The truth about probiotics

I used to think of my body as being composed of cells, organs, and complex structures. I never thought about my body as trillions of microbes working together, waiting, feeding, communicating, fighting, and dying until I read Missing Microbes by Martin Blaser. He writes: "Collectively these bacteria weigh about three pounds and represent perhaps 10,000 distinct species. Over time they have evolved specialized properties that allow them

Cool facts about the human microbiome

Some cool facts about bacteria that I learned from Blaser’s book include:

• Your body is composed of an estimated 30 trillion human cells—and more than 100 trillion bacterial and fungal cells. That's right, bacterial cells substantially outnumber your own human cells!

• When you were in the womb, you had NO bacteria. During the birth process (vaginal birth), you were colonized by trillions of microbes.

• The microbes that constitute your microbiome are generally acquired before the age of three.

• Your microbiome is responsible for your immunity, metabolism, and cognition. It's what keeps you healthy.

The theory of microbes was formulated in 1543. Humans have known about microbes for a very long time but only in the last 100 years have scientists really started to understand the

impact our microbes have on health and longevity.

These days, you can't open a newspaper or health magazine without seeing an article about gut health, probiotics, and more recently the importance of fermented foods. In Missing Microbes, Blaser shows how our overuse of antibiotics has negatively affected our microbiome, making us more susceptible to "modern plagues."

Jason Tetro's book, The Germ Files is another excellent guidebook about the roles microbes play in our body, what we can do to improve the diversity of our microbiome, and how to work with our microbes to lead healthier lives.

There is a wealth of fascinating and useful information in both of these books. In this article, I will focus on probiotics and fermented foods—are they really beneficial? Does the latest research back up their health claims? 

Let’s start with a couple of definitions (most paraphrased or copied from Blaser and Tetro):

MICROBIOME is defined as the collection of microbes or microorganisms that inhabit an environment, creating a sort of “mini-ecosystem”. Our human microbiome is made up of communities of symbiotic, commensal and pathogenic bacteria (along with fungi and viruses) all of which call our bodies home.

PLACEBO EFFECT, also called the placebo response, is a remarkable phenomenon in which a placebo—a fake treatment, an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution—can sometimes improve a patient's condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful. The more a person believes they are going to benefit from a treatment, the more likely it is that they will experience a benefit (Medicinenet.com)

Martin Blaser explains that, "When you go to a health-food store looking for probiotics, the very act of walking in suggests you are seeking something to make you feel better. By buying the product, you are ready to be helped and the placebo effect kicks in."

PROBIOTICS: good or bad?

Blaser is skeptical about the many claims surrounding all the probiotics on the grocery and health food store shelves. "They are almost completely untested. The packages make all sorts of vague claims about health promotion, yet in most cases no rigorous trials were done to show that the ingredients were actually effective." He continues: "The definition of probiotics is broad but so are the different types of bacterial cultures sold in stores. Sometimes what are apparently the same strains are sold under different labels with different text extolling their benefits.... It is the wild west; the field is almost completely unregulated."

Tetro shares a similar concern: "Some probiotics may do more harm than good." He then gives tips on how to find good probiotics:

1. Know the types of bacteria in the product. If you don't see Latin, the product probably is not going to help.

2. Know exactly what benefits can be gained from taking in these microbes. The claims can include improving digestion, improving the diversity of the microbial population of the gut and helping heart health.

3. Know if you are getting enough. Research has proven that adults need at least ten billion bacteria in each serving to make any difference. For the record, yogurt only contains millions per serving.

According to Trust Me, one of my favourite health resources, "It is possible to alter the proportions of different bacteria that already live in our guts by making changes to our diet."

Check out the Trust Me website for lots more information on probiotics and gut health.

The probiotic family

Tetro writes: “Only a few microbial species qualify as probiotics and most come from one of two groups: Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. These are the primary fermenters of yogurt and other solid forms of dairy. Other fermenters include Bacillus, Enterococcus and Streptococcus and many probiotic mixtures now include these bacteria. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the most tested forms of probiotics and they have shown the most benefit to humans, including aiding in digestion and producing beneficial chemicals which promote balance in metabolism and the immune system.”

When choosing a probiotic product, be sure to read the ingredients list. The list should either be exclusively microbial or at least have those species at the top of the list. If the first ingredient is sugar PUT IT BACK ON THE SHELF.

Fermented foods

We probably know someone who is experimenting with fermented foods right now and rightfully so, as “analyses of several fermented food products reveal that many contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and metabolism regulating molecules,” Tetro reports. But, as with the probiotics, we need to know what to look for to get the health benefits.

First and foremost, the fermented foods must be raw or UNpasteurized. Pasteurization KILLS bacteria, both the bad and the good. It is the fermenting organisms present in fermented foods that benefit us, they enrich vitamins to aid in their absorption and produce chemicals that calm our immune system. Tetro explains: “The bacterial and fungal species are either the same as or related to the healthy bacteria we already have in our gastrointestinal tract.”

When we change milk through fermentation we end up with yogurt, cheese or Kefir. Trust Me did an experiment with Kefir and the results were positive. The subjects who consumed Kefir regularly had increases in one type of bacteria. The experiment was a success because they were trying to see if Kefir increased the amount of a specific bacteria, already present in the gut and it did. It did not increase the diversity of the gut bacteria by introducing new species – this is an important distinction because a lot of products make this claim and as of yet there is no research proving it.

According to Tetro, one of the ways that we can improve the diversity of our microbiome is to change our environment. For instance, if you live in the city take regular trips to forests, farmland, rivers, mountains and coasts. It is important to note that new bacteria tend to stay in our system for only a few days so it is crucial to visit these environments regularly.

Stay informed

There is a wealth of information on gut health, probiotics, and fermented foods. I chose to read the two books that I reference here (Missing Microbes and The Germ Files), as well as reading up at the Trust Me website to familiarize myself with the basics and find out the latest results from research.

I chose books written by scientists because I feel that they are a trustworthy resource. We are being inundated with fake news and media hype, especially in the areas of fitness and nutrition. We need to be more critical in choosing our sources of information. Read my articles about how to identify good science[1] , and the science of nutrition[2]  for more information.

Link to “good science” blog

Link to “science of nutrition” blog