Candidiasis, halitosis, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, constipation, Helicobacter pylori? Improvement with the correct probiotic.
Today there are many pathologies or conditions in which taking probiotics can be a great help. But, with so much variety in marking, how do we know which is the best for each case, and how do we have to take it? Our dietitian Neus Elcacho tells you his professional and personal tricks ...
Did you know ...?
Until now it was thought (and I kept repeating myself thanks to what I learned with Xevi Verdaguer ) that the microbiota is marked by the baby's first contact with the outside, that is, by the mother's skin. Thus, it had been seen as vaginal delivery provided more beneficial bacteria in the inflammatory and immune environment for the baby (especially Lactobacillus), than a cesarean delivery, which involved non-vaginal microorganisms but more dermal of the mother and of healthcare professionals ( Clostridium , Enterobacter and Klebsiella ). However, at the beginning of this year, some research indicated that this was not the case. Specifically, a study published in the journal Nature Medicine emphasizes that the "acquisition" process of the baby's microbiome is marked long before the mother's pregnancy.
Renew Life Adult Probiotic - Ultimate Flora Extra Care Go Pack, Shelf Stable Probiotic Supplement - 50 Billion - 30 Vegetable Capsules (Packaging May Vary)
Surely someone asks: "But with fermented foods every day we do not need to take probiotics, right?"
- Not everyone has tolerance (or digests well) fermented foods (in our culture, fermented there are few). The sauerkraut, the kefir, and the kombucha are very new here (although the pickles are not so much).
- They are not the same quantities and may have been uperized, which reduces the amount of live bacteria. They do not contribute the strains that interest us or the variety. Some species of Saccharomyces ( cerevisae ) are well known for their prominence in the preparation of wine, beer and bread, while the Kluyveromyces marxianus is used to make kefir.
In the consultation come every week patients with digestive problems (I am specialized root of having irritable bowel) who have taken probiotics and who have not noticed improvement of symptoms. Why? As I will explain later, perhaps there is first to "clean up" more problematic bacteria, perhaps we must improve the "where they live" (digestive mucosa) or maybe we are not taking it at the right time, nor have we taken it for a long time, nor are we taking a good enough one for what we need.
The first thing we have to know, then, is that we have to wait for a good probiotic:
Very high quantity of bacteria
A good probiotic should have 10 billion bacteria. A large part is lost along the way during digestion (bile, type of pH ...)
Great diversity of strains
Preferably in the form of envelopes (to make a tablet they are subjected to a high pressure that raises the temperature to 40-50 degrees and decreases the amount of live bacteria).
My favorites (professional trick)
Vivomixx® is the probiotic with the highest concentration of bacteria beneficial to the organism (112,000,000,000 live bacteria per capsule / 450 billion live bacteria per envelope). It contains a combination of 8 bacterial strains.
Bio-Kult is one of the most powerful probiotic supplements there is. It contains 14 strains of beneficial bacteria at a concentration of 10 billion per gram.
Pearls IC-Intensive Formula offers the combination of 6 strains of clinically recognized live active cultures that naturally colonize the intestine and form a complex ecosystem known as microbiota or intestinal flora. 1,000 million CFU guaranteed!
They are found in pharmacies.
Do you know more than follow the requirements I mention? Let me know in the comments (and with the number of stocks and the amount) and among all we can make a list that will help many people.
- Probiotics for children: Lactibiane Infante and Darmocare Infantis.
- Probiotics for holiday gastroenteritis (diet changes), by bacteria, virus or travel parasite: Ultralevura.
- For candidiasis: In recent years have been studied different strains that have a great strength to improve symptoms against candida: are Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri .
I, in these cases, recommend an oral probiotic (Aquilea Intimus has them both, for example) and a vaginal one (the Candinorm ovules) in addition to a good antifungal (which obviously can be natural). More information in my online course: https://etselquemenges.cat/producte/curs-online-candides
Did you know that the mycobiota is the set of fungal microorganisms that live in the same habitat? Candida and Saccharomyces are found in almost all individuals.
For the irritable bowel
Currently we put in the car irritable bowel or irritated digestive * to anyone who has more than six months that has intestinal irritation (very soft or broken stools or alternation with constipation, abdominal distention (swollen belly) with pain or not, and gases.
Irritated bowel syndrome * (IBS) has a prevalence of 10% in the western population. The origin? 50% nervous, 50% inflammation, sensitivity and hyperpermeability of the intestinal mucosa plus an alteration of the intestinal microbiota. That is why it is so important to repopulate the land with good probiotics.
More and more studies show that probiotics are extremely useful for balancing the microbiota and improving the symptoms of irritable bowel.
The strains studied so far with the most benefits for these cases are: Bifidobacterium infantis , Sacchromyces boulardii and Lactobacillus plantarum .
However, all these years passing consultation and my own experience with the disease I can tell you that, in some cases, probiotics can go worse or do absolutely nothing (is the case of swollen belly and gas, which is first " clean "a bit the bacterial proliferation that is not so interesting with good antibacterials or natural antibiotics).
Undoubtedly, however, probiotics make a big change when there are more loose stools and diarrhea.
For the treatment of Helicobacter pylori
This bacterium, when out of control, can give many problems of irritation, bad digestion, acidity and burning. While we make a good treatment with the doctor, it would be good to accompany it with probiotics (in the last conference of Conscious of Maastricht V / Florence on the management of the infection by Helicobacter pylori specifically addressed the role of the microbiota and probiotics) containing Lactobacillus and the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii .
For constipation
Constipation is a multifactorial problem. You have to drink enough water, move more, make a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, eliminate sugars and refined foods, gently clean the intestines with aloe gel or magnesium carbonate or do a good colon hydrotherapy, and repopulate the flora with a probiotic like those that we have commented at the beginning, those that have a bit of everything.
Probiotics for halitosis?
Yes, lack of hygiene, plaque buildup and periodontitis are the main causes of halitosis. Since the imbalance of the oral microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of many oral diseases, probiotics are also a very good option in these cases. Which bacteria are the most recommended?
Streptococcus salivarius and Lactobacillus salivarius . I also recommend gargling coconut oil with a drop of tea tree.
Obesity and bacteria
Something that surprised me a lot while these last weeks did research for my first book, is the relationship that has a strain of bacteria in particular with obesity: Specifically Akkermansia muciniphila . It has been observed in recent research that this bacterium is not very present in people with obesity or cardiometabolic diseases.
Probiotics and a thousand other diseases
The relationship between oxidative stress (increase of free radicals) and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, digestive and immune diseases is increasingly seen.
The oxidative stress caused by the increase of free radicals has been related to many pathological processes: some cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular pathology, rheumatic processes, digestive pathologies, bronchopulmonary affections, cataracts, deterioration of the immune system, etc.
The strain Lactobacillus fermentum , given in probiotics, helps to decrease hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide *, which act as free radicals (Kaizu et al.). Also Bifidobacterium lactis , with antioxidant activity and that could reduce the risk of free radical accumulation.
* Substances produced by probiotics that exert metabolic and / or immunomodulatory effects are called 'postbiotics'.
Time to take probiotics
As the acidity of the stomach reduces the effectiveness of probiotics because it eliminates a very important amount, it is recommended to take them fasting, when the pH of the stomach is more neutral, and not with a very hot drink or too cold to reach well into the intestine , where we want them to stay.
On the other hand, we recommend that you take a minimum of 3-4 weeks and up to 2-3 months depending on the treatment or need.