise in the food and pharmaceutical industry, is called probiotics.
According to experts, probiotic products can be a solution to treat a wide range of diseases, from indigestion and digestive disorders to chronic fatigue and lethargy, and even prevent or treat colds.
Probiotics are not only used in the production of food and various types of beverages, but they can also be offered in the form of food supplements. But what are probiotics? Is their consumption beneficial for the body or can it cause side effects?
First, it is better to see what the word probiotic means. The root of this word is derived from two Greek words Pro or Promotion which means recovery and Biotic which means life.
There are different opinions on the definition of this word, but according to the definition announced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), probiotics are living microorganisms that, if there are enough in the host’s body, can be improve the function of the host body.
The important feature of these microorganisms is that they are alive and an important part of them are bacteria.
When we talk about bacteria, the first thing that comes to our mind is antibiotics or antibacterial substances, both of which target and destroy bacteria and are produced and prescribed for the same purpose. So why should we give the body a product that contains live bacteria?
The most important reason for the importance of probiotic products is that they create balance in the body of living organisms. Naturally, there are two groups of bacteria called good and bad bacteria in the digestive tract, both of which are necessary for the body.
Maintaining the health of our body depends on creating a balance between these two groups of bacteria. Various factors such as the use of different drugs, daily diet, diseases and the surrounding environment can destroy the balance between these two groups of bacteria that live in the digestive system.
Do you think our body alone can restore the lost balance or is it better to use probiotic products as auxiliary forces?
Although it has not been a long time since probiotics entered the food and drug industry, the truth is that probiotics have been with us since the first moments of our lives. The loss of probiotics in the body can cause various diseases and affect the body’s immune system.
Probiotics protect our body in two ways; First, the balance between the population of good and bad bacteria in the digestive system helps to maintain our health; When the digestive system can do its job properly, it removes harmful bacteria, toxic substances, chemicals and other compounds that are harmful to the health of the body and absorbs useful and necessary substances for the body.
Second, probiotics help maintain the health of the body’s immune system, and this role plays a more important role in maintaining the health of the body. If the functioning of the body’s immune system is disturbed for any reason, it creates a basis for contracting various types of diseases, from allergic reactions to digestive infections and skin diseases.
Probiotic products contain bacteria or yeast that play a very important role in maintaining the balance between the population of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the body.
If you decide to include probiotic products in your daily diet due to the benefits of probiotics, be sure to note that the effectiveness of probiotics requires continuous consumption of this group of foods and dairy products are the best probiotic products.
Simultaneous consumption of probiotics with some food items such as honey, banana, garlic and onion helps in the better growth of probiotic bacteria.
Although all the foods we consume daily contain amounts of microorganisms, none of them are probiotic products because the microorganisms in these foods are different from the microorganisms in probiotic products.