Probiotics are live strains of healthy gut bacteria that are introduced to the digestive tract following an assault or series of assaults that damage or kill-off some of the species and/or strains of natural healthy gut bacteria in the large intestine.
Good probiotics are understood to re-seed or restore the gut microbiome following a course of antibiotics. Recent studies reveal that there are many culprits other than just antibiotics that destroy our healthy gut bacteria. We refer to these as the ‘nuclear bombs; of lifestyle…which include but are not limited to:
I know what you’re thinking…that list contains just about everything I do and everything I eat right? And you’re not far wrong. Our essential gut bacteria, which are so fundamental to our physical and mental health and well-being, are under attack from many aspects of 21st century living. This makes it essential to restore and re-feed our gut bacteria daily…and guess what, it doesn’t have to be with store bought pro-biotics, manufactured in a laboratory, bottled in plastic containers, with an expiry date two years from now…
The following ‘interventions’ will ensure your gut microbiome remains healthy, diverse and robust:
F-GOALS:
If you do choose to purchase pro-biotics in capsule form, make sure they contain strains and species that can survive the stomach acid…the 2-3 kg’s of healthy gut bacteria that make up our gut microbiome, reside in the large intestine.
What to look for in a probiotic:
1.) High CFU count (Colony Forming Units): This means the probiotic has a high concentration of microbes.Dosage for general gut health should be 10 million – 1 billion CFU/mg per day.
2.) Diverse strains: Consuming a wide range of strains helps provide multiple benefits since each strain has unique effects in the body.
3. Survivability: Being survivable means the bacteria can make it to the intestines without being diminished or significantly killed off by your body temperature or stomach acids.
4.) Contains SBOs (Soil based organisms): SBOs are the same microbes that naturally occur in the soil and are most often resistant to harsh environments. This characteristic gives them better survivability versus regular probiotics.
5.) Pre biotics feed our healthy gut bacteria thus enabling them to proliferate. Post biotics are functional bioactive compounds generated during fermentation, and may be used to promote health.
Background Information:
The study and understanding of the gut microbiome, aka our collection of healthy gut bacteria, is now considered to be the new frontier in medicine, with just about all the major universities in the world having dedicated divisions studying the gut microbiome and its fundamental role in the body.
To date, 500-1000 different species/strains of healthy gut bacteria have been identified, each with a different role in the body.
Our healthy gut bacteria have many functions in the body, four main ones in particular:
Globally, we are obsessed with thin and fit… where we consider anyone thin and/or fit to be healthy, especially if they have a six pack.
However, a healthy gut (intact intestinal wall and balanced gut microbiome) is fundamental! We all know of at least one tragic shocking story where an athlete has a heart attack during a sporting event, with the general consensus being, ‘but he/she was so healthy’… or so it appears. Leaky gut and/or dysbiosis of the the gut microbiome result in systemic inflammation which can manifest imbalance and result in illness or disease symptoms in any of the body tissues/organs. These symptoms can go undetected for years as they can seem ‘normal’…constipation, bloating, joint aches and pains, migraines etc
Here’s an example: red meat contains the amino acid L-carnitine, which when broken down during the digestive process produces TMAO, a pre-cursor to heart disease. However, certain strains and species of gut bacteria neutralize the harmful effects of TMAO, minimizing its role in the creation of heart disease. Gut bacteria 1 – Heart disease 0
As Functional Medicine practitioners and coaches, we follow the 5 R’s principle in restoring and healing the gut.
Pre-biotics
PRE-BIOTICS ARE FIBRE, mostly insoluble fibre.
Fibre is what our gut bacteria feed-on.
A fibre rich diet is absolutely fundamental to the sustainability of our gut microbiome.
Even in the absence of any of the nuclear lifestyle bombs listed above that are known to damage and kill off our gut bacteria, in the absence of a fibre-rich diet, our gut microbiome will die off.
And the added bonus: when the gut bacteria feed on insoluble fibre, especially butyrate, they produce SCFA’s (Short Chain Fatty acids) which are natural anti-inflammatories that serve to control inflammation, not only in the gut but throughout the body.
Pop in to buy your Kombucha and get a Gut Health boosting IV Vita drip at www.thedripbar.co.za
This powerful IV vitamin drip cocktail contains:
BIO: Chantal is a B.Sc.Hons Allied Health with an international diploma in Nutrition and Sports Nutrition as well as Functional and Lifestyle medicine. Chantal is a passionate Gut Health advocate and works as a Functional Medicine Health and Lifestyle Coach, facilitating the improvement of her clients health conditions and sporting performance with a focus on healing leaky gut, correcting dysbiosis (imbalance) of the gut microbiome and addressing inflammatory lifestyle factors.
Over her 25 year career, Chantal has held various positions within the health and wellness industry – including 10 years as the Executive Head of Vodacom’s corporate wellness & mobile health programs Chantal is the owner/ founder of the DripBar which offers vitamin and mineral drip therapy in improving micronutrient deficiencies. She is also the founder/owner of a Kombucha brewery which produces the brand of ‘booch’ called theFarmacy.
Chantal is a competitive cyclist, a plant strong vegan and mom to two grown up girls.
to Book your Functional health and Lifestyle coaching session: email: chantal@healthtrac.global
This blog post contains information that is not designed to take the place of,
substitute, or replace any form and method of professional or medical advice
and treatment or medicine. All content is the author’s opinion and is not
intended to diagnose and remedy. The facts and figures contained in this
document are presented solely for informational and educational purposes
only.